• The Kazakh Port of Kuryk, on the Caspian Sea coast, will get three new terminals. They are supposed to be ready by 2027, and Abu Dhabi Ports is getting involved with an investment of 184,6 million euros.
  • The Turkish rail sector can count on a funding of 305 billion Turkish lira (8,2 billion euros) in 2025, which is significantly higher than in 2024. It is also nearly on par with the road, which will get 329 billion (8,9 billion euros) in funding. However, the budget boost may skew perceptions amid mounting inflation.
  • The Chinese state-owned rail operator Chinese State Railway Group (CSRG) has grown its quarterly freight volumes to a new record high. In the third quarter of 2024, the company transported more than the milestone number of a billion tonnes of freight. On top of that, China – Europe traffic has grown by over 10 per cent during the first nine months of the year.
  • International interest in Afghanistan as a transit hub is growing, with Kazakhstan being one of the key players in setting up logistics through the Afghan mountains. The latter is now suggesting a circular intermodal route, where Chinese goods are supposed to transit Kazakhstan on their way to Afghanistan, which then sends goods back to China via maritime transport.
  • The east of Spain is currently experiencing extreme weather conditions, especially in the area of Valencia. The events have already claimed dozens of lives, caused disastrous damages and also halted the railways. Trains between Valencia and Barcelona are still, for the moment, not operating.
  • The Spanish ministry of transport began two feasibility studies concerning the port of A Coruña, in the northwest of the country. One of the studies will concern the creation of a southern rail entrance, while the second one will investigate the possibility of creating a new terminal in Uxes, 14 kilometres south of the port.
  • Rail Baltica has been Europe’s flagship cross-border rail project, but exploding construction costs have led to a re-evaluation of its ambitions. It is especially Latvia that is struggling to find funding to build the railway. The transport ministry has now come up with a new, less ambitious plan: Rail Baltica is supposed to be single-track only on Latvian territory.
  • The German Ministry of Transport presented its rail traffic forecast for 2040, showing significant optimism especially when it comes to freight. Concerning total tonnes transported, in 2040 there should be a 17.3 per cent increase compared to 2019, while the figures for tonne/km should grow by 31.2 per cent.