News from the world rail freight market.
EMW Stahl Service-Center is using a Vollert Pro Tandem BR 170 battery-powered two-car tandem robot for emission-free shunting at a new central steel coil warehouse in Siegen (Weidenau) in Germany, as part of a shift from road to rail transport. ‘Rail is more sustainable, but also more reliable than trucks or ships, because trains run even during low water levels and traffic bottlenecks’, said Jens Müller, Head of Logistics at EMW. ‘Our logistics concept envisages the transfer of 18 000 lorry journeys per year. Thanks to Vollert’s battery solution, this can be done throughout our entire premises, both indoors and outdoors.’
CargoBeamer has launched a service carrying semi-trailers between the Cabooter Terminal at Venlo in the Netherlands and Oradea in Romania. There are six roundtrips per week, with a transit time of 60 h. The majority of available slots will be used by Romanian logistics company Routier European Transport, which will also provide traction. The remaining capacity is available to the general market.
On October 1 CER Austria Cargo received a standardised safety certificate from the Austrian Federal Ministry for Innovation, Mobility & Infrastructure. enabling it to carry out its own freight transport in Austria, adding to its network in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Croatia and Romania. Serbia and Germany are to follow soon.
PD Ports and DB Cargo have launched a daily ‘jumbo’ 16-wagon train service from Teesport to Mossend and Grangemouth, replacing separate services to the two Scottish destinations. ‘We’ve listened to our customers, and this service is designed around their needs — reliable, sustainable and flexible enough to handle volumes daily’, said PD Ports Business Development Manager Jo Edmenson.
The US Short Line Training Center has added six new mechanical training courses through its online learning system. ’The Short Line Training Center is exceeding expectations on its mission of delivering affordable and accessible safety training’, said American Short Line & Regional Railroad Association President Chuck Baker. ‘More than two dozen railroads have already signed on, delivering training to more than 1 200 short line employees.’
A groundbreaking ceremony has been held to launch work to build the first unit at the West Midlands Interchange, a £2bn logistics hub being developed between Stafford and Wolverhampton by Oxford Properties and Logistics Capital Partners. James Markby, Managing Partner at LCP, said ‘the WMI site is set to become the country’s most significant rail-served logistics development and will become a crucial component of the UK’s strategic freight network. It will be key to decarbonising UK logistics and supporting the country’s wider net zero aspirations.’