Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó, announced the anticipated completion of the Budapest-Belgrade (BuBe) railway line by 2025. Seen as a crucial component of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the BuBe line is strategically positioned to provide robust connections to central and northern Europe, along with facilitating access to southern European ports.
Kazakhstan’s President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, held a meeting with YTO Express Co., Ltd Chairman Yu Huai Zhao to discuss prospective collaboration in e-commerce, transportation, and logistics. Tokayev highlighted the existing presence of major marketplaces like Alibaba, Wildberries, OZON, and JD.com in Kazakhstan, expressing the country’s plans to increase the share of e-commerce to 20% of the total trade market by 2030.
The introduction of the Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC) is becoming a revolution for freight transport in Europe, providing a long-term competitive advantage. However, beyond increasing efficiency and safety, this innovation also brings new benefits for those working in this field, easing their daily routines. The profession of a shunter is a challenging task that demands significant physical effort and is performed under extreme weather conditions at all times of day and night. In the future, this profession will become more diverse in its tasks and, in terms of physical exertion, safer and simpler. Currently, trains are manually coupled, involving lifting and transferring the heavy 20-kilogram coupling hook between the wagons. DAC automates this process, making it significantly more efficient and safer.
Today, a container train departed from the city of Xi’an along the Silk Road, heading through Kazakhstan to the countries of Central Asia, in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the “One Belt, One Road” initiative. The commemorative train is organized by the Sino-Kazakhstan Trading and Logistics Company and the International Dry Port of Xi’an, representing the joint venture Kedentransservice. The train consists of more than 1000 tons of cargo scheduled for delivery within 12-13 days.
German port consultancy HPC Hamburg Port Consulting, in collaboration with Romanian IT firm Critical Technologies SRL and Estonian maritime partners E.N. Shipping Services OÜ and Saaresalu OÜ, has secured an international tender to develop specifications for the design and implementation of a Port Community System (PCS) for the Port of Constanta in Romania. A PCS is a digital platform that enhances information exchange and data optimization among stakeholders in a seaport or logistics ecosystem, aiming to boost efficiency, transparency, and coordination in the movement of goods through the port. The project’s successful implementation is expected to modernize port and logistics processes, enhance inter-agency coordination in Romania, and significantly reduce administrative burdens and bureaucracy.
This week marked a significant milestone for “Rīgas Universālais Termināls” (Riga Universal Terminal – RUT) as they successfully received and unloaded the inaugural test train carrying Ukrainian cereal products at the Freeport of Riga. The delivery, consisting of 1423 tons of rapeseed in 54 containers, was facilitated by SIA LDZ CARGO, a subsidiary of SJSC “Latvijas dzelzceļš”. The containers traveled from Ukraine to the port of Riga through the Kaunas intermodal railway terminal, where they were loaded onto SIA LDZ CARGO platforms for the final leg of their journey to Riga. The RUT warehouses now house the unloaded Ukrainian rapeseed.
The National Railway Company of Kazakhstan (KTZ) is actively participating in the Digital Bridge forum, a traditional event held in the capital for the past three years. The panel session on “AI and Logistics” explores key aspects of digitization, including the automation of train movement planning, optimization of operations across the mainline network, and other digital solutions.
A substantial advancement has taken place in Poland’s major infrastructure endeavor, Centralny Port Komunikacyjny (CPK), with the establishment of a high-speed railway connecting Warsaw and Łódź, pivotal rail freight hubs in the country. The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is set to finance this crucial railway, with CPK and the Polish Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy signing a 64 million euros agreement with the Centre for EU Transport Projects. This funding, covering approximately 85 percent of the total project costs amounting to 75 million euros, will support comprehensive project documentation, including construction plans, and facilitate the necessary permits and location decisions.
Rhenus Maritime Services (RMS) is expanding its fleet with the addition of a new coastal vessel named RMS Ruhrort, featuring a distinctive capability. The vessel is equipped with an engine designed to use methanol as fuel in the future, positioning methanol as a promising and eco-friendly option for the maritime industry alongside hydrogen and ammonia.
During the official visit of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea to Croatia on October 12, 2023, in Zagreb, the Port of Rijeka Authority and Busan Port Authority signed a Memorandum of Understanding. In the presence of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković of Croatia, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo of Korea, and members of both governments, the memorandum was signed by Denis Vukorepa, the Executive Director of the Port of Rijeka Authority, and Kang Joon-suk, the Executive Director and President of the Busan Port Authority.
