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The latest Market Monitoring Report from the Independent Regulators’ Group – Rail (IRG-Rail) points to a continued shift in the structure of the European rail freight market. In 2024, new entrants reached a record market share of 58%, reflecting steady growth over the past two decades and a near parity with incumbent operators in domestic markets. This development confirms the increasing role of competition in rail freight. New entrants have contributed to innovation, service diversification, and the development of new market segments, particularly at a time when traditional single-wagon traffic has been declining across much of Europe.

However, the report also paints a more concerning picture of the sector’s overall performance. Despite the growing presence of challengers, rail freight volumes declined in 2024, with a 3% decrease in train-kilometres and a 2% drop in tonne-kilometres. Even more striking is the contraction in international rail freight, which fell by 17% between 2022 and 2024.

These trends highlight persistent structural challenges affecting the sector. Infrastructure constraints, ongoing cross-border barriers, an uneven and often complex deployment of ERTMS, as well as broader economic and geopolitical pressures continue to undermine the reliability and competitiveness of rail freight services. Rising energy costs have further added to operational pressures for rail operators.

Rail freight is a key component of Europe’s multimodal transport system and plays an important role in achieving decarbonisation objectives. However, declining reliability and shrinking international flows risk weakening its attractiveness for freight forwarders and shippers, especially in time-sensitive and cross-border supply chains.