EUROPEAN railfreight transport operators are continuing to suffer from low profitability despite considerable increases in traffic since the height of the world financial crisis in 2009, according to the latest European Railfreight Transport Market 2012 study released by SCI Verkehr.
BRAZILIAN mining giant Vale has announced on August 23 that it has concluded a Reais 3.9bn ($US 1.92bn) financing deal with Brazil's National Development Bank (BNDES) to fund its Logistics Capacity North (CLN) 150 enhancement project, which will boost iron ore throughput by 30.4% on the Carajás Railway (EFC) and at the port of Ponta da Madeira.
SNCF Geodis subsidiary Viia formally presented its Viia Transhelvetica project for the transalpine transport of semi-trailers via the Gotthard line to the Swiss Federal Transport Office (BAV) in Bern on August 14.
IN CONTRAST with the decline in neighbouring Poland, Ukraine witnessed slight overall growth in freight volumes during the first half of this year, according to the latest figures released by Ukrainian Railways (UZ).
WORKERS laid the final section of track on August 14 on a new Yuan 4.5bn ($US 706m) line in southwest China which will eventually provide a second standard-gauge connection to Vietnam.
INDIAN Railways has reported a 20.7% increase in revenues for the first quarter of the 2012-13 financial year with earnings for April-June reaching $US 6bn, compared with $US 5bn during the corresponding period last year.
TRANSNET Freight Rail (TFR) chief executive Mr Siyabonga Gama announced on August 6 that the Richards Bay heavy-haul line had set a new record for weekly coal volumes of 1.877 million tonnes.
THE credibility of KiwiRail's $NZ 4.5bn ($US 3.6bn) plan to turn the state-owned railway into a profitable business has taken a major hit after the New Zealand government minister for state-owned enterprises, Mr Tony Ryall cast doubt on KiwiRail's ability to generate the necessary revenue.
POLISH railfreight continued to suffer from the effects of the economic downturn in the first half of 2012 with an 8.9% year-on-year decline in tonnages, according to the latest statistics from the Office of Railway Transport (UTK).
GYÖR-Sopron-Ebenfurth Railway (GySEV) has announced plans to electrify two lines in a move that will close an important gap in the electrified network in western Hungary.
