Stellantis’ commitment to rail

This initiative at the port of Boulogne Calais is part of a larger Stellantis project to increase rail transport. For example, two years ago the company re-implemented a rail connection to its factory in Hordain, 160 kilometres from Calais, after a 13-year hiatus. However, the port did not provide specific information about whether the trains will be coming from there or other plants connected to the railways such as Poissy, near Paris.

The train takes high-end parts for various vehicle brands such as Hongqi, Jiefang and Pentrium to Europe. It shortens the travel time from 45 days (by ship) to 18 days. Rail shrinks the cost of logistics operations by 30%, according to the automotive manufacturer. “This significantly enhances the international competitiveness of FAW’s products and will provide overseas customers with a faster and more reliable service experience.”

The only qualified company

In 2024, FAW reported a 36.2% percent year-on-year increase in vehicle exports, reaching a total of 125,000 units. Overall, FAW’s vehicle sales in 2024 amounted to 3,2 million, generating revenue exceeding 550 billion yuan (approximately 66 billion euros). The company says that it is the “only company in the domestic automotive industry qualified to operate the China-Europe Express.”

In raw numbers, that means that 1,25 million out of a total of 5,06 million cars were transported via rail. “Just in the last four years, the share of cars transported by trains has gone up from 14.7% to nearly 24.5%. We are hopeful of the trend continuing as automobile manufacturers find rail a more convenient, cost-effective and greener mode”, an Indian senior rail official told local media.

Trains are particularly successful on long distances. The rail sector has managed to cut the road’s share in half on distances over 600 kilometres, which ought to sound like a dream to the European rail freight industry, which struggles to attract goods from the road sector.

A question of capacity

Indian rail’s capacity to transport cars has grown explosively in the past couple of years. It is the result of a sustained effort, say industry insiders. Ten years ago, there were only 10 train formations for automotive transportation. By 2021, that number had grown to 29. Now, it stands at 170. That allowed for a total number of automotive rail trips of 7,578 between 2024 and 2025.

A second factor that has helped rail’s efforts to capture the automotive industry is a wagon improvement. India has taken into use wagons that can carry cars on two decks, doubling capacity.

Amid this success for rail, India now ranks second globally for automotive transport by rail. The US ranks first, with 7,5 million cars transported annually. Germany comes in third place, with 600,000 cars.

“Trains run from Prague to Kostanay along the Trans-Caspian route, which bypasses Russia. This route has become increasingly important for European companies. In the spring of 2022, Nurminen Logistics was one of the industry pioneers when it started transporting on the route”, the Finnish company comments.

Cars on the Middle Corridor

“We have done a lot of work and operational development with different operators and ports to ensure a competitive delivery time and a functional connection. Nurminen’s long history, expertise and recognition in Central Asian countries have helped us in this”, says Marjut Linnajärvi, Nurminen Logistics’ Director of International Rail Traffic and Sales.

Automotive logistics are becoming increasingly important on the Middle Corridor. For example, the rail hub in Xi’an, China, is seeing growing volumes of automotive shipments in the western direction. Chinese automotive companies like BYD, Chery, Geely, and Hongqi are some of the key shippers through the terminal.

Boosting Middle Corridor traffic

The Kazakh operator also shares that the Xi’an terminal has substantially contributed to boosting container traffic volumes from China via the Middle Corridor. It speaks of a 33-fold increase in 2024 compared to 2023. This number corresponds to approximately 360 container trains leaving China and transiting via the Middle Corridor in the past year.

For reference, in June 2024, four months after the terminal’s opening in Xi’an, KTZ had reported a ninefold increase in westbound container train traffic, and a 70 per cent increase in overall freight traffic via the Trans-Caspian route.

That is a long time for trains to be absent. The return of trains therefore also took some serious preparatory work: “For a year and a half, intensive cooperation took place with [Belgian infrastructure manager] Infrabel to make the existing railway in the port operational again. Investments are being made in signaling, rail transshipment, and the necessary infrastructure to enable the restart of freight traffic by rail.”

More than just ships

All of that work is supposed to help the port achieve its strategy plan for more sustainable and diversified transport, Lineas continues. Rail should turn into an important alternative to shortsea traffic. Trains will, in due time, offer connections to various destinations in Europe three times a week. When it comes to the car train of 15 May, it is part of “a larger intermodal story in which the port is further developing its Tilbury terminal”, specifies Lineas.

“This car train symbolizes more than just a new connection. It is tangible proof of our transformation into a Safe, Full, and Innovative port. Here, we are bringing road, water, and rail together in a smart way”, commented Ostend port CEO Dirk Declerck.

“With the new logistics model we established between Romania and Türkiye, we transport the necessary production parts to our Craiova Plant, which produces Ford Puma and Ford Courier models, some of which we now transport to Türkiye through this newly implemented logistics model”, Güven Özyurt, director at Ford Otosan, explains.

Competitiveness

“By leveraging the cost advantages of rail transport over road and sea, we are enhancing our competitiveness while also making a strong contribution to our sustainability goals with an environmentally friendly logistics approach. […] We procure parts from nearly 10 Turkish suppliers in Romania and collaborate with more than 60 suppliers in Türkiye for the vehicles produced at this facility.”

