Железнодорожный

At an extended government meeting, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized the importance of transport and logistics infrastructure for international transit. He noted that Kazakhstan has a significant advantage in the field of cargo transportation and should use it as efficiently as possible. Particular attention is paid to the Trans-Kazakhstan Railway Corridor as a key element of the Trans-Caspian route.

German rail logistics operator VTG has completed the acquisition of the remaining shares in Retrack Slovakia from Rail Services Slovakia, becoming its sole owner. The deal also includes Retrack Slovakia’s subsidiaries in the Czech Republic and Hungary.

CER Hungary Zrt. has officially accepted the new Transmontana locomotive into service. This is a significant event, as exactly ten years ago the company took delivery of its first locomotive of this model. László Horváth (Chairman of the Board of Directors of CER Cargo Holding and LAC Holding), Sebastian Gyta (CEO of Softronic), Géza Dem (CEO of Széchenyi Funds) and Kálmán Tekse (CEO of Deutsche Leasing) spoke at the ceremony.

The global project coordinator of Rail Baltica has submitted a funding application for the latest round of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme in the current budget period. The application covers infrastructure development in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for over EUR 325 million. According to Marko Kivila, Interim CEO of RB Rail AS, receiving these funds is critical to accelerating construction and strengthening the Baltic States’ transport connections to the European rail network.

CargoBeamer is expanding its rail network with a new route between Kornwestheim (Germany) and Domodossola (Italy). From 11 February, three weekly connections will operate on this route: from Kornwestheim on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and from Domodossola on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The new line will complement the existing Kaldenkirchen – Domodossola route, strengthening the company’s position in the field of environmentally friendly freight transport.

Azerbaijan Railways (ADY) has completed the reconstruction of the 21-km-long Dubendi-Zira-Gurgan-Zira Port railway line and built a new 9-km section between Gurgan and Zira Port. This allowed for the first time to launch rail transportation of transit cargo from Zira Port.

Central Asia continues to strengthen its role as a key transport and economic hub, and Alstom is actively involved in this process, supporting the modernization of infrastructure and the development of interstate cooperation. According to Jerome Boyer, Managing Director of Alstom in Western and Central Asia, the company’s long-term goal is to promote regional integration and achieve sustainable transport development goals.

JSC NC Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) announced the early launch of double-track freight traffic on the Moiynty-Balkhash section as part of the construction of second tracks on the Dostyk-Moiynty railway line. On the 127-kilometer section, work has been completed to connect the signaling, centralization and blocking systems, and the new infrastructure has successfully passed the test of a mobile diagnostic complex.

Experts from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are working on a Rail Baltica rail infrastructure management model to simplify international transport after the launch of the high-speed railway. This will be an innovation in the European rail industry, where there is still no single mechanism for carriers to seamlessly organize trips across borders. The project involves Rail Baltic Estonia, Eiropas Dzelzceļa Līnijas (Latvia) and LTG Infra (Lithuania).

Kombiverkehr KG is increasing the capacity of its intermodal service between Germany and Italy with direct container trains between the port of Lübeck and Verona. The service has been reinstated and will serve the Baltic Rail Gate terminal in Lübeck and the Quadrante Europa terminal in Verona. Trains run twice a week in each direction: north-south on Thursdays and Sundays, south-north on Tuesdays and Fridays. There are also three connecting services per week via Hamburg. From Verona, connections are available to the southern regions of Italy, and from Lübeck to Sweden and Norway.