Benelux | RailFreight.com

Maersk implements Intermodal Fuel Fees in 9 European countries

Marco Raimondi — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 09:02:44 +0000

Benelux, Poland, Italy, Slovenia, and DACH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland). These are the countries where Danish shipping giant Maersk is increasing fuel fees for intermodal container services in lieu of recent rise in energy prices due to the situation in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Intermodal Fuel Fee, as Maersk calls it, will impact Rail Combined Operations (RCO), trucking and, where applicable, barge and Barge Combined Operations (BCO). “Given the volatility of the current energy market”, the surcharge will be reviewed periodically to adjust them to the situation, the company highlighted. Moreover, not all fees are the same, but trucking and barge services all have a higher increase compared to rail.

How are they increasing?

In the three Benelux countries and the DACH countries, the fuel fee for trucks will rise by 7%, just like the one for barge and BCO, while the one for RCO by 4%. In both areas these increases will be valid between 30 March and 13 April. In Poland, for trucking services the rises will be +12% while for RCO 6% during the same period.

For Italy, 8% and 3% but they will be effective from 1 April and will be reviewed two weeks later. In Slovenia, Maersk will implement a 4% Intermodal Fuel Fee but only for trucks which will be applied for the whole month of April and will then be reviewed on a monthly basis.

‘Unprecedented cost environment’

The war on Iran and the consequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz has choked the passageway of 20% of the world’s fuel supply, causing prices to skyrocket. The situation is dire, and an end does seem to be in sight. Maersk defined it as an “unprecedented cost environment” that “continues to place significant pressure on logistics and intermodal transportation markets”.

Amazon grows intermodal transport by 50% in Europe, but struggles to commit

Dennis van der Laan — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 10:32:58 +0000

American e-commerce giant Amazon has increased its intermodal transport in Europe by 50 per cent, with a large role for rail. This growth percentage is based on data from 2023.
Spanish publication El Mercantil writes that 25 per cent of all goods travel via intermodal transport from Amazon’s hub in Zaragoza. The company uses that hub to supply other hubs in Europe. Whichever goods do not travel by rail end up on trucks headed to Spanish ports. It transported 35,000 containers via rail from its Zaragoza hub. According to Amazon, the company had increased its Europe-wide intermodal transport by 50 per cent at the end of 2023.

Many of Amazon’s goods in its Zaragoza hub travel northward to the Benelux and Germany. On that route, Amazon makes extensive use of VIIA’s route between Bettembourg in Luxembourg and Le Boulou in France. VIIA’s offers three round-trips on the route, which crosses over a thousand kilometres. Amazon ships about 50 truckloads on the route weekly.

Struggle to commit

However, Amazon also struggles to commit fully to rail. There are strong fluctuations in demand for particular destinations. These fluctuations can reach up to 20 per cent. For that reason, it is difficult for Amazon to commit a particular volume to rail.

In light of decarbonisation efforts and truck driver shortages, the person in charge of Amazon’s logistics platform in Zaragoza expressed confidence that the train “will gain weight” in the short or medium term at a global level, and has opened the door to using multi-client trains for container transportation from its facility if “the relevant synergies are developed” with other interested shippers.

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Kombiverkehr launches regular service between Rotterdam and Cologne-Eifeltor

Dennis van der Laan — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 10:00:30 +0000

German rail freight operator Kombiverkehr is launching a new service between Rotterdam and Cologne-Eifeltor. The service will run three times a week and is available for nearly all types of goods, except dangerous goods of class 7.
The new route will launch on 12 March and allows for intermodal transport with P400 loading units. It will run on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays in both directions. Trains will depart from the Rail Service Center in Rotterdam Waalhaven and take twelve hours to reach their destination at Cologne-Eifeltor. According to the company, all types of goods can be carried on the route, with the exception of class 7 dangerous goods.

Interconnectivity

Kombiverkehr stresses the interconnectivity of the route to other destinations. “This new train product shows how we are capitalising on our network advantage. Köln-Eifeltor is one of our biggest hub terminals in Germany, with many options for onward transport both nationally and internationally,” says the company’s Benelux Sales Manager.

The Cologne-Eifeltor hub is one of Kombiverkehr’s biggest, and offers options for further transport to other destinations in Germany and internationally. In Germany, freight can continue its journey to Munich, Ulm, Kornwestheim and Basel in Switzerland. Beyond Germany, the rail operator offers connections to Slovenia, Italy, Spain, Turkey and Greece. In Rotterdam, the company offers optional transfers to nearby parts of the port.

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China-Europe: new energy vehicles fever sees multiple services launched

Nikos Papatolios — Tue, 25 Oct 2022 04:15:24 +0000

Xi’an, Zhengzhou and Chengdu all launched new China-Europe rail services in October. Their common denominator? New energy vehicles (NEVs) occupy the train capacity and provide a glimpse of Silk Road cargo trends. The new cargo type is quickly taking over the supply chain since the Chinese Ministry of Commerce allowed its transport by rail in early September.
On these trains, one can see multiple automotive brands, some known in Europe like Smart, Volkswagen, Honda, Ford, Polestar and NIO, and some new names in European ears like Hongqi, Xpeng and Lantu. What all those cars have in common is that it is the first time they are transported by rail on their way from China to Europe.

