The Bulgarian Ministry of Transport and Communications has signed the largest railway contract in the last 20 years with the Bulemu consortium — for the supply of 35 brand-new electric trains for the national operator. The total value of the deal exceeds 1 billion leva (around 500 million euros), with last-minute funding provided by grants under the Recovery and Resilience Plan.
In the first quarter of 2025, 2,375 trains passed through the key transport hub of Khorgos, an increase of 28.5% compared to the same period last year. The volume of transported cargo reached 3.336 million tons, which was a record figure for the beginning of the year and an increase of 26%.
Craiss Generation Logistik GmbH & Co. KG is opening two new logistics sites in Augsburg and Munich as part of its expansion of cooperation with a leading manufacturer in the mobility sector. The Munich location will be integrated into the customer’s production chain, while the Augsburg location will serve as an external logistics hub with modern warehouses and handling infrastructure. Both locations will reach full operational capacity by the end of 2025, covering a total of 20,000 square meters.
In the Polish city of Chelm, at the junction of the broad and European gauge railways, the construction of a new intermodal dry port is beginning. Its main task is to transship grain in the combined transport system between Poland and Ukraine. The project is being implemented by the Polish Industrial Development Agency together with Cedrob Terminale.
American logistics operator AIT Worldwide Logistics has announced the acquisition of Miami-based GSDMIA, strengthening its capabilities in key markets including Asia, Europe, Latin America and the United States.
In the first quarter of 2025, container terminals at the Port of Gdansk handled over 624,000 TEU, up 17% year-on-year. The growth was driven by infrastructure investments in recent years, expansion of logistics links and an increase in the number of ocean services of the world’s largest container ships. In total, 18.4 million tonnes of cargo passed through the port, indicating stability amid global economic challenges.
On April 24–25, the 13th Regional Meeting of the National Trade Facilitation Committees (NTFC) of Central Asian countries was held in Bishkek. The event brought together representatives of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, as well as international organizations and development partners to discuss digitalization, logistics reforms and trade policy assessment. Mukhtar Tolegen, Executive Director for Transport and Logistics, represented the Union of Transport Workers of Kazakhstan Kazlogistics in the forum.
From 23 to 25 April, a high-level delegation from the ports of Hamburg and Lübeck visited Estonia to strengthen ties between the German and Estonian logistics sectors. The delegation was hosted at the Paldiski South Harbour and the Muuga Harbour, where representatives from the Port of Tallinn and Rail Baltica and HHLA TK presented key projects, including sustainable logistics solutions and process digitalisation.
According to Informall BG, in 2024, the volume of loaded containers handled in the Black Sea ports of Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine increased by 12% and exceeded 1 million TEU. The highest growth was recorded in Ukraine – by 78% to 86.7 thousand TEU, while in Romania the growth was 9.5% (to 695.8 thousand TEU), and in Bulgaria – 4.5% (to 233.1 thousand TEU).
Regular rail freight services have begun between Chongqing, a major metropolis in southwestern China, and Central Asia. The first train carrying a batch of polyester granules crossed the border at Khorgos and headed to Tashkent, covering a distance of 4,700 kilometers in about 12 days.
