JR East has launched regular freight services on its Shinkansen trains on the Tohoku Line, which connects Tokyo with northeastern Japan. The inaugural service covered the nearly 700 km from Shin-Aomori Station to Tokyo Station in just three hours. Two of the ten carriages are allocated for freight, effectively combining passenger and logistics functions.
A working meeting with the World Bank delegation was held at the KTZ Express office, during which the parties discussed the development of an updated methodology for calculating the logistics performance index (LPI).
Greenbrier Europe has announced the closure of its plant in Arad, Romania, which has existed since 1854. The 150,000 m² facility, which has produced over 250,000 freight cars for 35 countries, will cease operations, affecting around 700 employees.
According to the National Statistics Bureau, 111.3 million tons of cargo were transported by rail in Kazakhstan in January-March 2025, which is 14.9% more than in the same period last year. Cargo turnover amounted to 83.7 billion ton-kilometers, an increase of 10.3%. Passenger transportation also showed growth: 4.7 million people used trains, and passenger turnover reached 3.6 billion passenger-kilometers.
The International Association of Rail Freight Carriers IBS Congress was held in Riga at the Latvijas dzelzceļš (Latvian Railway) venue, the key topic of which was the prospects and new models of cooperation for rail logistics in the Baltic States and Europe.
The Rail Baltica project in Estonia is reaching a new level: contracts have already been signed for the construction of 103 km of embankments and engineering structures, some of which are currently under construction. This year, Rail Baltic Estonia plans to sign a contract for the construction of the main line, which will run across the entire country. Design work is also ongoing, and the partial opening of the Ülemiste passenger terminal in Tallinn is scheduled for June.
The state railway company Latvijas dzelzceļš has announced an open tender for the design and construction work on the modernisation of nine passenger stations on the Riga–Lugaži–state border line. The work will cover the stations of Inčukalns, Eglupe, Sigulda, Līgatne, Ieriki, Lode, Valmiera, Strenči and Valka. It is planned to build new platforms, update the track infrastructure, create amenities for passengers with limited mobility and improve pedestrian areas and lighting. Applications will be accepted until 20 May 2025.
2024 was one of the most challenging years for ÖBB Rail Cargo Group: the economic downturn, increased competition from road transport and the devastating autumn floods dealt a serious blow to the business. Although the company managed to maintain financial stability in the first half of the year, the flooding of key railway lines in Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Hungary led to large-scale disruptions and significant losses.
According to the results of the first quarter of 2025, the volume of loading on the network of Kazakhstan Railways (KTZ) amounted to 64.2 million tons, which is 4.4% more than in the same period of 2024. The press service of JSC NC Kazakhstan Temir Zholy reported that 41 million tons of this volume are domestic transportation, and export deliveries increased by 12%, reaching 23.2 million tons.
In Almaty, the management of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy JSC held an off-site meeting to discuss the progress of key infrastructure projects. Particular attention was paid to the construction of a bypass railway line around the Almaty station – the construction of the roadbed at the site is almost complete, 74 km of rail and sleeper grid have been assembled, and work on the construction of bridges and laying of pipes is being carried out strictly according to schedule. The project is planned to be completed by the end of the year.
