Freight Tracks Issue 31

Does anyone like long

Are long US trains over 7,500 feet doomed? Only if some states, have any say in the matter. Peter LeCody, President at Texas

NEWS continues to ramp up about long, longer and longest freight trains almost on a weekly basis. It’s gotten to the point where the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued a train safety advisory to reinforce steps in making up long trains and reduce forces that could cause those trains to derail.

Placement of loads like cars with heavy loads, cushioning devices and empty cars in the wrong section of long trains could cause

a derailment on curves, grades and in undulating territory when slack runs in or out with enough force to force a derailment. Those factors have raised eyebrows at the FRA and have led to further enquiries.

Rail labour leaders welcomed the FRA safety advisory announcement, while railroads were making sure their operating practices followed federal guidelines. Unions have claimed that longer and heavier trains and hurried-up inspections of consists pose poten-

long trains anymore?

states, rail unions, shippers, legislators and federal agencies

Texas Rail Advocates, takes out his tape measure.

tial safety risks.

A study on the effects of long trains is due by June 2024. Allan Rutter, Texas A&M Transportation Institute Freight and Investment Analysis Division Head is part of a team studying train dynamics, handling, braking, distributed power and employee communications to determine if changes are on the horizon.

Rutter, a former FRA Administrator, spoke at the Southwestern Rail Conference in Texas earlier in April and discussed the long train

study, which was ordered by Congress and being administered by the Transportation Research Board.

“How conductors and engineers in the cab are trained to operate longer trains, scheduling and efficiency of passenger trains as they move in and around those longer trains in shorter sidings and what happens when highway grade crossings are blocked by these longer trains will also be studied,” according to Rutter. 4

The impetus for the FRA mandated study was not the recent East Palestine, Ohio derailment which forced the evacuation of town residents, but dates back to a 2017 derailment in Pennsylvania when a 178 car long train, over two miles long, derailed.

Motorists who wait and wait at highway rail crossings for long trains to clear have been buoyed by states proposing legislation to limit long trains. A bill filed in the Nevada legislature would regulate train length to a maximum of 7500 feet, about 1.4 miles long.

Surface Transportation Board (STB) ViceChair Karen Hedlund, speaking at the same Southwestern Rail Conference, said “a number of states are passing maximum train length laws. Whether state actions are preempted by federal legislation or STB authority will be for the courts to decide.”

Hedlund said the STB recently approved marriage of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern Railway, now known as CPKC, included a stipulation about blocked rail crossings. “The STB will be keeping an eye on the new CPKC and hold their feet to the fire for blocking grade crossings,” according to Hedlund. “Under the general code of operating rules it provides, when practical, a standing train or switching train must avoid blocking a crossing longer than ten minutes.”

A report by the organisation ProPublica points to Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR), a cost-cutting strategy that calls for longer trains with fewer employees as a safety issue.

"In the past, about a 1.4 mile-long train was considered huge. Now trains are two, even three miles long. Long trains are just one tenet of PSR," said Dan Schwartz, one of the

ProPublica reporters who investigated PSR. Schwartz said that since 2015 railroads have laid off about a fifth of the workforce with a lot of the cuts in maintenance workers. “That leaves fewer people to catch trains in disrepair,” according to Schwartz.

Longer and fewer trains have resulted in more rail shipper complaints to the Surface Transportation Board about delayed deliveries. The STB has received an increased number of complaints from shippers about missed switch-outs, long transit times, cars stranded in yards, changes in operating plans and poor communications about shipments.

Canadian Pacific + Kansas

Kansas City Southern = CPKC

CANADIAN Pacific and Kansas City Southern have now combined to create Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), as authorised by the US Surface Transportation Board’s March 15 2023 final decision, creating the first single-line railway connecting Canada, the US and Mexico.

“Today, we celebrate this historic combination creating a truly unique single-line rail network that begins a new chapter of railroad history in North America,” said CPKC President and Chief Executive Officer Keith Creel. “As we mark this once-in-a-lifetime occasion by driving the Final Spike in Kansas City, Missouri, where CP and KCS come together, we stand ready to bring new competition into the North American rail industry at a time when our supply chains have never needed it more.

2023 final decision approving the transaction, the voting trustee transferred the KCS shares to an affiliate of CP, formally bringing KCS into the CPKC family.

