Intermodal Freight Surges in 2024, But UIRR Warns of Growing Risks

Combined Transport is growing again—but the cracks in Europe’s rail system are hard to ignore. The latest UIRR report shows solid gains in 2024, even as disruptions, delays, and rising costs put the sector under pressure.

Market Recovery Amid Operational Strain

Europe’s Combined Transport sector has demonstrated resilience in 2024, reversing a two-year downturn and registering a 5.2% increase in the number of consignments, alongside an 8.4% rise in tonne-kilometres. The latest UIRR Report 2024–25 reveals that while the industry continues to face numerous operational challenges, particularly related to infrastructure disruptions, it has nonetheless managed to capitalise on domestic market growth and digital innovation. The growth in tonne-kilometres outpaced that of consignments, reflecting a rise in the average weight of transported cargo. France and Poland led the domestic growth surge, signalling a shift toward more sustainable and efficient national freight strategies, while the average transport distance remained stable at 910km.

Yet, the optimism conveyed by the performance figures is tempered by widespread concerns about the deteriorating reliability of Europe’s rail infrastructure. The report warns that key freight corridors were frequently disrupted, with entire line closures in Germany and along the Fréjus and Gotthard Base Tunnel routes causing significant delays and financial losses. One of the most alarming examples was the cancellation of one in five Ralpin trains in Germany during the first quarter of 2025. According to UIRR, the company’s eventual withdrawal from operations was directly linked to ongoing infrastructure unreliability, which made long-term planning unviable. In the case of the Fréjus line connecting France and Italy, the 19-month closure led to losses amounting to EUR 70 million, nearly five times the cost of reconstruction works, and no compensation has yet been provided to private operators affected by the disruption.

Policy Reform and Digital Transformation

The UIRR report dedicates significant attention to the European Union’s evolving regulatory landscape, as 2024 marked the implementation or revision of several key legislative instruments. Among the most consequential is the newly adopted TEN-T Guidelines Regulation (2024/1679), which introduces performance indicators for cross-border freight services. These include a 25-minute maximum border crossing time for 90% of trains and a punctuality target of 75%—ambitious goals that the intermodal community has welcomed but cautioned will require serious enforcement.

Also of strategic importance is the new Rail Infrastructure Capacity Management Regulation, which aims to ensure that track access is allocated based on socio-economic and environmental value, rather than solely on historical rights or market power. The reform addresses long-standing grievances over the preferential treatment of passenger services, which now outnumber freight trains on the network by a ratio of 8 to 1.

Despite these regulatory advancements, rail freight operators remain at a disadvantage, particularly during periods of disruption. The report points out that, unlike public passenger services that are compensated under Public Service Obligation (PSO) contracts, freight operators are left to absorb the full financial impact of rerouting, delays, and reduced asset utilisation.

In 2024, these issues were exacerbated by the launch of Germany’s Generalsanierung programme, which will see 40 main lines undergo complete overhauls by 2030. The initiative, while crucial for modernising the network, triggered massive service interruptions and imposed long and inefficient detours on freight operators, adding substantial cost and undermining competitiveness. According to the report, "much more attention is needed to the train path needs of rail freight, and compensation should be paid by the infrastructure manager for excessive additional operating costs."

Amid this complex operational landscape, digitalisation has emerged as a critical enabler of resilience and adaptability for the Combined Transport sector. UIRR has played a central role in several major digital infrastructure projects, including EDICT, ReMuNet, and CESAR-NEXT, each aiming to improve data standardisation, tracking capabilities, and terminal integration.

The report points out the Rotterdam Clause—a commitment made by EU transport ministers in 2016 to enable seamless data sharing—as the foundation for ongoing upgrades to the TAF TSI (Telematics Applications for Freight). UIRR has also advocated for the full and harmonised implementation of the Electronic Freight Transport Information (eFTI) Regulation, although it noted that progress remains slow due to the absence of a clear business case for intermodal stakeholders. Nevertheless, the upgraded Rail Facilities Portal, now part of the Railway Infrastructure System (RIS), is already offering streamlined access to data on over 20,000 service points across Europe.

Terminal Capacity, Safety Regulations, and Funding Gaps

The report also addresses the challenges facing intermodal terminal infrastructure, which, despite processing 6.88 million consignments in 2024 (a 4.66% increase), struggled with turnaround efficiency due to deteriorating punctuality and insufficient storage capacity. There are now 168 terminals under UIRR members’ operation, yet many lack the parking and sidetrack infrastructure needed to absorb delays caused by infrastructure works.

New responsibilities placed on Member States under the TEN-T Regulation include the obligation to evaluate and upgrade terminal capacity by 2027, followed by national action plans by 2028. However, UIRR warns that access to EU support has been insufficient, particularly through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), where less than 10% of applications were successful due to high costs and bureaucratic hurdles. As many terminals are run by small and medium-sized enterprises, there is a pressing need for more efficient and accessible funding mechanisms under the next Multiannual Financial Framework (2028–34).

Another pressing concern detailed in the report is the revision of the TSI Wagon specifications, driven by safety investigations following the 2019 trailer accident in Denmark. Proposed requirements include stricter design and operational rules for pocket wagons used to transport semi-trailers. While the European Commission is pursuing a more risk-averse regulatory model, UIRR argues that the measures lack proper impact assessment and may unnecessarily increase transport costs, threatening climate objectives by discouraging a shift to rail. The association called for localized, evidence-based solutions rather than Europe-wide mandates triggered by isolated incidents. It also reiterated that the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 would be undermined if Combined Transport becomes less competitive due to regulatory overreach.

The Combined Transport for Europe (CT4EU) campaign was relaunched in November 2024 with the aim of promoting CT as a strategic tool for achieving a broad range of EU policy objectives. These include REPowerEU goals on energy efficiency, road safety targets, air quality improvement under the Zero Pollution Action Plan, and labour market efficiency. A 2025 study commissioned by UIRR revealed that shifting one trillion tonne-kilometres of freight from road to Combined Transport could yield annual net benefits of over EUR 222 billion for the European economy. The campaign is supported by 17 partner organisations and focuses on raising awareness among national governments, EU policymakers, and economic actors.

Strategic Campaigns, Membership Growth, and Future Outlook

The UIRR community continued to grow in 2024, welcoming four new members, four technology partners, and six new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) peers, bringing the total number of participating entities to 113. Among the most promising development projects mentioned in the report are ReMuNet, which aims to optimise network use during disruptions, and TRANS4M-R, a flagship initiative under the EU-Rail programme that explores the rollout of Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC) technologies and seamless freight operations. The ESEP4freight project, meanwhile, is working on standardising intermodal contracts and service transparency through an integrated web platform scheduled for release in late 2025.

Ultimately, the 2024–25 UIRR Report paints a complex picture of a sector at a crossroads. On one hand, solid growth, digital transformation, and stronger political recognition mark a clear path forward for Combined Transport. On the other, infrastructure instability, regulatory fragmentation, and under-compensation for disruptions continue to undermine the sector’s full potential. UIRR Chairman Michail Stahlhut captured this duality in his concluding remarks, stating: "To protect and advance these achievements, we must act now. We must safeguard EU-wide connectivity, act justly, and rebuild trust." With a new European Commission and Parliament now in place, 2025 may prove decisive in determining whether Combined Transport can finally become the backbone of Europe’s sustainable freight logistics system.

Source: UIRR; RAILTARGET