Intermodal transport in Poland is experiencing rapid growth

AI translation from Polish – DeepL.

Intermodal transport is growing faster than the rail market as a whole. According to data from the Railway Transport Office, in 2025 intermodal transport accounted for 17.1 per cent of rail freight performance measured in tonne-kilometres and for 13 per cent of the weight of goods transported.

The fuel crisis is driving interest in intermodal transport. Growing geopolitical tensions and the associated crisis surrounding the Strait of Hormuz are also having an increasingly significant impact on European transport. The industry is already seeing a rise in road transport costs, which is translating into greater interest in intermodal transport. Immediately following the escalation of the crisis, road transport rates rose by an average of 15–20 per cent, whilst in intermodal transport, increases amounted to only a few per cent.

Experts emphasise that it is precisely this greater cost stability that could become one of the main arguments in favour of further rail development. This is particularly true given that rail operators in Poland largely rely on pre-contracted energy supplies, whereas road transport is affected much more rapidly by sharp fluctuations in fuel prices.

At the same time, limited network capacity, short station sidings and delays in freight traffic directly affect the competitiveness of intermodal transport. Therefore, lasting effects may only become apparent in the medium term – especially if high fuel prices persist for longer.

Source: trans.info