There will be four weekly round-trips from Istanbul Halkalı to Craiova, reducing emissions by 63 per cent compared to road transport, says Mars Logistics.

“By using the rail spur, we will be able to offer our customers long-distance rail transport to and from the Port of Dunkirk, for example, for the transport of finished vehicles to and from Eastern European countries,” the spokesperson added. The rail spur runs to the edge of the port’s quays and is located in proximity to the FVL hub.

With the opening of CEVA Logistics new FVL platform, the Port of Dunkirk “will enter a new era, that of electric mobility. Its arrival will enable us to offer a complete range of services to automakers,” according to the port’s chairman, Maurice Georges.

High demand in place

“We’ll be ramping up to reach a volume level the equivalent of 47,000 vehicles per year, probably in October. Then by March 2025, we’ll be at a volume the equivalent of 95,000 vehicles per year,” the spokesperson added.

CEVA has close relationships with major automakers who are keen to transit their flows through the Port of Dunkirk, the gateway to France’s (electric) ‘Battery Valley’ and the only European port to offer an ecosystem around electric mobility, the company underlined.

As for the hub itself, CEVA will double its capacity in the medium term with an additional 10.5 hectares of land. This will bring the total surface area of the platform to 20 hectares and increase parking spaces to 8,700.

Right place, right partners

CEVA describes itself as “Europe’s leading multimodal operator of finished vehicles” and operates a fleet of 3,000 trucks and 3,000 car-carrier wagons. Last year, the company transported a total of 5.5 million vehicles and plans to deploy four new 7,000-car capacity, LNG dual-fuel hybrid ships this year, chartered by its parent, CMA CGM, to ensure capacity requirements.

Dunkirk, which claims to be France’s leading multi-modal port, is looking to increase its rail freight traffic through a programme of investment in dedicated facilities. A road-rail terminal is scheduled to enter service in 2025, offering new destinations.

It should be noted that the rail freight sector in Germany has already been strained by the intense weather conditions prevailing in the country since last week. The snowy weather has already impacted operations considerably and has produced a backlog of delayed trains expected to intensify more in the coming weeks, including the strike’s effect.

Also read: Can Germany afford another round of rail strikes?

Industrial production at stake

What is different about this strike is DB’s willingness to keep the public updated on the impact it has on freight operations. This is something that the company was not used to doing in the past. However, as freight trains increasingly prove their societal significance, transparency becomes more important.

Speaking of societal significance, DB is currently primarily worried about the supply chains of Germany’s industrial sites. The company explained that this sector will experience the hardest blow from the strike, with the possibility of a production standstill on sight. Specifically, the steel, automobile and chemical industries are the most time-sensitive. The automobile and chemical plants have a buffer of 24 hours for the delivery of materials, which, if disrupted, can immediately shut down production. With the current strike lasting slightly more than 24 hours, these industries are in limbo.

The steel industry has a longer buffer, with production possibly shutting down after 2-3 days without material delivered. The delays that will occur will not necessarily stop the furnaces from burning; however, they could create significant delays.

Port traffic also problematic

It goes without saying that the impact on seaport traffic will also be considerable. Companies, including those from the industrial sector, are cut off from exporting or importing goods. Additionally, the cancellation of trains disrupts traffic to and from inland locations, resulting in a backlog of trains that can extend even to sea shipping if too critical. As mentioned before, the fact that there is already an operational backlog in place complicates things even more.

Additionally, DB mentioned parcel trains. As of late, the German operator has seen an increasing number of parcel trains running in the network in an attempt to decarbonise post office logistics. With an average train carrying around 100,000 parcels, companies will either need to shift to the road again, or customers will have to wait extensively for their deliveries.

Weeks of delays

Of course, one should not overlook the strike’s impact on an international level. With Germany being the crossroads of multiple transport corridors, cross-border traffic will be inevitably affected.

DB was not very optimistic about the situation in this case. The company commented that it expects delays and disruptions to persist at least for days, if not weeks, even after the strike ends. As a result, European cross-border and long-distance traffic will take a corresponding time to recover.

Shuttle trains and new freight cars

When it comes to voestalpine’s supply chain, it all starts from Linz in Austria. DB Cargo serves the site with several daily trains, which are synced to the production cycle and rhythm. The partners deploy a shuttle train model, with the most notable services being the Schwaben shuttle and the Bayern shuttle, both serving southern Germany. From there, the trains can also transport products to other German locations but also in France.

According to DB, the transport model can accommodate half a million metric tons of steel and scrap annually. However, to meet voestalpine’s needs and expand to a million tons per year, the company aims to launch more shuttle trains. On top of that, it will start using a new freight car–TransANT, which is lighter but can transport 15 per cent higher cargo volume. The TransAnt wagons are being developed jointly by the Austrian Rail Cargo Group and voestalpine. In fact, the companies have established a joint venture for this purpose.

Also read:

• New Bayern-Shuttle shows the way to sustainable transportation

• RCG and LogServ extend wagon collaboration

• First modular lightweight wagon on the market