Xi’an to Duisburg

One of the very first new energy vehicle rail services was set up by the Xi’an International Land Port Group Multimodal Transport Company to transport Smart #1 cars to Duisburg in Germany. The train arrived in Germany on 15 October, and the vehicles were available to the customers nine days later after customs clearance processes were completed. The new energy vehicles train transited via Alashankou in Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, and Poland before reaching Duisburg in 16 days.

Smart #1 car. Image: © smart Europe GmbH.

Chengdu to Hamburg

On 20 October, it was Chengdu’s turn to dispatch a train carrying new energy vehicles for the company NIO. The train will take around 15 days to reach its final destination in Hamburg and will transit through Khorgos. This is the first export of domestically produced NEVs to the European market by rail since NIO cars were transported by sea in the past.

NIO model. Image: Wikimedia Commons. © Jengtingchen.

The car brand that recently entered the Dutch market is targeting to expand its services in the broader Benelux and Scandinavian region and uses Germany as its entry point to Europe. The Chengdu International Railway Express, responsible for setting up the train, says it will launch regular services to Europe according to export demand. For October, there will be two weekly trains running carrying cars for Volkswagen, Honda, Ford and Polestar, apart from NIO.

Zhengzhou to Minsk

The third China-Europe train that will carry NEVs does not deal with well-established brands in Europe. The car companies Hongqi, Xpeng and Lantu that onboarded it are currently attempting to make an opening to the European market. For this reason, they use the westbound train connecting Zhengzhou with Minsk in Belarus, transiting via Alashankou. The Zhengzhou International Land Port Company, responsible for the service, did not clarify whether Minsk is the train’s end destination.

Hongqi car. Image: © Hongqi Auto.

Yet, it said that to set up this special NEV train, it cooperated with the Shanghai Huanshijie Logistics Co. to ensure proper container packing, transport organisation and scheduling. Understandably, the world of NEVs is new to rail and needs some logistical expertise from companies who already do it.

European Silk Road Summit 2022

All transport companies involved in the new services agreed on one thing: that new energy vehicles are here to stay on the Eurasian railway supply chain. Apart from that, though, NEVs will be highlighted in the 2022 edition of the European Silk Road Summit taking place in Duisburg on 7 & 8 December.

The time for the annual flagship event is approaching. The 2022 edition will take place in the ‘Mecca’ of the European Silk Road, where it all started and where a new era for new energy vehicles seems to begin.

On 7 & 8 December, rail professionals from the Eurasian corridor will gather for a monumental two-day event full of trending topics and networking. Do you wnat to secure your ticket? Then don’t miss time and buy your tickets here after checking the programme.

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Rail Cargo Group brings Benelux and Turkey closer with shorter transit times

Nikos Papatolios — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 09:25:15 +0000

Rail Cargo Group’s latest addition to its TransFER network is a connection between Genk in Belgium and Curtici in Romania. The new link offers a direct and regular link between one of Europe’s most significant economic centres and Europe’s fastest-growing transport hub for 2022. However, and most importantly, it provides direct access to Turkey by combining with the existing Curtici-Istanbul rail freight connection.
RCG’s new Genk-Curtici service will have an intermodal profile “for containers (20 to 45 feet), swap bodies and cranable semi-trailers including dangerous goods.” It will run three times per week, and its route will go through various European hubs. For instance, apart from the Benelux, the Genk-Curtici link will pass through the Ruhr area in Germany and other locations like Linz, Vienna and Budapest.

Shorter transit the key

The Curtici-Istanbul service has been in place since June 2021. It started as a project to connect Central Europe directly with Turkey, attempting to seize the transport momentum of the South-Eastern European country and use Budapest and Brno as the hubs to distribute cargo to European destinations.

Cargo from the Benelux used to find its way to Romania and Turkey by combining shorter and regional services with trains from Central Europe to Curtici and then Istanbul. Now, with the new dedicated solution, the Benelux market will have a direct gateway to Turkey with an effect on transit times that will reduce by a day, according to RCG.

Curtici and Romania

Turkey’s importance as a market and a Silk Road gateway for RCG has been analysed before. It is Curtici and Romania grasping the attention in this case. The Austria-based company explained how “Curtici is increasingly becoming a freight transport hub for local volumes from Romania and Turkey towards the Benelux and Ruhr regions.”

The Romanian town, right next to the border with Hungary, uses the Trade Trans Terminal to connect with other important European hubs. Apart from Brno, Budapest and Istanbul, the town also connects with Cologne, Duisburg and Herne in Germany. The service to and from Cologne is offered by TX Logistics, while LKW Walter is responsible for Duisburg and Herne.

But Romania as a whole has undoubtedly developed and transformed transport-wise from March 2022 onwards. The war in Ukraine and the race for alternative Eurasian routes put the Balkan country on the transport maps with a new reinforced and crucial position. Romania expects many rail-related investments, with companies like DP World building new terminals and rail infrastructure improved substantially.

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