The Rail Freight Corridors, in close cooperation with RNE (RailNetEurope), are pleased to announce a number of PCS trainings scheduled in early 2025.               

The annual training focuses on the corridor specific functions in PCS, and provides you with valuable, practical insights needed for requesting Capacity on the Rail Freight Corridors for timetable 2026.

Moreover, the training enhances your knowledge by introducing you to (new) features and functions in PCS in general; informing you about the news for TT2026 and giving you the chance to practice live with individual and corridor-specific exercises. The trainings are held in English language.

If you would like to participate to the trainings, please register under one (or more) of the following links:

• 22^nd – 23^rd January in Frankfurt jointly organized by RFCs Rhine-Alpine, Scan-Med, Orient/East-Med, North Sea-Baltic and Rhine-Danube à Click here to register
• 28^th – 29^th January in Paris by jointly organized by RFCs North Sea-Med, Atlantic and Mediterranean à Click here to register
• 12^nd – 13^rd February in Tallinn jointly organized by RFCs North Sea-Baltic and Amber à Click here to register
• 18^th – 19^th February in Sopron jointly organized by RFCs Baltic-Adriatic, Orient/East-Med, Rhine-Danube, Alpine-Western Balkan, and Amber à Click here to register
• 25^th – 26^th February in Milano jointly organized by RFCs Scan-Med, Baltic-Adriatic and Mediterranean à Click here to register

Should you wish to refresh your PCS knowledge before the trainings, recordings from past year’s online sessions are available here.

Please feel free to share this invitation with other colleagues.

To learn the evolution of the level of satisfaction of our customers with the products and services of the RFC, we conducted our fourth annual user satisfication survey in 2024 jointly and in a harmonised way with the other ten RFCs like in the previous years. The summary of the results specific for RFC Rhine-Danube can be downloaded here. We would like to thank everyone who filled it in for the valuable feedback and time. The Infrastructure Managers in the Management Board of the RFC will take a deeper look into the results in order to define concrete actions for improvement with a focus on the topics with which the respondents were the least satisfied.

We are looking forward to exchange views on the results and proposed improvement actions with our customers in the next meeting between the Railway Undertaking and the Terminal Advisory Groups with the Management Board and the Executive Board in May 2025.

The application of the quieter routes shall start on 8th December 2024 in the first group of implementing Member States.

Quieter routes are those, in which there is a high level of freight trains operated during night. More precisely, quieter routes are ‘part of the railway infrastructure with a minimum length of 20 km on which the average number of daily operated freight trains during the nigh-time as defined in national legislation transposing Directive 2002/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council was higher than 12.’

Only wagons compliant with the Noise TSI are allowed to operate on quieter routes from 8th December 2024.

Rail Freight Corridors Rhine-Danube and Orient / East-Med would like to give their customers an overview of the designated quieter routes here: https://rfc-rhine-danube.eu/quiter-routes/

We are pleased to invite you to the RNE RFC Session 2024, taking place online on October 30, 2024, from 10:00 to 12:00 (CET). This special event will highlight the main functionalities of several key RNE IT tools, including:

• Path Coordination System (PCS) and its new Capacity Broker (PCS CB)
• Customer Information Platform (CIP)
• Rail Facilities Portal (RFP)
• Train Information System (TIS)

During the session, we will offer detailed presentations and guidance on these tools, helping participants to better understand their features and the benefits they bring to the railway sector.

The session will be co-organized by the RFC Network and the RNE Team, and each tool will have a dedicated 30-minute slot, including time for questions and answers.

The session will be recorded and published on the RFC Network YouTube channel for later viewing. The event will be held in English language.

If you are interested don’t hesitate to ask your questions directly to the experts. We are looking forward to your participation!

On SZCZ network, the overall situation is coming back to the normal activities. Full operation of Chalupki-Bohumin border point is envisaged on 12 October in the evening, for both passenger and freight trains. All  Corridors lines will be fully operational.

ÖBB-I: the situation has improved and gradually returned to normal activities. Since 10 October the Old Western Line has both tracks with max speed 100 Km/h open. Currently there are 3 out of 5 tracks on the East-West Corridor available.

• 85 – 100 % of capacity for freight trains is available on the West Line and on the rerouting line via Herzogenburg possible
• 15 % has to be rerouted via the South Line
• ÖBB-I adapted schedules (with some restrictions for the passanger trains) in order to gain capacity for freight trains
• the New West Line will be temporary repaired by December 14th 2024; a second phase repair will be needed in Summer 2025 for 4 weeks

• On SZCZ network, the situation is gradually coming back to the normal activities. Bohumin Vrbice-Chalupki border point will be opened today 4th October at 16.00. Full operation of Chalupki-Bohumin is envisaged on 10 October, where also related local lines will be reopened. All Corridors lines will be fully operational as from next week. For freight trains, there will be no need for rerouting. As for international passenger trains, reopening of specific traffics are also according to RUs needs and
• For traffic to Slovakia from the Chech network, all border lines are operational.
• ÖBB-I network: criticalities remain on the West line Wien-St.Pölten. In the normal case East-/West Corridor has 5 tracks. Since September 28^th  it is possible to use just 2 of them. As for the Old Westline, efforts to increase capacity are ongoing, namely:
• on October 10th the Old Western line will have no longer single track sections and a new schedule will be offered, then it will be possible to use 3 of 5 tracks on the East- / West Corridor
• as from October 1st, 00:00 until Monday 14th, 24:00,  on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday there is only 75 % capacity available;
• on October 14th capacity will be increased up to 100 %
• The rerouting option via Tulln and Herzogenburg is open since September 28th, with some restrictions up to October 10th.
• As for the New West Line, tunnels and train station Tullnerfeld were under water with big damages. No precise forecasts for reopening are possible at the moment.
• Impact on DB InfraGO network: DB InfraGo mentioned that with regard to situation related to transit trains parked (i.e. Germany- Austria border via Passau), the overall framework improved as from last Saturday, when additional capacity was released. Situation is coming back to normal activities.