In Kansas City the company marked the creation of CPKC by hosting a celebration featuring the driving of the ceremonial Final Spike at the only place where the CP and KCS railroads meet. CPKC will also break ground on a new yard office, the future location of its state-of-the-art US operations centre.

“We stand ready to move the commerce of today and ready to compete hard to grow tomorrow,” Creel continued. “With the most relevant railroad network on the continent, we’ll create value for all stakeholders, bringing new jobs, economic growth and environmental benefits to workers, customers and communities.”

With its global headquarters in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, CPKC is the only railway connecting North America and has unrivaled port access on coasts around the continent, from Vancouver to Atlantic Canada to the Gulf of Mexico toLázaro Cárdenas on Mexico’s Pacific coast. While remaining the smallest of six US Class 1 railroads by revenue, the new combined company has a much larger and more competitive network, operating approximately 20,000 miles of rail, and employing close to 20,000 people. Full integration of CP and KCS is expected to take place over the next three years, unlocking the benefits of the combination.

“This unmatched CPKC network will give our customers new options and expanded reach to more markets as we provide reliable rail service, take trucks off public roads and raise the bar on rail safety by expanding CP’s industry-leading safety practices,” Creel added. “The public, environmental, competitive and safety benefits of this historic combination are extraordinary for our railroaders, communities, rail customers and the North American economy.”

CP completed its $31 billion acquisition of KCS on Dec. 14 2021. Immediately upon the closing of that acquisition, shares of KCS were placed into a voting trust, which ensured that KCS operated independently of CP during the regulatory review process. Pursuant to the STB’s March 15

CPKC will bring a new safety standard to the North American rail landscape. CP has been the safest railroad in North America for 17 straight years, as measured by the Federal Railroad Administration-reportable train accident frequency ratio. In 2022, CP had an all-time best frequency of 0.93, a rate nearly half what the company produced a decade ago and 69% lower than the Class 1 average.

CP’s culture of safety, supported by its history of sustained investments in core infrastructure and technology, aligns with KCS’s like-minded culture, allowing the combined system to operate at the apex of rail safety. CPKC will place safety at the forefront of everything it does.

CPKC plans capital investments in new infrastructure of more than $275 million over the next three years to improve rail safety and the capacity of the core north-south CPKC main line between the US Upper Midwest and Louisiana.

CPKC becomes the first and only single-line railway connecting Canada, the US and Mexico

NEUTRAL HUMP YARD OPENS

A European first : Assembling freight trains faster,

by lineas

THE neutral operation of the automatic hump yard at the Antwerp-North marshalling yard in the port is an important factor in achieving green goals. Thanks to this rail infrastructure in Belgium's largest and busiest freight station, trains can be assembled more efficiently. In order to create a level playing field for everyone, the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, Railport Antwerp, Lineas and Infrabel are working together to make this facility available to all rail operators.

Thanks to the automatic shunting facility at the Antwerp-North marshalling yard in the Port of Antwerp-Bruges (PoAB), freight trains can be assembled up to six times faster. The importance of this logistics node, where "puzzling out" freight trains is part of daily business, should therefore not be underestimated. Nevertheless, this facility has been underutilised for some time.

For many railway undertakings, the investments are too high because they need shunting locomotives and skilled personnel. A joint plan by Port of Antwerp-Bruges, Railport Antwerp, the freight carrier Lineas and the infrastructure manager Infrabel is now set to change that. The centerpiece of this plan: neutral operation of the automatic shunting facility. It’s the first time in the history of Belgian railroads that something like this has happened. More than that, it’s even a European first!

Level playing field for all

Neutral operation of the rail facility began on April 1 2023. This means that it is available to all rail operators on equal terms. Lineas is committed to providing shunting services to all at market-based, transparent prices and conditions. This activity will be followed up by Infrabel in collaboration with PoAB. Furthermore, the pricing for shunting services is controlled by the rail regulator. Neutral management does not only lower the

OPENS AT PORT OF ANTWERP

treshold, it also encourages co-operation between different companies in order to collect their goods. This eliminates some unnecessary train movements – which is not only safer but also frees up more capacity in the very busy rail yards in the Antwerp port area. So this joint plan checks all the boxes, making freight rail transport in the PoAB safer, faster, more efficient, economical and environmentally friendly.

