Different wagons and different couplers

The wagon types which will undergo testing are Eanos, Sgnss, Shimmns (4668 & 4676), Habbiins, Talns and Faccns, as well as two Siemens Vectron locomotives. Each wagon will be equipped with a CCU (Consist Control Unit), while the two locomotives with an LCU (Lead Control Unit). These are key components of the DAC, as they provide power supply throughout the train, enabling functions such as the automated brake test or the automated uncoupling.

These tests will also be an opportunity to assess interoperability between couplers from different manufacturers. More specifically, the couplers will come from Voith, Knorr Bremse, Wabtec and Dellner. The wagons will be equipped with 44 couplers. “Additionally, the two Vectron locomotives have four hybrid couplings, enabling them to haul wagons equipped either with DAC or conventional screw couplings”, RCG said.

Waiting for large-scale tests

These DAC Demo tests are part of Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking Flagship Project 5 (FP5 – TRANS4M-R). They can be considered as the first step towards the large-scale Pio-DAC tests which will start in 2027. “The PioDAC Trains are the next evolution phase and shall start afterwards with a higher maturity of DAC technology and operate additionally under commercial conditions”, the RCG spokesperson pointed out.

The two new links run on fixed timetables. RCG also offers first and last mile services, forwarding services such as transshipment, warehousing and professional customs clearance. “Freight customers can easily and flexibly book conventional freight wagons or intermodal units such as containers or swap bodies onto the train connections”, the company writes.

Various industries benefit

“The further development of our TransFER connections shows how consistently we align our services with the needs of our customers”, says ÖBB Rail Cargo Group CCO Christoph Grasl. “With new direct and reliable connections, we are improving access to key logistics hubs and creating attractive conditions for the switch to rail.”

RCG explains that these services are particularly beneficial for the chemical, steel, and paper industries. “These sectors gain the most from the enhanced transportation options and simultaneously drive the demand for our services”, the operator says, while pointing out that rail services offer higher transport capacity and reliability than the road, especially for long distances.

The Duisburg-Rotterdam service offers a direct link, initially with three round trips per week, between the Rheinkamp logistics hub near Duisburg and the major terminals of the Port of Rotterdam (Waalhaven, Europoort, Botlek, Pernis, and Maasvlakte). By connecting to Duisburg, one of Europe’s most significant inland ports, the service allows for efficient onward rail transport to destinations in Europe, says RCG.

The Salzburg-Offenbach link runs twice weekly, connecting the Austrian railway hub to an important logistics and industrial center in the Rhine-Main area near Frankfurt am Main.

Romanian connection

RCG is also changing its Romania service offering. The previous connection between Genk (Belgium) and Curtici, on the border with Hungary, will now be a Liège–Curtici link and operate with seven weekly round trips. Liege offers strong connections to the North Sea ports of Rotterdam, Antwerp and Zeebrugge and serves as a powerful hub between seaports, industrial centres and inland markets, RCG explains.

At the same time, RCG is introducing a new Duisburg–Curtici connection with three weekly round trips. “This means that traffic to Curtici will now be consolidated via both Liège and Duisburg”, the operator says.

Austria to Trieste

On 17 December, Medway conducted its first operation in Austria, introducing a tri-weekly service that connects the cities of Linz of Wels to the Trieste port in Italy. This service “will be particularly beneficial to customers in the forestry, paper, pulp, automotive and retail sectors, which depend heavily on North-South cargo flows”, explains the rail operator. It is designed to integrate with Medlog’s existing intermodal network, which should help to ensure connectivity with other European hubs.

Medway was already active in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. It is the largest private operator on the Iberian peninsula, where it stands to take over part of the business of Renfe Mercancías through a joint venture.

“While 2025 has been an exceptionally tough year, we have put in place a holistic turnaround programme with an impact well in excess of 100 million euros to lay the ground for a solid 2026 and a return to profitable growth in a very demanding market.”

Storms weathered

Först characterises his time as CEO as immensely rewarding, intense and often challenging. “Together as TeamRCG we’ve navigated COVID, supply chain shocks and the current industrial downturn, and at the same time strengthened RCG’s position as a leading European rail logistics player.”

The CEO will stay on until April 2026, then take a “short break” and open a new professional chapter.

Reportedly, the Vienna city department had explained that it did not focus on rail freight as a public service, so it looked for a new owner. The difficult situation on the rail freight market was another reason for the sale – WLC has made losses for the last couple of years.

Interoperable rail freight

Vienna started looking for another owner in May 2025 in an open bidding process. CER Cargo Group won the competition. “With WLC, we have brought the ideal addition to our international business into the group”, adds László Horváth, majority owner and Chairman of the Board of the CER Cargo Group.

“This expansion allows us to offer interoperable rail freight transport across Europe. We look forward to working with WLC’s highly qualified employees and to the expertise the company has built up in recent years, particularly in the Austrian and German markets.”