We will keep our stakeholders informed about the further proceedings.

• Major criticalities on SZCZ network, in particular in the Ostrava region: As far as the main line Ostrava-Svinov – Bohumín – Dětmarovice is concerned, which has been closed because of flood since 14 September 2024, we are glad to inform you that it will be re-opened from
  14:00 tomorrow (28 September). Transit traffic for freight trains will be possible again from that time on towards Polandvia other border points different from Bohumin-Chalupki which is still closed. Main criticalities remains for passenger trains.
• SZCZ expects to be able share further updates next Friday.
• ZSR: For traffic to Slovakia from the Chech network, all border lines are still operational.
• ÖBB-I network: More Capacity Created for Freight Transport

As of September 28, 2024, from 8:00 AM, the route between Tulln an der Donau via Tullnerfeld to Herzogenburg can be reopened for freight traffic. This will allow additional freight trains to operate during the day on the Danube axis, in addition to those on the ‘old West route’ at night. This solution will bring up to 75% of the usual capacity for freight traffic, compared to the previous 25%. This ensures the continued supply security of Austrian and European industry.

In addition to reopening specific routes, efforts are being made to reroute freight traffic on a larger scale where possible, for example via the Semmering or the Pyhrn routes. This depends on factors such as the weight and size of the freight, as these routes involve tunnel passages with strict limits.

Impact of the Flooding on Freight Transport

Freight transport is still massively affected by the restrictions following the floods in Austria and neighbouring countries such as Poland, Czechia, Romania, and Hungary, with Italy (Emilia Romagna) now impacted as well. Entire transport corridors have been rendered impassable due to floods and landslides. Although some routes have been reopened, a significant number of sections remain closed, both nationally and internationally.

Delays and Backlog in Freight Traffic

The situation has made freight transport extremely difficult, with hundreds of trains currently at a standstill, particularly at the borders, where traffic has come to a complete halt. The backlog and processing of freight traffic are expected to take some time, leading to extended delays.

• Impact on DB InfraGO network: The above disruption in Austria still has an impact on cross-border traffic via Passau and Salzburg. In particular, there are criticalities on the German-Austrian borders where several trains are parked and cannot run. DB InfraGO and ÖBB-I have been in close contact with each other in order to mitigate the situation.

We will keep our stakeholders informed about the further proceedings.

• Major criticalities on SZCZ network, in particular in the Ostrava region: Traffic to Austria and Poland is still interrupted, the main line Ostrava-Svinov – Bohumín – Dětmarovice is still closed because of flood (since 14 September 2024 as informed before). On 25 September at the earliest, it might be possible to estimate when it will be opened for traffic again.

There is re-routing option for the traffic flow from Austria/Italy to Poland via Ostrava-Vítkovice – Český Těšín – Petrovice u Karviné – Zebrzydowice. In cooperation with the responsible RUs freight trains are rerouted.

• For traffic to Slovakia from the Chech network, all border lines are operational.

• ÖBB-I network: The main lines are open with some restrictions.

On the New West line, between Wien Meidling and St. Pölten Hbf 130, there are still major disturbances. The New West Line Tunnels are under water with big damages. Most likely, it will take some weeks to repair them.

On the Old West line between Wien Westbahnhof – Rekawinkel – St. Pölten Hbf, there are also restrictions due to damage. Freight trains may run only at night or are rerouted via the south line.

The West Line has very restricted capacity, with only (reduced) passenger trains on the Old West Line from 05:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Therefore, starting with today, 23.09.2024 11:00 p.m. freight trains are only allowed between 11:00 p.m. and 05:00 a.m. A contingent has been introduced for 40 paths for freight trains. Ad-hoc freight trains or paths are not possible.

• Impact on DB InfraGO network: The above disruption in Austria also has an impact on cross-border traffic via Passau and Salzburg. In particular, there are criticalities on the German-Austrian borders where several trains are parked and cannot run. DB InfraGO and ÖBB-I are in close contact with each other.

We will keep our stakeholders informed about the further proceedings.

• Major criticalities on SZCZ network, in particular in the Ostrava region: Traffic to Austria and Poland is interrupted. Currently, the main line Hranice na Moravě – Studénka – Ostrava – Bohumín – Dětmarovice is closed because of flood. Part of this line is still under water, so it is still impossible to estimate when it is going to be opened for traffic again. As a consequence, now it is impossible to manage the transit traffic from Austria to Poland and unfortunately, currently, there is no re-routing option for this traffic. Transit trains to Austria and Italy are not operated. There are only two operational border-crossings to Poland, Petrovice/Zebrzyodowice (accessible only from Dětmarovice and from Slovak side only) and Lichkov/Miedzylesie (not accessible from Polish side).

For traffic to Slovakia from the Chech network, the border point in Cadca is operational.

• ÖBB-I network: As of 11 September, major problems have occurred with snow and floods in particular on the West line, direction Wien-Pölten – Linz- Salzburg. The New West Line Tunnels are still under water with big damages. On the Old West line (same direction Wien- St.Pölten), there are still some mudflows and only single track is operational, therefore, freight trains run only in the night or are rerouted via the south line.

We will keep our stakeholders informed about the further proceedings.