Transparent software to track activities

In order to further streamline everything, Infrabel and PoAB are working on a high-performance software program.

Customers can easily and quickly monitor their requests using this computer system, which is linked to the shunting installation. Users can monitor the status of their freight train and/or wagons in real-time. For example, when it will be ready and where it is located. Each step of the shunting process is recorded in the system and can be accessed at any time.

This gives all customers a clear picture. The infrastructure manager, in collaboration with the neutral operator Lineas, will be ultimately responsible for planning, allocating capacity, and finding solutions in the event of double bookings.

Modal shift

The neutral management of the shunting plant is an important part of the sustainable rail vision 2030. This joint vision of the future, developed by Infrabel, PoAB and Railport Antwerp aims to double the proportion of freight transported by rail in the port of Antwerp by 2030. This so-called modal shift seeks to make rail more attractive so that more and more companies choose it. After all, those who transport their goods by rail, opt for fewer trucks and less road congestion. That is a win-win situation for both the economy and the environment.

lineas

BECAUSE NOT ALL FREIGHT ON A TRAIN MOVES IN A BOX

In 2023, Freight Tracks issues will contain a series of monthly in-depth feature articles on rail freight business topics.

Our writers will look at the subject from different angles to give a 360o oversight. These will be perfect places for advertisements to reach your customers.

editor@freight-tracks.com

May

Rolling stock design

June

Rolling stock leasing

July

Automotive

August

EU rail freight

September

North American rail freight

October

UK & Ireland rail freight

November

Freight locomotives

December

Prospects for 2024

NEW INTERMODAL CONNECTION BETWEEN DUISBURG AND PADUA

TX LOGISTIK is expanding its intermodal network with a new connection between Duisburg and Padua. The rail logistics company, which belongs to Mercitalia Logistics (Gruppo FS Italiane), has planned to start the connection on May 2. Four round trips per week with 32 loading units per train will be put on the tracks.

The connection, on which truck trailers with all kinds of goods are transported, will be operated as an open train system. The main customer is the Italian transport and logistics service provider Trans Italia with headquarter in Salerno. All services associated with the new relation will be taken over and controlled by TX Logistik. The route runs from Germany through Switzerland to Italy, to Padua in the Veneto region.

There, Interporto Padova operates a modern rail termi-

nal where around 275,000 TEU are handled between road and rail every year. In Germany, the combined transport terminal on the logport III site in Duisburg-

Hohenbudberg is served, which is operated by TX Logistik together with two partners as Ziel Terminal GmbH.

For TX Logistik, which is responsible for international rail freight transport within the Mercitalia Group, Padua is an important expansion of the European network.

The city is only about 25 km (15.5 miles) away from Venice, where short-sea connections to the Balkan states can be used.

At the same time, Veneto is Italy's third most important export region - with Germany as its main trading partner. This offers good opportunities to shift more goods from road to rail.

GBRF SIGNS UP STADLER for MAINTENANCE

GB RAILFREIGHT (GBRf) and Stadler have signed an agreement that will see Stadler Rail Services be responsible for all aspects of service and maintenance GBRf’s latest hybrid locomotives from 2025.

The news follows GBRf’s contract with Stadler and Beacon Rail to manufacture and deliver 30 new Class 99 bi-mode Co’Co locomotives. This deal marks the start of a long-term partnership between the organisations.

Beacon Rail will own the new hybrid fleet, and GBRf will be the lessee. The UK government’s electrification rollout, when complete, will enable the Class 99s to run on electricity across all UK routes and reduce emissions by 585,000 tonnes of carbon per year. High quality and reliable servicing is critical to ensuring the fleet can deliver this impact.

GBRf has agreed with Stadler that they will maintain the 30 locomotives at a new depot in Leicester, where they will receive tailored maintenance solutions to ensure a high quality of service. Stadler will manage overhauls, spare parts, material supplies, vehicle repairs, mobile service support, data and maintenance software.

John Smith, CEO of GB Railfreight, said: “The service agreement with Stadler for the Class 99 locomotives brings together its design and maintenance divisions to ensure that rail freight continues to lead the decarbonisation of supply chains.

