The so-called shunting agreement is “essential to provide clarity and certainty to all parties involved during the execution of works along the entire port railway”, the Port of Rotterdam says. It defines the procedures for transferring trains administratively and physically, and which responsibilities apply to both contractors and clients.

Pilot

The project ‘Track Together’ will initially run for seven months in a pilot format. If proven successful, it will continue on a structural basis. Its goal is to prevent train cancellations and long delays. Terminals will benefit, according to the port, because their tracks can also be freed up for other planned trains.

“Track Together strengthens cooperation between rail operators in the Port of Rotterdam. By sharing information more effectively, the platform contributes to more efficient operations and a more reliable rail network for all parties involved”, commented Jordy Hermes, Product Design Specialist at LTE.

Total secrecy

Last week, Ukrainian Railways conveyed US president Joe Biden to a meeting in Kyiv with his counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The operation was quickly dubbed “Rail Force One” in a tongue-in-cheek reference to the official designation of the US presidential aircraft. The journey from the Polish border took ten hours – a fact remarked upon in the British media as “an entirely acceptable commute for most British travellers”.

Despite an air raid siren, the boss of Ukrainian Railways explained how the operation had been carried out. “No leakage happened until after the operation had been completed and president Biden arrived in Kyiv”, Kamyshin said in the interview conducted in English. “We managed to keep it silent, together with our partners.”

Apologies for delay

The movement of Rail Force One caused considerable disruption to the network timetable in Ukraine. Kamyshin apologised for that inconvenience. “We had to delay [very many] trains”, he said. “It was really painful for me and my team because we usually pride ourselves for being on schedule. This time we had to do it on purpose and I really apologise. Next day I really apologised to my passengers and customers because we had to bring Rail Force One safe to Kyiv and back.”

“Putin said it will take three days to bring Ukraine to heel. Well, on day 362 we brought president Biden to Kyiv to meet with our president. So you can imagine it was really important to show that the US president can come to [our capital] as well as many other world leaders though our ‘iron diplomacy’ – and the use of our railways is a symbol that we are winning this war.”

More than three hundred killed on duty

Despite enemy action, the railway in Ukraine has been praised for time-keeping that would stand muster in most other European countries, where typical hazards are confined to missed connections and leaves on the line. Most readers are already familiar with the shocking images of a line of Russian tanks crossing the rails in front of a Ukrainian train, endangering everyone. Such incidents have been common problems for Kamyshin and the planners at Ukrainian Railways.

More than three hundred railway workers have been killed in the first year of the war, either in action as volunteers in the armed forces, or on railway duty. Kamyshin paid tribute to them, and emphasised the importance of the railways in the peacetime and wartime economy of the country. “We stand since day one in this war. We are the largest company in Ukraine, with 261,000 people behind me”, he said. “People should have something reliable, even during war. The railway is one of the most important things and should be reliable so that people know it shouldn’t be a problem to move [themselves or goods]. Railways is that kind of transportation [and reliable part of the civic fabric].”

A whole new concept

The new locomotives will operate with high-capacity batteries and intelligent braking energy regeneration systems. This advanced technology will allow the locomotives to run in non-electrified routes and perform first and last-mile shunting operations. In practice, they will perform under diverse conditions and railway lines, replacing diesel locomotives completely.

Moreover, apart from reducing carbon emissions, the new locomotives will also produce less noise. Rail Force One, the railway undertaking of Rail Innovators Group, will use the first batch of zero-emission locomotives in the Port of Rotterdam in 2024.

“We aim to push innovation forward and therefore support this project with the implementation and operational analyses for a proof of concept for the wider industry. Furthermore, the Port of Rotterdam strives towards a carbon-neutral port by 2050 and views the zero-emission locomotive as an important contributor to further decarbonisation of the logistic chain, ” commented Emile Hoogsteden Commercial Director at Port of Rotterdam Authority.

