For the first time in more than six years, a GrainCorp train has operated on track north of Moree which is being upgraded as part of the Narrabri to North Star section of Australia’s Inland Rail project. The train was loaded with 2 600 tonnes of canola at GrainCorp silos in Croppa Creek, 60 km northeast of Moree, for export through the port of Newcastle.
On February 28 South Africa’s Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan announced the appointment of Michelle Phillips as Transnet’s Group Chief Executive Officer and Nosipho Maphumulo as Group Chief Financial Officer. Phillips was acting Group Chief Executive, while Maphumulo has experience of financial management in large complex commercial organisations. Gordhan said ‘these appointments will provide Transnet with the strategic direction and the ability to execute on its ongoing reforms, including the implementation of the provisions of the Freight Logistics Roadmap which envisages the granting of access for private rail operators soon’.
The International Union for Road-Rail Combined Transport has proposed a simplification of the definition of combined transport operation in the Combined Transport Directive: ’Combined transport operation: an intermodal transport operation where the non-road modes of transport carry out more than 50% of the actual distance that the intermodal loading unit is carried. The 50% should change to 60% in 2035 reflecting the anticipated enhancements in terminal density and rail infrastructure development’, UIRR said.
On February 29 Yuxinou (Chongqing) Logistics Co and KTZ Express signed an agreement for the operation of 200 container trains through Kazakhstan, including along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. So far this year KTZ has reached agreements covering 3 500 container trains with logistics companies in Xi’an, Jiangsu, Beijing, Zhengzhou and Chongqing.
Railinc has added a demurrage module to its TransmetriQ wagon management platform. ‘In speaking with a variety of shippers, we found that many were struggling to manage demurrage with spreadsheets’, said Senior Product Manager Danny Dever. ’Our solution tracks terminal capacity and estimates demurrage automatically, giving shippers the visibility to take action.’
DT Infrastructure has been awarded a contract to construct a siding and rapid loading facility in Konnongorring, Western Australia, where CBH Group is aiming to change from predominately road transport to rail and road. The works will reduce the time needed to load a 52-wagon grain train from 14 h to 4 h.
On February 27 GB Railfreight announced a five-year extension of its contract to transport alumina powder from the port of Blyth to Fort William for Alvance British Aluminium. The two trains a week carry over 70 000 tonnes a year.
ÖBB Rail Cargo Group has again received a B rating in the Carbon Disclosure Project. ‘This year’s result once again places us at a good level’, said CEO Clemens Först. ‘It proves that we are making our contribution to a Europe worth living in in line with the Paris Climate Agreement and that we are living up to our vision of being the sustainable logistics backbone of the European economy.’
Johann Ubben stepped down as Managing Director of Captrain Deutschland CargoWest and Captrain Netherlands for personal reasons on February 29. Thomas Kratzer and Henrik Würdemann have temporarily taken on management of the two businesses.