“Continued private sector investment in the industry-leading Class 99s and their maintenance facilities, demonstrates a commitment to modernising and growing the rail freight sector in the UK to help deliver the government’s net zero ambitions.”

Paul Patrick, Managing Director of Stadler Rail Service UK, said: “We have established a strong foothold in the UK over recent years, and are delighted to have been awarded another Service contract, based on our proven track record and expertise in this field. The locomotives that Stadler will be responsible for will pave the way to a greener and more efficient rail network, supporting the industry’s ambition of promoting modal shift from road to rail.

"We are pleased to be supporting the government’s targets to decarbonise the UK railway by 2040, which will benefit our clients, British business and society alike.”

Peter Viinapuu interim CEO Green Cargo AB

GREEN Cargo's Board of Directors has appointed Peter Viinapuu as interim CEO of Green Cargo AB. Peter will take up his position on April 17 and will hold the role until Henrik Dahlin takes over as permanent CEO no later than September 16.

Viinapuu comes most recently from an assignment as interim CEO at Infranord.

Nexxiot appoints ‘Head of Technical Department’

ROGER Gloor is joining Nexxiot, a global TradeTech company as the new Head of Technical Department, Gloor has previously worked for intermodal logistics service provider Bertschi AG, as a proven expert for the entire value chain in tank container and dry bulk logistics.

Gloor was responsible for Bertschi AG’s operations and for facilitating innovation for strategically important customers around the globe, including in Turkey, China, and along the New Silk Road with intermodal services via rail, road and maritime to the chemical industry.

Bertschi AG has a workforce of more than 3’200 employees in 38 countries.

Justin Broyles Elected ASLRRA Vice-Chair Executive Committee

R. J. CORMAN Railroad Group's Executive Vice President, Commercial Affairs Justin Broyles, to the position of Vice Chairman of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association's (ASLRRA) Executive Board of Directors. Broyles will serve a three-year term in this position as he continues to serve as its Vice President of the Eastern Region and will also take on the role of Chair of the Short Line Safety Institute (SLSI).

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) is a non-profit trade association representing the interests of the nation’s 600 short line and regional railroads and railroad supply company members in legislative

and regulatory matters.

“Justin has been a thoughtful and impactful contributor to the work of the ASLRRA Board of Directors, the members who direct the organisation’s strategic goals and priorities and provide governance and oversight to the Association.

"He has also represented railroads in the Eastern Region as one of four Regional Vice Presidents on the Executive Committee,” said American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association President Chuck Baker.

“As the newly elected Vice Chair, Justin will play a crucial role and provide critical continuity ," said R. J. Corman Railroad Group President and CEO Ed Quinn.

INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF INLAND RAIL SLAMS DELIVERY OF SCHEME

On 6 April the Australian Government released the findings of the Independent Review of Inland Rail and agreed to the 19 recommendations in full or in principle. Undertaken by Kerry Schott AO the review confirmed that Inland Rail is an important project to meet Australia’s growing freight task, improve road safety and to help decarbonise the country's economy. The review also found significant deficiencies in the governance and management of Inland Rail.

INLAND Rail is an important project. Its outcomes are intended to move freight from roads thus easing congestion particularly between the east coast capital cities. Resilience

in the national freight corridors will be enhanced, the importance of this being clear from recent floods and the Covid-19 pandemic. Emissions may reduce by an estimated

750,000 tonnes per year by 2050 as rail replaces road.

The project is however late and over budget and one of the important tasks I have is to assess the ex-

tent of these problems. In this I have failed as there is insufficient certainty about the completion date and the final cost to have confidence in the current estimates.

There are a number of reasons for this regrettable situation. The first reason lies in the governance and project management arrangements for Inland Rail. The Inland Rail project is managed as a division of ARTC, a Commonwealth-owned Government Business Enterprise, and reports to the ARTC Board through a SubCommittee set up to oversee the proj-

project management, the freight industry and regional nous as well as legal and accounting skills. With about $900 million revenue and complex operations across Australia, this business needs a capable Board.