China Railway Construction Co

The Chinese manufacturer CRRC, in full named the China Railway Construction Co, has been gaining foothold in Europe with several acquisitions and agreements in the rolling stock business. Germany-based Vossloh Group sold its locomotive business to subsidiary CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive, end of May 2020. A month later, CRRC Tangshan won the procurement process for supplying eight five-carriage metro trainsets to the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

These recent developments have sparked criticism in Europe. The Association of the European Rail Industry (UNIFE) warned the European authorities that such deals would open the EU rail market for the Chinese giant. As a result, it could be a significant challenge for the European rolling stock manufacturers as the Chinese company has strong state support.

Also read: 

• Alstom to equip DB Cargo freight locomotive with ETCS
• Is it possible to use three locomotives to run a longer train?
• Alstom supplies Ukrainian Railways with 130 electric locomotives

Organised by Dutch rail pressure group RailGood, Green light for freight transport by rail has been signed operators, freight forwarders, logistics companies, terminals, ports and local governments, along with freight representative associations. A Dutch-German delegation of rail freight entrepreneurs handed over the petition to the Standing Committee for Infrastructure and Water Management of the House of Representatives.

Influential mouthpiece

Established in February 2016, RailGood has become an increasingly influential mouthpiece for the industry, providing the management of external relations to companies in the freight sector in The Netherlands. Its member organisations are Rotterdam Rail Feeding, LTE Netherlands, TX Logistik, DistriRail, Lineas, Captrain Netherlands, Rail Force One, Rail Transport Services and Shunter.

Calling on the House to ‘stimulate’ rail freight transport through effective government policy, Rail Good says: “The Netherlands should no longer be out of step with Germany due to extremely high costs. Shippers often opt for rail as soon as the weather is attractive…stimulating rail freight transport is good for the quality of life and economy of The Netherlands.”

Masterplan for Rail Freight

Back in June Germany took what was seen as a landmark decision when the government announced that, in a collective agreement with the rail industry, it was going to invest around 350 million Euros to halve track charges for rail freight traffic as part of the ‘Masterplan for Rail Freight’. RailGood believes this move could jeopardise the competitive position of the Dutch port as a gate for freight forwarders to the European hinterland, and so is urging its own government to take action to ensure a level playing field.

“The competitive position of rail freight is under serious pressure,” it says. “The introduction of..ERTMS..and the exponential increase in the costs of rail use lead to loss-making exploitation and therefore a lack of investment and innovation in the sector.”

Track usage costs

Specifically, the petition calls for:

• A substantial reduction in the infrastructure charge for rail freight transport so that the track usage costs come in line with truck and inland navigation
• Stopping the current ERTMS roll-out, connecting with German policy for security systems and use only proven technologies that will last for decades (RailGood wrote to the House of Representatives in October voicing concerns about ERTMS deployment, following a report by the European Court of Auditors which concluded ERTMS implementation was ‘insufficient’ and ‘too fragmented
• Compensate carriers for costs issued by Dutch government for rail infrastructure, and costs arising from national legislation on top of European laws and regulations.

Attractive to shippers

RailGood says the advantages for The Netherlands are a significant CO2 reduction, reduced pressure on the road network and strong growth of rail freight as it becomes attractive to shippers. It also says that an enhanced rail freight sector will make a substantial contribution to making freight transportation ‘green’ within the context of the Paris Climate Agreement, and improve the accessibility of Dutch seaports, industry and business. RailGood adds that it expects the new government and the Lower House to ensure that this policy is ‘established and is executed’, and be in line with the German Masterplan, including the halving of track costs.

The petition can be viewed here, where there are also links to various supporting documents (Dutch and English).

Its parent group, Rail Innovators Holding, is already well established in the cargo sector, with services including domestic and European operator Rail Logix and freight wagon leasing company RailReLease. Rail Force One will now run their own named transport services, contributing to the 150 freight trains which cross the Dutch border every day.

European market

As well as The Netherlands, Rail Force One will, through its connections, have access to the wider European market, with group partners in Austria, Czech Republic, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland.

This is supported by cooperation between Dutch rail infrastructure manager ProRail and European counterparts such as DB Netze (Germany), SNCF Réseau (France) and ZSR  (Slovakia). This includes implementing fewer rules and regulations, having an international timetable and ensuring a level playing field for loads, lengths and weights of freight trains.