According to the report of the International Union of Combined Rail and Road Transport (UIRR), in 2024, the volume of multimodal freight transport in Europe increased by 5.19% compared to the previous year, while freight turnover in tonne-kilometers grew by 8.41%. Domestic transport developed most dynamically, especially in France and Poland, where an increase of 10.6% was recorded.
At the same time, cross-border transport showed a moderate increase – only 2.74%. The UIRR explains this by large-scale infrastructure work in Germany, especially in the north-south direction, which was accompanied by frequent train cancellations. Alternative routes turned out to be ineffective due to their length and technical backwardness, which increased operating costs.
The industry was further pressured by large-scale infrastructure disruptions: the Mont Cenis (Fréjus) base tunnel was closed from August 2023 to March 2025, and traffic in the western tube of the Gotthard tunnel was restricted. Despite this, the market continued to grow in the first quarter of 2025, with multimodal transport volumes increasing by 1.76% compared to the same period last year.