Tickets for the upcoming event will be available soon on the European Cargo Experience website. Other than the main programme planned for 7 May, there will be a site visit and a delicious networking dinner on 6 May. There will also be plenty of networking opportunities during the second day, as after the plenary there will be ample time to mingle with lunch and more activities planned.

The RF Magazine

The brand new European Cargo Experience will also be the perfect chance to get your hands on the upcoming second edition of the RF Magazine. After the first one focussed on Eurasian connectivity, this one will highlight the role of terminals and policies in Europe in the development of rail freight and intermodal services. If you are interested in establishing a partnership for the event or the magazine, you can contact our sales team!

Baltic Hub notes that rail transshipment is growing in importance. The terminal handled 9,362 trains over the course of 2025, which is 1,100 more than in 2024. In 2026, it plans to further develop the rail system, which should “increase the terminal’s capacity and improve service to business partners.”

More connections around the world

The growing capacity and increasing number of worldwide maritime connections are helping to solidify Baltic Hub as a major freight entry point into Europe. In 2025, it added connections to the Far East, Western Europe and the United States.

“The new route network is a significant step towards increasing flexibility and transport planning capabilities for all of Central and Eastern Europe”, the terminal writes. “Regular calls at Gdańsk stabilise supply chains and enhance operational predictability, while confirming the Baltic Hub’s position as the most important logistics hub in the Baltic region.”

In the Port of Hamburg, operations were suspended as of the early morning on 9 January. METRANS says that the situation is similar in Gdańsk, Rotterdam and Wilhelmshaven. “The current outlook is very negative, and it is expected that there will be no improvement before the first half of next week. Individual infrastructure providers are constantly bringing more bad news.”

Deutsche Bahn states that weather-related cancellations and delays are taking place across northern Germany. Some lines may unfortunately have to be suspended entirely, according to the rail holding. In parts of Poland, the situation seems to be similar, with trains occasionally running into problems and causing delays.

Hindrances continue in the Netherlands despite thawing

Dutch infrastructure manager ProRail says that a malfunction at the important Kijfhoek rail yard, near Rotterdam, is continuing to disrupt rail freight services. Despite the thawing in the Rotterdam area, companies still cannot operate on a normal schedule.

“We’re experiencing significant disruption due to the rail restrictions”, DB Cargo Netherlands spokesperson Jelle Rebbers told ProRail. “Many switches we need to reach customers are stuck. This means customers can’t be reached for extended periods. Factories can literally grind to a halt. The weather is thawing now, and more and more is becoming available.”

Rebbers says that DB Cargo is “significantly behind and will need to do a lot more work in the coming period to catch up. Moreover, a lot of snow is forecast for the coming days, so we’re not there yet.”

Laude Intermodal has shown significant interest in improving the rail connectivity between Ukraine and the rest of the European Union, especially Poland. Moreover, the company’s terminal in Zamość recently got a new link to Oss, in the Netherlands, which should also benefit the Ukrainian market.

If this report makes your logistics heart beat faster, and you want to continue the discussion in person, do not miss the opportunity to visit RailFreight Summit 2025 in Gdansk, Poland, on 8-9 April 2025 and benefit from exclusive conference insights, networking opportunities and a dedicated site visit in Gdansk’s Baltic Hub.

With the new cranes, Baltic Hub will be able to reach across vessels up to a length of 74 metres, which is 26 containers wide. The cranes can raise containers of 65 tonnes up to a height of 55 metres.

Apart from the STS cranes, Baltic Hub’s T3 terminal will also get 20 remotely operated and automated rail-mounted gantry cranes. They should help optimise container handling and improve operational safety, the hub explains.

TEU capacity getting closer to European top ports

“Together, these new STS cranes and our new semi-automated terminal setup will enable Baltic Hub to significantly enhance operational efficiency, safety and sustainability”, Baltic Hub CEO Jan van Mossevelde commented. “The completion of the T3 terminal will not only support the growing demands of international trade but will also strengthen Poland’s role in the global logistics network.”

When completed, the capacity of Baltic Hub to handle containers will grow to 4,5 million TEU yearly. That is an increase of 1,5 million TEU compared to the pre-expansion capacity. As a result, Baltic Hub is getting closer to major European ports in terms of TEU handling capacity.

Betting on rail

All of that creates possibilities for rail freight. After all, Baltic Hub makes no secret of its ambition to expand rail traffic. “Investment in rail infrastructure is a strategic element in the development of the Baltic Hub”, former CEO Charles Baker said in July 2024.

At the time, the hub launched a rail-mounted gantry crane to boost its rail capacity. “The fourth RMG crane is a response to the growing demand for intermodal transport. We focus on efficient, safe and environmentally-friendly solutions, offering our customers a competitive service. Given the launch of our third terminal [T3] in early 2025 to meet the projected significant increase in rail volumes, we need to be prepared to handle this growth”, Baker said.

The Baltic Hub terminal handled more than 600 trains per month as of July 2024, with trains going to destinations not only in Poland, but also to and from Central and Eastern Europe, through a network of connections between Poland to the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Ukraine. It expects to reach one million TEU on rail by 2027.

