Almost 22 million TEU were transported in combined rail road transport in Europe in 2017, which is an increase of 7.3% compared to 2015. The “2018 Report on Combined Transport in Europe” was researched and prepared on behalf of the International Union of Railways (UIC) by BSL Transportation Consultants GmbH.
The intermodal rail freight segment has shown an outstanding performance for the last 12 years. The market dynamics of unaccompanied combined transport are continuing, making it the only growing market segment in total rail freight transport. Since the decline in the context of the global economic crisis in 2009 there was a continuously upward trend, also in the last two years. Compared to the previous years, the positive development picked up speed, with a volume increase in the unaccompanied CT market stronger than some years ago. Even market disturbances like the 2017 Rastatt incident could not stop and reverse this trend.
The UIC Combined Transport Group (CTG) aims to develop cooperation at international and community level between all Railway Undertakings with a view to advancing and promoting intermodal techniques.
