Rail freight link between Asia and Europe

Four state-owned rail companies - Deutsche Bahn (DB) in Germany, PKP in Poland, BC in Belarus and RZD in Russia – will set up a joint venture called EuroAsia Rail Logistics (ERL), International Freight Weekly reports. The new company is expected to run trans-continental rail freight services between Europe and Asia by offering a regular timetable by this summer. In November last year, DB and RZD had signed a separate agreement with China Railways to increase freight transport along the east-west corridor.

However, rail companies need a harmonized legislation covering Europe and Asia as well as technological improvements to make them able to compete in the transport market. Klaus Kremper, CEO of Railion Deutschland, was quoted as saying that “time-wise, rail had an advantage over sea, but ships still had a clear cost advantage over rail.”

(Source: International Freighting Weekly )

Labour agreements in the USA

Seven rail unions in the USA joined forces in the Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition (RLBC) to reach a tentative agreement on a national contract with the National
Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC), representing the interests of America’s freight rail corporations CSX, Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Kansas City Southern.

The five-year pact, which includes wage increases and expands the health insurance benefits, will become effective on 1 June 2007. More than 65,000 union rail members will be asked to ratify the agreement.

The RLBC’s members include the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division (BMWED), (division of the Teamsters Rail Conference), the National Conference of Firemen and
Oilers, the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, the Sheet Metal Workers, the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers and the American Train Dispatchers Association.

“This agreement is a good example of the power of unity and solidarity,” said Fred Simpson, President of the BMWED and Teamsters Vice President-elect. “No single union could have achieved this outcome standing alone.”

The United Transportation Union, which represents mainly train conductors, and other organisations are involved in separate negotiations.

(Source: Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division (BMWED) )

Rail freight boost in Poland

Deutsche Bahn AG announced that Railion Deutschland AG, a division of DB Logistics, intends to set up a joint rail freight company with Polish PCC Rail SA (a subsidiary of Duisburg-based PCC SE). The new company, East West Railways, will be based in Wrocław, Poland, pending approval by the relevant bodies and will provide national freight transport and cross-border operations to Germany. Cross-border container trains are among other projects that Railion and PKP Cargo are pursuing to boost rail freight transport between Germany and Poland.

Railway Market quoted Janusz Piechocinski, the expert of TOR Consultans Group as saying that growing competition on Poland's rail freight market has led to the improvement of the customer service and lower prices. Piechocinski estimated that rail freight companies operating in Poland would increase their market share to over 20% by the end of 2007, from only 3.6% in 2003.

(Sources: Deutsche Bahn AG ; Railway Market )

Further separation of railways in Bulgaria

Following the creation of financially independent passenger, freight and traction divisions of the state-owned Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ), the Bulgarian government endorsed a plan to further restructure the national operator, Railway Gazette International reported.
 
Transport minister Petar Moutafchiev said that the company was experiencing deep crisis, being neglected over the past 15 years. Plans to sell BDZ's non-core assets could generate 95 million leva (US$64.5 million) towards paying off the company's 424 million leva (US$288 million) debt. Moutafchiev believes that new separate telecoms, rolling stock management, maintenance and power supply businesses will enable them to access EU and private finance.

(Source: Railway Gazette International )

Rail Baltica memorandum

Transport ministers Jerzy Polaczek (Poland) and Algirdas Butkevicius (Lithuania) signed a memorandum in Vilnius on 9 March 2007 paving the future of the Trans-European railway Rail Baltica, according to International Transport Journal. The new railway Rail Baltica will link Warsaw (Poland) with Helsinki (Finland) via the three Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and continue on to Berlin. The first trains are scheduled to run on Rail Baltica by 2015.

Lithuania plans to access TEN funds for the construction of a 160 km/h line in 2009. Poland's minister stressed that 100 million euros would be allocated to upgrading the lines, as Rail Baltica is a priority project for Poland.

