The latest IRG-Rail (Independent Regulators Groups-Rail) Market Monitoring Report includes a record market share for challengers (58%) in 2024, mainly driven by the continuous growth of new entrants that almost equal domestic incumbents (41% vs 42%). This rising importance of challengers should not set aside an overall gloomy picture for rail freight that translates into decreasing reliability and negative traffic figure in 2024.
More than two decades after the opening of the rail freight market, challengers account for a large majority of the traffic with continuous growth observed year after year (see graph in second page). Challengers have been able to provide innovative ways to satisfy freight customers and develop new market segments while conventional single-wagon traffic was declining in most of the continent. (....)