To address this situation, I recommend that the current Shareholder Ministers appoint a new Chair and Directors with appropriate skills to replace retired positions. In addition, Inland Rail should cease being managed as a division of ARTC and be set up as a subsidiary company of ARTC established for the sole task of delivering this project. The Board of that subsidiary and ARTC should appoint a CEO to run the project as it has not had a permanent CEO for over 18 months. I understand that the previous government Minister did not approve of the Board choice for this position and indefinitely delayed taking the recommendation to Cabinet.

These new arrangements leave the current CEO of ARTC to focus on the business-as-usual matters of the company and leave the Inland Rail project to be managed by a specialist CEO with experience in project delivery. This person should report directly to the subsidiary board and also to the ARTC Board by attending that board’s meetings. This structure removes the very real risk of the ARTC business being distracted by the Inland Rail project, and should enable Inland Rail to be better organised as a project delivery task rather than part of an operational business.

Keen to settle

State Governments and rail freight operators are keen to settle the end points of the Inland Rail route. Somewhat surprisingly the project has commenced delivery without knowing where it will start or finish.

ect, and also through the CEO of ARTC. The problem is that the Board and its Sub-Committee do not have adequate skills to oversee this project. Despite an informed request by the Chairman of ARTC to the then-Minister responsible, replacement appointments to the Board did not provide the skills required. ARTC is a large business and its management does need a capable Board with a knowledge of rail operations,

There is support for the Inland Rail service to finish at a new intermodal terminal at Ebenezer on the outer environs of Brisbane. In Melbourne there is support for two terminals to be developed. Initially Beveridge should be prepared to operate in line with Inland Rail completion serving north and north-east Melbourne areas with Truganina (WIFT) developed concurrently serving the areas to the west. This development will take longer but over time it is expected that Truganina will become the larger operation. All terminals should

There is insufficient certainty about the completion date and the final cost to have confidence in the current estimates.

be developed as open access and freight operators must not be permitted to be the operator for competitive reasons.

Inland Rail must also link into other freight networks. Parkes in NSW sits at the junction of the northsouth Inland Rail route and the east-west route. Development at Parkes is being supported by the local government and the State, and it too should be open access. I note that the rail link from Toowoomba to Gladstone is being examined and any future extension that may occur there should be complementary to the end point at Brisbane.

The route alignment should be accepted with any future modifications limited to changes to improve the design and constructability of the project. No material effect on the Inland Rail Service Offer should occur. The route mainly consists of existing track upgrades in Victoria and NSW (1087 km) and some new track in Queensland, and between Narromine and Narrabri in NSW (628 km). Regional towns where the route, based on existing track, bisects them are understandably concerned about the disruption they may experience when Inland Rail traffic becomes significantly above their present experience. For this reason, in regional towns like Wagga Wagga and Gatton, it is recommended that the traffic disruption is reviewed from time-to-time and that an easement by-passing the town be preserved for future use.

The detailed and clearly defined scope of much of the route has not yet been settled as approval processes are not complete. There has been lengthy delays in this process, particularly in Queensland, caused in part by immature design and poor Environmental Impact Statements that need numerous changes and resubmissions. Until this scope is firmed, an assessment of schedule and cost cannot be made with confidence.

On the basis of the information available, ARTC has estimated completion of the project in 2030-31. The route from Melbourne to Parkes is expected to be finished by 2027. This latter estimate is more certain than that for the entire route. Overall when compared to the 2020 estimate the project is running four years late mainly due to approval delays which in turn delay land acquisition, when needed, and tender offers.

The ARTC estimate of the cost of the project has

increased by an astonishing amount when compared to 2020. Two years ago, the estimate was $16.4 billion and now it is about $31 billion. In my view this cost estimate should not be accepted by the Shareholder as there is insufficient certainty about the scope, the related schedule, and delivery costs to have any confidence in the numbers. A full review of these matters is definitely needed by an experienced cost estimator and value engineer and several areas to be included in this work are noted. Once there is some confidence about the cost, a year-by-year budget can be established to enable management by both the Commonwealth Government and ARTC. A comparison to future benefits should also be made at this point.

Intended benefit

The intended benefit of the Inland Rail project is to move freight from road to rail, especially on the Brisbane to Melbourne route. Rail can be competitive, lessen road congestion, lower road maintenance costs and operate with fewer emissions. In the future it is needed to meet the increasing national freight task. It is also apparent that Inland Rail can provide benefits to regional communities along its route. In the short term it has offered employment and work for local businesses. In the longer term regionally based businesses can develop.

