In 2022, 398 billion tonne-kilometres (tkm) were transported via rail, just shy of the level registered in 2018 (400 billion tkm, which was the highest since 2012).
However, this was down slightly on 399 billion tkm achieved last year.
Looking in detail, rail freight performance saw a clear recovery in all quarters of 2021, with the highest growth rate being observed in the second quarter of 2021 (+21%), followed by the third quarter (+8%).
In the first and second quarters of 2022, performance increased by 4% and 2%, respectively, compared with the same quarters of 2021. This was followed by a third quarter with no change in performance and then a clear drop of 5% in the fourth quarter.
Rail freight tonnage decreased in more than half of the EU countries
In terms of tonnage, 14 out of 25 EU countries with rail transport registered decreased in 2022 compared with 2021. The highest decreases were observed in Lithuania (-39%), Estonia (-24%), Finland (-22%) and Greece (-20%).
In contrast, the highest increase in tonnage was registered in Denmark (+12%), followed by Croatia (+7%) and Bulgaria (+6%).