WLC operates 32 electric multi-system locomotives and three shunting locomotives, as well as 245 container wagons. CER Cargo Group has subsidiaries in several southern, eastern and central European countries and sees WLC as “an ideal complement for expanding its interoperable activities in Austria and Germany.”

The new line provides the Adriatic ports of Trieste, Venice and Koper better access to the Austrian network and market, providing 30% additional capacity compared to the old line.. It is also a key section of the TEN-T Baltic-Adriatic corridor, connecting these ports to the Baltic Sea in northern Europe. The first freight trains will carry products by Omya, a chemical company specialised in industrial minerals.

The new Koralmbahn

The newly opened Koralmbahn measures about 130 kilometres. Almost half of it, roughly 50 kilometres, will be underground, including the 33-kilometre Koralm Tunnel, the longest rail tunnel in the country (until the Brenner Base Tunnel will be ready). Construction of this new line started in 2001, highlighting the complexity of the project, especially when it came to the tunnels.

The construction work also introduces adaptations and additions to road connections, overhead line systems, brake test systems and the necessary control rooms.

TEN-T Corridors

The Vienna South Terminal currently has an annual capacity of 380,000 TEU. It functions as a key hub not only for Austria, but also the wider region. “Intermodal transport units from all over the world are transferred between road and rail here”, ÖBB says. The terminal links up to a major Austrian highway and railway, as well as to three TEN-T corridors.

“These corridors link Europe’s key economic hubs and provide RCG with ideal conditions to fulfil its role as the logistical backbone of the European economy”, ÖBB’s freight subsidiary RCG writes on LinkedIn.

‘Unrealistic’ for over three quarters of respondents

Out of the 259 respondents, 55% consider it unrealistic, with an additional 22% claiming it is very unrealistic. Only 19% of them believe that reaching these objectives is a realistic option, while a mere 2% claimed it is very realistic. Almost all respondents (93%) agreed that more measures should be taken to boost rail freight, highlighting a general feeling of helplessness across the sector.

The few who said that no additional measure is needed, still pointed out that the current ones need to be implemented more consistently. Others added that, rather than measures promoting rail, the focus should be on improving competition with road freight. In other words, a few respondents think that transport by truck should be made less attractive. Moreover, the decarbonisation of road freight, for example with electric trucks, might continue to keep rail freight as the more unattractive option.

Why is it declining?

But what is causing this imbalance between road and rail freight? According to the survey, the lack of cost transparency in the road sector is the main reason, as 85% of respondents said. This segment, they argued, benefits from tax breaks for diesel and low tolls. Additionally, it is much easier to re-route a truck than it is a train in case of disruptions. Lack of flexibility, long transit times and insufficient infrastructure capacity were also mentioned as important factors for the struggles of rail freight.

Greening Freight Package

One of the main EU tools to boost rail freight could be the Greening Freight Package, a group of measures including the Combined Transport Directive, the Capacity Management Regulation and the Weight and Dimension Directive. The VCO survey presented a very fragmented outlook on the Package and its components.

Concerning the Combined Transport Directive, 71 experts cited opportunities, while 48 underlined its risks. For the Capacity Management Regulation, 69 focussed on the positives and 57 on the negatives. Regarding the Weights and Dimensions Directive, arguably the most controversial piece of the Greening Freight Package, more people stressed the risks (55) than the positives (49).

Papierholz to integrate RCG’s MIKE platform

Papierholz Austria is moving to fully integrate its systems with RCG’s digital platform, MIKE. This shift will enable seamless ordering of empty wagons, transportation assignments, and real‑time shipment tracking—eliminating manual processes like Excel sheets, emails, phone calls, and multiple system logins.

MIKE offers an end‑to‑end digital interface: transparent, automated, and agile enough to respond to last‑minute changes in volume or schedule. This provides a modern, interconnected rail‑based timber supply chain—smart, sustainable, and ready for future challenges.

Drawing on its long‑standing cooperation, Papierholz Austria and RCG are honing their rail capabilities—from forest sourcing through to mill delivery. The initiative is not only reducing emissions and raising operational efficiency, but also preparing the supply chain to withstand future climate unpredictability. With MIKE’s system integration on the horizon, this timber rail model stands as an exemplar of green logistics across the entire value chain.

The project saw the involvement of about 500 workers, Austrian railway holding ÖBB said. In total, roughly 17,600 tonnes of brick lining were removed, over 85 kilometres of cables were dismantles and a 4.2-kilometres slab-track was installed. The infrastructure will undergo a second phase of works, but they will not concern rail freight. Between now and 2027, three passenger stations (Bad Gastein, Bad Hofgastein and Dorfgastein) will be modernised.

Four hours extra in transit time

Closing the tunnel for eight months meant that freight trains had to be re-routed via Selzthal or the Brenner line, making the journey remarkably longer. Freight convoys took on average four more hours to reach their destination throughout these eight months of closure of the Tauern Tunnel, according to Italian media Adriaports. The strongest impact of the closure was felt by the so-called ‘highways of the sea’, a multimodal route connecting Türkiye to central Europe via the ports in the Adriatic (mostly Trieste).