This is already occurring in NSW where local and State Governments have worked together to provide resources for business parks to form and successfully operate. Wagga Wagga and Parkes are well progressed with future plans developing for Moree and Narrabri. In Queensland similar developments could occur and possibilities are evident at Goondiwindi, Gatton and Ebenezer.

India report

'Best-ever' freight action on Indian Railways

INDIAN Railways (IR) has recorded its best-ever performance in terms of the output from its freight business in FY 2022-23. As per preliminary data, IR has achieved an originating freight loading of 1512 million tonnes, an improvement of 94 million tonnes over the previous best of 1418 MT achieved in FY 2021-22, a growth of 7%.

The freight transport unit's NTKM (Net tonne Kilometre) also clocked an impressive growth rate of 10 % to breach the 900 billion mark for the first time to reach 903 billion NTKMs in the FY 2022-23 as against 820 billion NTKMs achieved last year.

IR has achieved an incremental loading of 74.6 million tonnes in coal, followed by 8.7 million tonnes in other goods, 5.6 million tonnes in cement and clinkers, 7.1 million tonnes in fertilisers and 5 million tonnes in containers.

The sustained efforts of Indian Railways to increase supply of coal to power stations, in close co-ordination with Indian Ministry of Power and Coal, have been one of the key features of the freight performance of IR in FY 2022-23.

The loading of coal (both domestic and imported) to power stations has increased by 84 million tonnes in FY

2022-23 with 569 million tonnes of coal being moved to power stations as against 485 million tonnes last year, a growth of 17.3%.

Along with excellent performance in transporting coal to the power stations, Increase in automobile loading has been another highlight of freight business in FY 2022-23 and 5527 rakes have been loaded in FY 2022-23, as compared to 3344 rakes last year, a growth of 65%.

With this, Indian Railways, has had a streak of 31 straight months of best-ever monthly freight loading which had started in September 2020.

Revenues improve

The gross freight revenues of Indian Railways are expected to be more than Rs 1.6 Lakh Cr ($24 billion) with growth rate of 14%.

The strong growth in freight tusiness has led for the first time for the combined freight and passenger revenue of IR to cross the Rs 2 Lakh Cr ($30 billion) mark with combined revenues expected to exceed Rs 2.2 Lakh Cr ($33 bilion).

Hungry for cargo

Following the mantra, “Hungry For Cargo”, IR has made sustained efforts to improve the ease of doing business as well as improve the service delivery at competitive prices which has resulted in new traffic coming to railways from both conventional and non-conventional commodity streams.

The customer-centric approach and work of business development units, backed up by agile policy making, helped the railways towards this landmark achievement.

Indian Railways is rapidly progressing to accomplish Mission100Percent Electrification and become the largest green railway network in the world. Some 6542 RKMs (route kilometres) has been achieved during 2022-23. Previous highest electrification was 6366 RKM during 202122, registering an increase of 2.76%.

In terms of new line (new line/doubling/gauge conversion), 5243 km was achieved during 2022-23 as compared to 2909 kms during 2021-22. Thus average daily track laying comes out to be 14.4 kms per day. It is also the highest-ever commissioning volume.

In order to increase line capacity to run more trains on existing high density routes, automatic block signaling is a cost-effective solution. During 2022-23, IR has upgraded 530 km with automatic signaling as compared to 218 kms during 2021-22, registering an increase of 143.12%. It is also the best figures achieved in automatic signaling in the history of IR.

To facilitate the public to cross the tracks on roads, during 2022-23, 1065 flyovers/underpasses were provided as compared to 994 flyovers/underpasses during 2021-22 showing an increase of 7.14%.

Indian Railways makes all out efforts to optimally utilise resources by mobilising scrap materials and sale through e-auction. This traffic increased by 7.90%.

Gati Shakti freight terminals

To increase its share in freight segment, IR is prioritizing development of Gatishakti freight terminals. During 202223, 30 freight terminals were created as compared to 21 freight terminals in 2021-22.

Following the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Gati Shakti” (Speed Power) and Ministry of Railways’ policy regarding Gati Shakti Multi-Modal Cargo

Terminal (GCT) launched in 2021, Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals are being developed for handling rail cargos.