(Source: International Transport Journal )

Rail cuts carbon dioxide emissions by 20%

George Muir, Director General of the Association of Train Operating Companies in the UK, cited by Railway Gazette International, said at a conference in London on Rail & the Environment that “rail has reduced its carbon footprint per passenger-km by about 20% in the last 10 years.”
 
Muir said that the level of carbon dioxide per passenger-km decreased by 15% for the diesel fleet and 22% for electric trains, giving a reduction of 19% for UK passenger trains as a whole, whilst fuel consumption per car increased by 3%.

(Source: Railway Gazette International )

European freight corridors

The European Commission adopted on 31 January 2007 a Communication on "Guidelines for transport in Europe and neighbouring regions" that puts forward a package of measures to shorten journey times along European freight corridors, including improvement of infrastructure and streamlined customs procedures.

The Guidelines outline the first steps of a comprehensive policy for closer integration of the EU transport system with neighbouring countries. The Communication identifies the five most important transport axes for international trade between the Union and the neighbouring countries and beyond:

➢    Motorways of the Seas, to link the Baltic, Barents, Atlantic (including Outermost Regions of Canary Islands, Azores and Madeira), Mediterranean, Black and the Caspian Sea areas as well as the littoral countries within the sea areas and with an extension through the Suez Canal towards the Red Sea.
➢    Northern axis, to connect the northern EU with Norway to the north and with Belarus and Russia to the east, with a possible future link between Norway and Russia, through Sweden and Finland.
➢    Central axis, to link the centre of the EU to Ukraine and the Black Sea and through an inland waterway connection to the Caspian Sea, including a direct connection from Ukraine to the Trans-Siberian railway and a link from the Don/Volga inland waterway to the Baltic Sea.
➢    South Eastern axis, to link the EU with the Balkans and Turkey and further with the Southern Caucasus and the Caspian Sea as well as with the Middle East up to Egypt and the Red Sea.
➢    South Western axis, to connect the south-western EU with Switzerland and Morocco, including the trans-Maghreb link between Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia and its extension to Egypt.

(Source: EUROPA )

Freight rail units in Latvia and The Czech Republic

LDZ Cargo will take over rail freight transportation as well as all freight agreements from Latvian state railway Latvijas Dzelzcels (LDZ), according to International Transport Journal.  LDZ Cargo, the seventh subsidiary of LDZ, will provide rail services between Latvia and Kazakhstan and, eventually, China, and will also operate as a logistic company and forwarder.

The government of The Czech Republic is expected to approve the separation of CD Cargo from the Czech Railways (CD), effective from 1 July 2007. About 13,500 railway employees will switch jobs to the new company that will manage the rail freight transportation.

(Source: International Transport Journal )

Funding for railways in Bosnia-Herzegovina

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing financial support for restructuring of Bosnia and Herzegovina Railways Public Corporation (BHRPC). The 194 million euros project, partially funded by EBRD, will comprise track renewal and safety improvements, and will also support the transitional process in the following ways:
➢    Approval of the new Railways Law
➢    Creation of the BiH Infrastructure Management Company
➢    Establishment of the State Regulatory Body
➢    Accounting separation of passengers and freight operations within Railways of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ZBH) and Railways of Republika Srpska (ZRS).

(Source: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development )

Zimbabwe crossing crash kills 37

A freight train collided with a commuter bus in the early hours of 6 March 2007, at a rail crossing in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, according to BBC News. Police started an investigation of the accident in which 37 people died and several others were seriously injured. Eyewitnesses said that the driver of the overcrowded bus carrying 60 people ignored the locomotive’s siren and failed to stop at the crossing, as the warning lights were reportedly out of order.

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions urged the government of Zimbabwe to seriously look into the safety of the national railways to prevent more train accidents.

(Source: BBC News )


If you have any feedback, please contact Gabriel Craciun, ITF Senior Researcher (railinfo@itf.org.uk)