Combined Transport in Decline: UIRR Warns EU of Disruptions, Rising Costs and Weak Demand

The International Union for Road-Rail Combined Transport (UIRR) has issued a warning about a further decline in combined transport across the European Union. According to the association, the downturn is driven by infrastructure disruptions, rising operating costs and persistent economic weakness. The future of the sector, UIRR stresses, will depend on the extent to which the EU is willing to support rail.

UIRR presented its assessment of the past summer season in Brussels. Although combined transport remains one of the few remaining growth pillars for European rail freight, and many companies, including PKP Cargo and DB Cargo, are basing significant parts of their restructuring plans on its recovery, the latest results are troubling. UIRR attributes the negative trend primarily to network outages caused by extensive construction works on railway infrastructure.

Combined with the EU’s sluggish economic performance, these disruptions ultimately pushed combined transport volumes down by 1.35% year-on-year. This maintains the uncertainty reflected in UIRR’s CT Mood Index, which the association publishes on behalf of its members. For the coming months, the index is expected to remain unchanged at "neutral".

European Combined Transport Needs Support and Capacity

Demand for a well-functioning combined transport system is being driven, UIRR says, by a growing number of shippers who will soon be required to account for and report their transport-related carbon footprint. At the same time, rail stands to benefit from a Europe-wide shortage of road freight drivers.