It has been targeted to commission 100 Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals within next three financial years. The location of GCTs is being decided on the basis of demand from industry and potential of cargo traffic.

The GCTs are being developed by private players,

and can be developed on non-railway land or fully/partially on railway land. For GCTs to be developed on non-railway land, the operators will identify the location and will construct the terminal after obtaining necessary approval.

For GCTs to be developed either fully or partially on railway land, the land parcels will be identified by railway and the operator for construction and operation of terminal will be selected through open tendering process.

Central Railway earns MILLIONS IN Parcel Revenue

INDIAN Railway's Central Railway ran 294 trips of time-tabled Parcel Trains, Lease & Indent Parcel Cargo Express Trains in FY 2022-23. Central Railway registered a revenue of Rs.251.49 crores ($30.7 million) transporting 471,000 tonnes of parcel and luggage during Financial Year 2022-23 (April to March).

During the Financial Year 202223, 294 trips of time-tabled parcel trains ran generating a revenue of Rs.16.05 crores,

Thirty-three parcel cargo express trains generating a revenue of 11.54 crores and 24 trips of leased parcel cargo express trains generating a revenue of Rs. 3.97 Crores. In 202223, 88 SLRs were on lease generating a revenue of Rs. 55.54 cr as against 65 SLRs generating 33.13 crore in 2021-22. 13 Parcel Vans lease generated a revenue of Rs. 24.01 crore in 2022-23 as against 5 Parcel Vans generated 2.5 crore in 2021-22.

At Nagpur division, Ajni good shed (AGSA) was opened for handling parcel cargo express trains to facilitate loading of irrigation HDPE pipes in NMGs to eastern parts of the country.

NEW DELHI PLAYS HOST TO TRANS-ASIAN

Trans-Asian Railway members finalize a regional strategy on accelerating

A TWO-DAY high-level conference on accelerating rail digital transformation in Asia and Pacific region was held in New Delhi, India on April 5 and 6 2023. The Conference was organised by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in collaboration with the Ministry of Railways.

The conference was attended by the representatives of the Ministries of Transport/Railways of 18 countries including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Georgia, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan (online), Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Nepal, Russian Federation, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan (online) and Vietnam. The representative from Asian Institute of Transport Development, Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education, Organization for Cooperation Between Railways, International Union of Railways and International Organization for International Carriage by Rail also participated in the Conference.

Addressing the conference, the Chairman of Indian Railways Anil Kumar Lahoti lauded ESCAP on organising the Conference on a very topical issue and inform the participants that Indian Railways is expanding its digital footprints on every aspect of rail transport and is ready to share its experience and expertise with the member of the Trans-Asian railway network and especially with those countries that are starting their rail digitalisation journey.

The Trans-Asian railway network provides a coordinated plan for developing a regional rail network to support intra and inter-regional trade and transport. The 128,000 km rail network passes through 28 countries and was formalised through an Inter-governmental Agreement on Trans-Asian Railway network that entered into force in 2009.

Leverage digitalisation

Head of the UN ESCAP office in New Delhi Mikiko Tanaka also addressed the participants, emphasising the need to leverage digitalisation to further augment the operational performance of rail and increase

freight and passenger transport by rail to support countries in realisation of sustainable development goals.

The conference deliberated on ways and means to accelerate rail digital transformation in Asia and the Pacific to enhance competitiveness of rail transport to attract more freight and passenger to railway transport.

The participating countries deliberated on a regional strategy on accelerating rail digital transformation in Asia and the Pacific that was presented by Sandeep Raj Jain, official from the Transport Division of UN ESCAP head office in Thailand.

TRANS-ASIAN RAILWAY CONFERENCE

accelerating rail digital transformation

proposes to set up a regional capacity building programme on rail digital transformation with a pool of experts to enhance digital skills of railway officials. For financing rail digital projects, the strategy suggests countries to establish a rail digital and innovation fund as multi-donor trust fund to support landlocked and least developing countries to leapfrog to digital technologies.

Strengthening rail cybersecurity

On strengthening rail cybersecurity, it advocates developing a regional framework for rail cybersecurity for sharing of information, capacity building and learning from experience. The strategy also aims to heighten engagement with private sector by encouraging countries to supportive legal and regulatory framework that attract private investments and expertise in rail digital applications.

