According to the Office of Rail Transport (UTK), cargo weight carried through intermodal solutions rose by nearly 3.2 million tonnes (13%) compared to the previous year, totalling approximately 27.6 million tonnes. Concurrently, transport work measured in tonne-kilometres increased by 0.9 billion, reaching 9.4 billion tonne-kilometres—an increase of 10.7%.
Market developments and carrier participation
In 2024, 39 rail carriers provided intermodal services, an increase reflecting continued market interest. Among these carriers, PCC Intermodal achieved the highest share in both cargo weight (17.45%) and transport work performed (19.55%). PKP Cargo ranked second with shares of 16.49% (cargo weight) and 18.7% (transport work), followed by DB Cargo Polska (12.67% in cargo weight, 14.11% in transport work).
Other operators with notable market presence included Captrain Polska, Metrans Rail, LTE Polska, and Eurasian Railway Carrier, each securing market shares between 5% and 7% across different metrics.
Quarterly performance breakdown
Throughout the first three quarters of 2024, year-over-year increases were consistent. However, the fourth quarter saw a slight dip in transport work performance, decreasing by 3.4% compared to the previous year. Despite this, Q4 still marked increases in cargo weight (1.7%), intermodal units transported (3.9%), and TEUs (8.4%). Specifically, Q4 saw 438,600 intermodal units transported, equivalent to 690,300 TEU, totalling 6.83 million tonnes and 2.34 billion tonne-kilometres.
Infrastructure and international routes
The growth in intermodal transport was particularly influenced by increased activity along the New Silk Road via the Brest-Terespol crossing, despite tightening Russian regulatory measures towards the end of the year. Transport volumes for containers entering Poland from China via Brest Central and Brest Northern rose by over 130%, totalling approximately 330,000 TEUs. Conversely, exports from Europe to China via these points continued to decline.
Furthermore, new connections with Ukraine and record-breaking port transshipments significantly shaped Poland's intermodal landscape, enhancing the utilization of rail networks connected to major seaports.
Supporting measures and market dynamics
The intermodal transport sector received additional government support through an increased intermodal relief scheme, offering qualifying operators up to a 50% discount on basic infrastructure access charges. Of the 39 carriers operating in 2024, 36 utilized the primary intermodal relief, while 25 companies took advantage of the newly introduced supplementary relief.
Containerization and transport units
The number of intermodal transport units rose from 1.59 million in 2023 to 1.74 million in 2024, marking a 9.6% increase. Measured in Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEU), the rise was 11.6%, increasing from 2.43 million TEU in 2023 to 2.72 million TEU in 2024. Containerized transport dominated the sector, primarily in standard 20-foot and 40-foot units.
These developments indicate continuing shifts in Poland's rail freight market, particularly as intermodal solutions play an increasingly central role in a country, where coal used to be the dominant commodity.
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