News from the world rail freight market.
Swiss rail regulator BAV has been granted an extended deadline to respond to an interim court order blocking its planned wagon safety rule changes. The federal administrative court had initially asked for a response by December 16, but BAV will now have until January 24 to address the ruling.
GATX Rail Europe has supplied oil and fuel logistics company PERN with modern tank wagons for the transport of petroleum products such as diesel and petrol between its storage facilities across Poland. The wagons were handed over in Kraków and Sławecice in early November. ‘We are proud to welcome PERN as a new customer and to support their operations with reliable and efficient GATX tank railcars, we see this as the beginning of a strong and long-term partnership’, said Marcin Grzegorzewski, GATX Rail Europe manager for its Area East.
Vietnamese national railway DSVN has organised the free transport of 1 million bricks from Bim Son station (Thanh Hoa) to Hoa Da station ‘in the spirit of urgency, safety, smoothness and timeliness’ to support the repair of houses for people affected by rain and floods. The government said ‘many trains have been running through the night, although the railway infrastructure is also affected by natural disasters, having to run slowly in some areas, but units in the railway industry still make the highest efforts to ensure that relief goods are delivered in a timely manner to the people.’
NC State University and the Association of American Railroads’ Railinc data platform are to collaborate on a research initiative to explore how modest shifts in freight volume from lorries to trains can yield significant cost savings, environmental benefits and infrastructure planning insights. ‘By combining Railinc’s capabilities with the analytical capabilities of NC State, we can deliver insights that help industry leaders and policymakers make smarter, faster and more confident decisions’, said Dr Daniel J Findley, Associate Director at NC State’s Institute for Transportation Research & Education. ‘Rail is often an overlooked option in freight, yet it can offer advantages in cost, capacity, and sustainability compared to other modes. This research helps identify where rebalancing is not only possible but practical—creating pathways for more resilient supply chains and stronger communities.’
Getlink has acquired Customs 4 All, a specialist in customs formalities. With a presence at strategic locations in Calais for cross-Channel trade and in Saint-Louis on the France-Switzerland border, C4A joins Getlink Customs Services, the Getlink group’s division dedicated to customs and regulatory formalities, as part of ambitions to enhancing the appeal of its LeShuttle Freight services through the Channel Tunnel.
Ukrainian supplier Dniprovagonmash has shipped the first TransANT Pro Sgns flat wagon for transporting large-tonnage containers to DB Bahnbau Gruppe. The four-axle standard gauge wagon has a load capacity of 72 tonnes, a tare weight of 20∙6 tonnes, and a maximum axleload of 23 tonnes. To accelerate handover, the wagon was transported by road from Ukraine to Hungary. Dniprovagonmash is part of the industrial group TAS, which in recent years has also become the owner of the Austrian wagon manufacturer TransANT. It now manufactures wagons to order for TransANT.
Slovak operator ZSSK Cargo has awarded RS Lease a contract covering the lease for 10 years of 15 Siemens Vectron MS locos, including full service maintenance and an option for access to 15 more. The operator already uses 10 Vectrons under a lease agreement that started in 2018-19.