The proposed strategy also provides for implementation arrangements with suggestion to formulate national and sub-regional strategies on rail digitalisation and measuring progress through developing a rail digital and innovation index complemented by three level of maturity for rail digitalisation.

The proposed strategy aims to provide coherence and momentum to current initiatives on rail digitalisation; foster an ecosystem to harnesses full potential of rail digitalisation; augment the operational performance, capacity, reliability, safety, and security of rail assets; enhance customer experience including ease of doing business; create synergies through partnerships to digitalise rail; and ensure high level political support on rail digitalisation. It further identifies eight priority areas and five cross cutting issues to deepen the regional cooperation on accelerating rail digital transformation.

Among the cross-cutting issues, the strategy

The conference participants welcomed the draft strategy on accelerating rail digital transformation presented by ESCAP secretariat and underlined that its adoption and subsequent implementation can fast track rail digitalsation, particularly, for landlocked and least developing countries of the region.

Jaya Varma Sinha, Member Operations and Business Development of Railway Board in her welcome address on the second day of the conference also strongly supported the proposed draft of the regional strategy and informed the conference on the willingness of the Indian Railways to support regional rail digitalisation initiatives through platform provided by ESCAP.

The conference ended with a recommendation to adopt the regional strategy on accelerating rail digital transformation by the members of Trans-Asian Railway network.

RCG and Baumann Paletten strengthen the EUR brand

RAIL Cargo Group (RCG) has signed a partnership agreement with the Munich family firm Baumann Paletten to strengthen the EUR brand.

Logistics would be unthinkable without the Euro-pallet. Estimates suggest that there are about 600 million Euro-pallets in circulation worldwide. The trademark rights to the original Euro-pallet with the EUR symbol have belonged to ÖBB Rail Cargo Group (RCG) since 1961. In order to strengthen this brand and the open exchange pool, the ÖBB freight transport subsidiary and the Munich logistics company Baumann Paletten are working with railway undertakings and with testing and pallet organisations that belong to the International Union of Railways (UIC, the Union internationale

des chemins de fer) to put the spotlight on the Euro-pallet as a tool in sustainable logistics.

This partnership, which will take the form of a brand REFRESH, was sealed with a collaboration agreement on January 17.

Backbone of logistics

The introduction of the Euro-pallet in 1961 has increasingly revolutionised logistics throughout Europe and beyond. To give just one example, their use has cut the time required to load railway wagons by more than half.

The world of logistics is based on their measurements of 800 mm x 1200 mm x 144 mm – from the dimensions of stor-

age spaces and transport systems, right through to loading spaces in HGVs and goods lorries. Their rapid spread meant that an international pooling system could also be established itself from the start.

The Euro-pallet consists of 100% wood and is produced and tested for quality according to the UIC standard 435-2 ff. All EUR Euro-pallets are heat-treated according to the ISPM 15 standard and can be used for export.

The original is easy to spot – the characteristic "EUR” in an oval shape can be found on the right-hand corner block of each individual pallet. Because of its ubiquity and multifunctionality, the EUR Euro-pallet is a reusable and recyclable way of transporting heavy loads.

ÖBB RAIL CARGO GROUP INVESTS IN 300

NEW CURTAINSIDER SWAP BODIES

ÖBB Rail Cargo Group (RCG) is investing in 300 new Curtainsider Swap Bodies in 2023 in order to meet customer requirements and high demand.

Swap bodies are real stars in the pantheon of load carriers. They can be used multimodally, bridge the gap between road and rail and enable universal loading – which means that they can be loaded and unloaded from all sides, as well as from above. This is what sets them apart from a conventional container. Another advantage is that they can be used across all industries for all kinds of goods, such as beverage logistics, for chemicals and in the automotive industry.

Investment in state-of-the-art equipment

Demand for swap bodies has risen sharply in Europe in recent years. That is why, in 2023, RCG is investing in a total of 300 new swap bodies, which will be decorated in the eye-catching red of RCG’s equipment branding. There are plans to implement these across all segments. In this way, RCG will be able to provide its customers with a seamless end-to-end logistics solution – across all industries and segments. Loaders and unloaders can use TransFER products including first and last mile, even without a siding.

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