The volume of multimodal freight transportation compared to 2023 in Europe increased by 5.2%.
The International Union of Mixed Rail and Road Transport (UIRR) summed up the results of work in 2024 on the European market. The volume of multimodal freight transportation compared to 2023 in Europe increased by 5.19%. An even more significant increase was recorded in freight turnover, measured in ton-km - by 8.41%.
The largest increase - 10.6% - is in domestic transportation, which is especially characteristic of France and Poland.
For comparison, in cross-border traffic, the positive dynamics are not so high - only 2.74%, which UIRR attributes mainly to works on the railway infrastructure in Germany, especially in the north-south direction, and the associated frequent cancellations of trains.
As for the bypass routes, they all usually turned out to be very long and often with a low level of technical equipment, which is associated with higher operating costs.
Overall, the conditions for the European multimodal transport sector over the past two years have been quite challenging, especially due to the closure of the Mont-Cenis (Frejus) Base Tunnel from August 2023 to March 2025 due to a landslide, as well as the western tube of the Gotthard Base Tunnel from August 2023 to September 2024.
In the first quarter of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024, the volume of multimodal transport in Europe increased by 1.76%.