Freight news – Page 13
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NewsBattery freight locomotive conversion underway
AUSTRALIA: One of Aurizon’s Class 4000 diesel locomotives is being converted to a prototype EMD Joule battery powered heavy-haul freight loco which can be charged using renewable electricity and capture regenerated energy when braking or travelling downhill. The operator said the prototype will be ’a measured ...
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NewsFret SNCF to be wound up as deal sought with European Commission
FRANCE: State support for France’s rail freight operators will rise to €200m a year from 2025 while €4bn will be invested in related projects in 2023-32. The French government meanwhile is proposing radical changes to the state-owned rail freight sector to avoid punitive action by the European Commission, writes Jérémie Anne.
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NewsRumo-Inpasa partnership keeps ethanol flowing
BRAZIL: Rumo Logística has signed a 10-year agreement with ethanol producer Inpasa Group to operate a ‘rail pipeline’ from Rondonópolis in Mato Grosso state to serve markets in the São Paulo area. Inpasa has invested around R$100m in the project, acquiring a dedicated fleet of 50 ...
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NewsAutonomous battery-powered wagons to be deployed in Michigan
USA: Intramotev has been awarded funding for the first commercial use of its TugVolt concept for an autonomous battery-electric wagon. Michigan’s Office of Future Mobility & Electrification has awarded a $200 000 grant for the deployment at a mining site in the state’s Upper Peninsula in ...
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NewsPrecise planning pays off as Finnish wood trains launch
FINLAND: National freight operator VR Transpoint has launched a ‘fine-tuned’ service transporting round wood by train to Metsä Group’s new Kemi bioproduct mill. The mill is due to start operation in Q3 2023, producing 1·5 million tonnes of pulp per year along with 2·0 TWh of ...
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NewsHydrogen shunting loco plan
GERMANY: Duisport Rail has signed a letter of intent with Vossloh Rolling Stock for the possible use of two hydrogen locomotives at its inland port facilities. The operator and its parent company Duisburger Hafen are currently building a new container terminal, where operations are intended to ...
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NewsJoule battery loco unveiled ahead of trial
USA: Pacific Harbor Line has unveiled a Progress Rail EMD SD40JR Joule battery electric locomotive ahead of a one-year trial. Anacostia Rail Holdings subsidiary PHL provides shunting services and dispatches all BNSF and Union Pacific trains within the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. It ...
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NewsFirst Dr19 diesel locomotive enters service
FINLAND: The first of 60 Class Dr19 diesel locomotives being supplied by Stadler has entered revenue service with national operator VR, hauling round wood from Kemi to Kolari on May 3. In April 2019 VR awarded Stadler a €220m contract to supply 60 of the centre-cab ...
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NewsErmewa to use Nexxiot technology for wagon telematics
EUROPE: Leasing company Ermewa is to integrate Nexxiot’s sensor and data technology into its existing wagon telematics to provide real-time information and detailed metrics covering vehicle location, utilisation, mileage, shocks and other events affecting maintenance, quality and safety. Nexxiot’s technology includes an interoperable ecosystem of ATEX-certified ...
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NewsEurotunnel lorry shuttle service rebranded
EUROPE: Channel Tunnel concessionaire Getlink has announced what it calls a ‘major rebranding initiative’ for its Eurotunnel Le Shuttle Freight lorry shuttle service, which will now be known as LeShuttle Freight. This is part of a ‘full brand evolution across both the freight and car passenger ...
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News‘We need more capacity’ urges DB’s Nikutta as she takes on Rail Freight Forward leadership
EUROPE: DB Board Member for Freight and DB Cargo CEO Sigrid Nikutta has succeeded Rail Cargo Group Chief Executive Clemens Först as Chair of the Rail Freight Forward alliance.
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Rail Business UKRail industry responds to longer lorry trailers
UK: The rail freight sector is not expecting to see a significant impact from the government’s decision to allow the operation of longer semi-trailers on Great Britain’s roads, although the RMT trade union has expressed concern. Following 11 years of trials involving 300 operators and 3 ...
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Rail Business UKNo silver bullet promised as TransPennine Express to transfer to Operator of Last Resort
UK: FirstGroup’s National Rail Contract to operate TransPennine Express services will not be renewed when it expires on May 28, Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper announced on May 11. Operations will instead be transferred to the government’s Operator of Last Resort. Services will run ...
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NewsGerman government urged to revise pessimistic rail freight assumptions
GERMANY: The leaders of six private rail freight operators have published an open letter to federal Transport Minister Dr Volker Wissing urging the government to revise pessimistic forecasts for the sector’s future growth.
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NewsHydrogen locos to be tested on coal trains
CANADA: Piloting the use of hydrogen locomotives is included in an agreement for Canadian Pacific Kansas City to haul steelmaking coal from Teck Coal’s four operations in southeastern British Columbia. The agreement announced on May 4 builds on existing services for Teck and runs until the end ...
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NewsDutch rail freight community launches skills drive
EUROPE: More needs to be done to attract younger people to work in the sector, representatives of the Dutch rail freight industry said at the Transport Logistic trade fair in München. The announcement on May 9 was co-ordinated by Rail Cargo Information Netherlands and partners to ...
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NewsIntermodal rail freight service to bring Ukraine into the European logistics chain
EUROPE: Rail Cargo Group used the Transport Logistic trade show in München on May 9 to announce an intermodal freight service linking Kyiv and Lviv with Budapest and Wien. Austrian Federal Railways’ freight subsidiary said this would be the ‘first regular, high frequency intermodal connection’ between ...