Rail Freight Summit 2025

Has this story about the Baltic Hub in Gdańsk made your logistics heart beat faster? Good news! We will be visiting the Baltic Hub as part of the Rail Freight Summit 2025 programme. The event will take place on 8 & 9 April in, you guessed it, Gdańsk. You can still sign up, so head over to our website to find out more.

The programme of RailFreight Summit 2025

For the second day, Wednesday, 9 April 2025, the programme entails various sessions with high-level speakers. There will be panels with port authorities from all over Europe, with companies involved in terminal operations, focusing on the latest and future technologies and data management, exploring many aspects of the synergies between ports and railways.

Moreover, there will be room to discuss some of the most important developments for rail freight in terms of policies and European-wide initiatives. These include the Greening Freight Package, the Digital Automatic Coupling and the state of private companies in a market hegemonised by state-owned companies.

In between all these sessions, there will be plenty of time for the attendees to mingle, including a ‘Boom your network’ intensive session to search for new connections.

Discount expires soon

The bravest attendees will also have the chance to go for a ‘fun run’ on Wednesday morning to set the tone for the event. The jogging session will start at 7 am. At the end of the day, when all the sessions are over, the party can kick off. It will begin with networking drinks at the Scandic Gdańsk Hotel and continue with an exclusive dinner.

It is possible to find more details about the programme here and register for the RailFreight Summit 2025 here. Currently, the Early Bird tickets are out for a bargain, but they are only available until Friday, 28 February. Get your tickets and join hundreds of industry leaders in Gdańsk for another great RailFreight Summit.

The railway in question facilitates freight transportation to the Gdańsk port, bypassing the city centre. It is not the first upgrade of the line in recent years – its capacity got a boost earlier and the maximum speed was increased to 100 kilometres per hour.

Over a billion Polish złoty

“At the time, the tracks and the traction network were replaced, and engineering structures were rebuilt or built. The single-track railway bridge over the Martwa Wisła was replaced by a new, double-track structure”, PKP PLK explains. Moreover, Poland improved the port’s infrastructure to allow for 750-metre trains with a 22,5-tonne axle load.

Earlier investments in port infrastructure amounted to 1,1 billion Polish złoty, equivalent to approximately 260 million euros. Around 40 per cent of the money came from the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility.

“It is about the construction of a fourth track on this route, which would belong to line 260. Currently, there is one track of the aforementioned line, as well as two tracks of line 9, which should be completely separated from freight traffic”, a Polish government official told Polish media. “The new track would [allow] exit from the Port of Gdańsk. This is an 8,5 km long track.”

Busiest track in Poland

“Currently, track 2 of line 9 is the busiest track on the entire rail network in Poland. This track carries 50 million tonnes of train weight per year. On 8,5 kilometers of track we currently have a concentration of regional traffic, IC, TLK and Pendolino trains, and we have freight traffic from the port”, the government official explained.

The construction is planned to take place in 2029 and 2030, but it could prove to be challenging. According to Polish media, not all viaducts have enough space for another track, so they would need to be expanded as well.

Poland could allow investments via a simplified procedure, which it has used in the past for other infrastructure projects. Earlier, the governments of Poland and Ukraine came to a preliminary agreement on the issue.

Different gauges

The envisioned broad gauge line is supposed to connect Ukraine with the Polish port of Gdańsk and the Klaipėda port in Lithuania. Poland uses standard European gauge, whereas neighbouring Ukraine and Lithuania are on the broad gauge.

While Poland and Ukraine are also building a standard gauge connection, the bulk of European grain wagons are Ukrainian and work on broad gauge infrastructure. Replacing all those wagons would be a costly affair. For that reason, a new rail line could be a more financially viable option.

Moreover, cargo between Poland and Ukraine needs to be transferred from one gauge to another at the border. This takes time and reduces competitiveness. Consequently, Ukrainian farmers appealed to Poland for the broad gauge line in October 2022.

Profitable investment

If the countries build the broad gauge line, Ukrainian companies can guarantee an “appropriate scale” of grain transportation for the next decade. “Poland will be able to build plants for processing Ukrainian grain on its coast and export finished products, which will help it earn more,” the Ukrainian minister said.

According to the Ukrainian minister, there are Ukrainian investors ready to finance the project. However, the minister did not specify who these investors are.

RailFreight Summit 2024

Are you interested in learning more about rail freight and infrastructure updates between Ukraine and Poland? Then the RailFreight Summit 2024, taking place between 15 and 17 April in Warsaw, Poland, is the perfect occasion to connect with industry professionals and dive deeper into the topic.

This year’s edition of the RailFreight Summit turns the spotlight on trending issues like the TEN-T expansion, connections with Ukraine, significant projects like Rail Baltica and their potential for the creation of more efficient logistics corridors, Poland’s role as a logistics node and a performance assessment of intra-European and Eurasian services.

You can check the event’s programme here and secure your participation ticket here. Additionally, do not miss the chance to explore the networking and site tour possibilities that could provide excellent opportunities for boosting your business in Poland and the CEE region.

Also read:

• Ukrainian iron ore exports through Polish border crossing up by 43%
• EU Commission approves 180 million euros for Polish intermodal transport
• Polish operator bills farmers blocking its tracks: 1,3 million PLN for a day