Europe

ÖBB Rail Cargo Group (RCG) announced the launch of two new TransFER rail services for single-car shipments between Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands, as well as the expansion of its intermodal offering to Romania. The new routes aim to improve access to key European logistics hubs and meet the growing demand for direct, reliable, and fast freight connections, including comprehensive first- and last-mile services, transhipment, warehousing, and customs clearance.

The Bulgarian Ministry of Transport and Communications announced that it has received funding approval from the European Union for the construction of a new intermodal terminal in the city of Ruse, located in the north of the country on the border with Romania. The project is part of a broader program to develop the region’s transport infrastructure and aims to strengthen Bulgaria’s logistics potential.

On December 19, 2025, a Maersk vessel operating on the MECL service successfully transited the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea under the highest safety precautions. The company notes that this does not mean a complete return to routes through the Suez Canal; changes will be implemented gradually as safety permits. In early January, heavy snowfalls in Northern Europe, including the ports of Hamburg, Rotterdam, and Antwerp, slowed operations and temporarily suspended terminal operations, causing cargo delays. Maersk recommends that customers consider possible extended processing times, plan import container pickups in advance, and adjust delivery schedules.

Adif and intermodal operator Combiconnect are due to begin the first test operations with freight trains at the La Llagosta terminal near Barcelona in January, following the completion of the initial phase of works at the site.

The dry cargo vessel “Gafur Mamedov,” owned by ASCO, a subsidiary of AZCON Holding, completed a major overhaul at the Torlak shipyard in Tuzla, Istanbul. The work included a full range of measures to ensure the vessel’s continued five-year service life, which has been operating outside the Caspian Sea since 2017.

PKP Cargo shareholders have approved a significant reduction in the company’s share capital, lowering the nominal value of shares from PLN 50 (€11.6) to PLN 1 (€0.23). As a result, the company’s share capital fell from PLN 2.24bn (€521m) to PLN 44.8m (€10.4m).

Kalmar has launched its next-generation Gen 2 battery system for Kalmar electric straddle carriers. The new lithium-ion battery boasts increased energy density, improved thermal stability, and longer equipment runtime. Developed to address growing customer demand for safer, more efficient, and more sustainable material handling technologies, the solution is now available to customers worldwide.

The European Union is gradually tightening regulations on road transport, introducing new technical and administrative requirements. From July 7, 2026, all newly manufactured trucks must be equipped with automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems, and from 2026, new buses and trucks must be equipped with event data recorders (EDRs), which will become mandatory for the entire fleet from 2029. At the same time, from July 1, 2026, vans weighing 2.5–3.5 tons will be treated as trucks in international transport: they are required to use G2V2 smart tachographs and adhere to driver work and rest schedules.

Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR) has obtained financing of approximately EUR 690 million to support further works on the 1,300 km railway corridor linking the Port of Lobito with Luau on Angola’s border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The funding has been arranged with the US International Development Finance Corporation and the Development Bank of Southern Africa.

Freight transport operator MEDWAY, part of the logistics company MEDLOG (MSC Group), is expanding its network of rail routes in Europe. On December 14, 2025, the inaugural train service in France, for one of Europe’s largest steel mills, departed between Café and the port city of Dunkirk. The train, carrying up to 3,600 tons of lime and limestone, will operate daily.