The XXXIII meeting of the Joint Commissions of Border Railways of Kazakhstan and China was held in Urumqi (PRC). The participants summed up the work of railway crossings between the two countries for the first nine months of 2024 and discussed transportation plans until the end of the year. Preliminary volumes of freight traffic for 2025 and the freight train schedule for 2024-2025 were also agreed upon.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved a bill on the reform of the railway market, which introduces a new transportation model based on European standards. This step is aimed at harmonizing with EU legislation within the framework of the Association Agreement with the European Union.
Occitanie Region, DEME Concessions NV, Euroports and Teréga have signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at creating a key hub for the management of low-carbon hydrogen and CO2 in the port of Port-la-Nouvelle. This project supports the energy transition at both regional and European levels.
A working meeting of the management of JSC NC Kazakhstan Temir Zholy with the largest shippers of the region was held in Karaganda, where they discussed factors affecting freight transportation. The Karaganda branch occupies a strategically important place in the railway network of Kazakhstan, annually handling about 50 million tons of cargo, which is a fifth of the total freight turnover of KTZ.
According to a decision by the Hamburg City Parliament, the new bridge in the Hamburg port area should be 73.5 metres high and open to traffic by 2040. Potential accelerations of the project implementation process are currently being assessed.
In September 2024, Ukrainian seaports handled 7.1 million tons of cargo, which is more than twice the result for the same period in 2023 (3.4 million tons). The leaders in cargo turnover were grain and ore cargo, which amounted to 4.1 million tons (compared to 2.3 million tons in 2023) and 1.3 million tons (against 249 thousand tons in 2023), respectively.
ÖBB Rail Cargo (RCG) is upgrading the TransFER Wels–Vienna–Budapest route for the transport of non-crane semi-trailers, strengthening intermodal transport and facilitating the shift in freight flows from road to rail. Previously, such transport was only possible on the TransFER Genk–Curtici route, but is now also available on the new route. Three times a week, the route connects the Austrian terminals of Wels and South Vienna with the Hungarian terminal BILK, linking the economic hubs of Western Europe with Southern and Southeastern Europe and Turkey.
The conference “Constanta Port – European Hub of the Middle Corridor” was held in Astana, Kazakhstan, attended by representatives of the Port of Constanta, the Port Business Association and the DP World container terminal. The main focus was on the development of the transport corridor between the ports of the Caspian and Black Seas and the increase in cargo flows along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR).
The Port of Antwerp-Bruges handled 210.5 million tonnes of cargo in the first nine months of 2024, up 3% year-on-year. This indicates a stabilisation in cargo volumes compared to the second quarter. Container transport remains the main growth driver, despite ongoing geopolitical and economic instability that affects other types of cargo. The port continues to invest in innovative and sustainable projects, supporting the energy transition and industrial growth.
A memorandum of cooperation was signed in Astana between JSC KTZ Express and the Romanian company Midia International SA. At the official meeting, the parties discussed the prospects for the development of transport and logistics links between Kazakhstan and Romania, as well as possible joint projects in the field of cargo transportation.
