NEXT YEAR will see the strengthening of postal traffic on German Railway, with the introduction of a network of Parcel Intercity trains. On July 15 DB President Johannes Ludewig signed a co-operation accord with his counterpart at Deutsche Post Dr Klaus Zimwinkel. Also participating in the event were the respective freight directors Dr Eberhard Sinnecker and Dr Günter Tumm.
Although letter mail by rail in Germany ended on May 31 1997, DB Cargo still handles 10% of the parcels traffic between major centres in around 220 swap bodies per weekday; at weekends rail’s share increases to almost 50%. DB is currently hauling 80000 loads a year, equivalent to around 40000 lorry journeys. The new agreement provides for the transfer of a further 10000 unit loads from road to rail, increasing weekday traffic by almost 20%. Capacity will also be made available on the trains for up to 20000 swap bodies owned by third parties.
Parcel Intercity services will initially operate on a north-south axis linking Hamburg and Hannover with Stuttgart, Nürnberg and München, although the aim is develop east-west routes as well. The trains will run at up to 160 km/h in dedicated paths; there will also be a special quality management office.
H Deutsche Post has pulled out of the Express Shuttle GmbH joint venture with UPS to develop a network of CargoSprinter services to carry premium parcels on routes throughout Germany (RG 10.98 p677). UPS has confirmed that it intends to continue with the project, although development may be slower than anticipated.
