In 2020, goods traveled approximately 3.2 trillion tonne kilometers by rail in Europe, ranking slightly lower than Asia and Oceania, where almost 4.5 trillion tonne kilometers of cargo was transported by railroad in the same year. Rail freight traffic worldwide presented a considerable decrease between 2019 and 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic, with the exception of Africa, where there was a slight drop of only 0.2 percent in freight activity.
A connected European network
Centrally located and transporting roughly 120 billion tonne-kilometers of freight annually, Germany represents the largest rail freight market in Europe, followed by Poland and France. Further investment in high-speed railroad networks in economically developing regions such as eastern Europe is expected to facilitate growth in overall regional rail freight traffic, rail capacity, and revenue. This will especially be of relevance in the context of the Belt and Road project, which will optimize the efficient movement of goods by rail directly between eastern Europe and China.
South Africa leads the African rail freight market
The Africa region has one of the least dense railway networks worldwide, with only South Africa boasting a comprehensive network that covers a large proportion of its land. Responsible for around two-thirds of the continent’s performance in terms of rail freight haulage, South Africa dominates the rail freight market in the region. Nevertheless, rail freight activities in Africa overall rose sharply from a low base in 2020, reaching just over 170 billion tonne-kilometers, indicating that further growth in the region is possible, particularly if more is invested in rail infrastructure across the entire continent.
Global rail freight traffic from 2019 to 2020, by region
(in billion tonne kilometers)
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Global rail freight traffic from 2019 to 2020, by region
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UIC. (September 12, 2022). Global rail freight traffic from 2019 to 2020, by region (in billion tonne kilometers) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved February 20, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/263543/global-performance-in-rail-freight-services-by-region/
UIC. "Global rail freight traffic from 2019 to 2020, by region (in billion tonne kilometers)." Chart. September 12, 2022. Statista. Accessed February 20, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/263543/global-performance-in-rail-freight-services-by-region/
UIC. (2022). Global rail freight traffic from 2019 to 2020, by region (in billion tonne kilometers). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: February 20, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/263543/global-performance-in-rail-freight-services-by-region/
UIC. "Global Rail Freight Traffic from 2019 to 2020, by Region (in Billion Tonne Kilometers)." Statista, Statista Inc., 12 Sep 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/263543/global-performance-in-rail-freight-services-by-region/
UIC, Global rail freight traffic from 2019 to 2020, by region (in billion tonne kilometers) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/263543/global-performance-in-rail-freight-services-by-region/ (last visited February 20, 2025)
Global rail freight traffic from 2019 to 2020, by region (in billion tonne kilometers) [Graph], UIC, September 12, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/263543/global-performance-in-rail-freight-services-by-region/
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