In 2025, combined road-rail transport services in the EU handled 3.9 million shipments, equal to 7.8 million TEU containers, both figures representing increases of +1.5% on the previous year. This was announced by the UIRR, the association representing operators and professionals in the sector as well as intermodal terminal operators, on the occasion of the General Assembly held in Brussels, stressing that the growth recorded last year is in line with that of the gross domestic product of the EU and which in 2025 was marked by a slightly higher increase of +2.2% in performance in terms of tonne-kilometres, which are amounted to 65.39 billion, as well as total goods transported amounted to 81.03 million tonnes of goods (+3.7%).

The association's 2025 annual report explains that the increase in of the number of shipments handled last year was largely attributable to the marked growth of Domestic combined transport in France, made possible the opening of new terminals and the launch of new services. However, the overall performance masks a decline of -1.1% registered in cross-border connections, which is due mainly to Germany where 20% of the traffic in 2024, i.e. one in five shipments transported both in combined national transport and in transit transport. The The document specifies that the relatively positive performance of the cross-border transport in Central Europe have failed to compensate for the situation in Germany, which is expected to worsen further in 2026. The report highlights that the work of ongoing restructuring of rail corridors in Germany, which lead to total closures of the lines for months and insufficient transport capacity on alternative routes with parameters inferior technical elements, threaten the very survival of transport intermodal transport in the nation.

The document specifies that these critical issues determine costs supported by operators committed to maintaining the services were equal to over 30% of total expenses. An example is the detour via Tarvisio (Italy), instead of via Brenner, planned for this year and next. The deviation is about 500 kilometers and requires at least 12 hours of travel more. As a result, the equipment of operators and customers remain stationary for an extra day and the goods pass An extra full day in transit.

'The renovation of corridors in Germany, also known as "Generalsanierung" - Michail explained Stahlhut, CEO of the Hupac Group and Chairman of the UIRR until the end of 2025 - involve total closures for months and offer insufficient transport capacity on the alternative routes. This threatens survival itself intermodal transport and involves considerable additional costs. A detour of 500 kilometers, mainly abroad and with High extra charges, can add 12 hours to the whole travel. As a result, the operators' vehicles and the goods of the customers remain stationary for an extra day. The closure complete with individual lines for an extended period is disastrous from a macroeconomic point of view. Goods cannot be transported at all, or only with enormous delays".

Last year, the number of shipments handled in the terminals of owned and/or operated by the members of the UIRR is decreased by -4.8%, completely cancelling out the growth recorded in 2024. UIRR has announced that during 2025 most of terminals experienced operational difficulties due to the drastic deterioration in the punctuality of freight transport on rails caused by the excessive number and volume of work along the European railway infrastructure network, to which is added the effect of alternative railway lines that have resulted in inadequate for freight trains.