‘Release to Service’ and ‘Release to Operation

’The amendments to the protocols ‘Release to Service’ and ‘Release to Operation’ clarify who is responsible for what, when responsibility transfers, and what information needs to flow between parties., UIP said. What is new is the explicit inclusion of Entities in Charge of Maintenance (ECM) “as the entity responsible for the outcome of maintenance”. Thus, there is a continuous and clear chain of responsibility from the ECM all the way to the RU using the wagons.

GCU Broker Platform

UIP, together with the European Rail Freight Association (ERFA) and the International Union of Railways (UIC), developed the GCU Broker Platform in 2019 and are continuously improving it. Its objective is to digitalise and optimise the obligatory exchange of data on defects and the outcome of repairs processes, UIP underlined. “The platform replaces what were often fragmented, paper-based or bilateral processes with a standardised digital exchange”. This, together with the clarified on-site maintenance rules, is expected to make the maintenance of rail freight wagons seamless and efficient.

Persisting doubts

Despite this development, DAC is still a controversial initiative. Its cost, for example, continues to be the subject of many debates. The most optimistic estimates say that the migration to DAC across Europe will cost 8,5 billion euros, while the highest are set at somewhere between 20 and 30 billion euros.

And a probably more important question is who is going to have to pay for this ginormous amount of money. Some argue that the rolling stock industry should absorb the costs, while others think that EU institutions should cover all expenses given the European reach of the initiative. Which takes us to the final issue.

Does DAC really need to be deployed on every rail freight wagon that circulates in Europe? Even DAC ambassadors acknowledge that a full migration will likely never be obtained, especially given the estimated costs. On the other hand, specific segments such as single wagonload could benefit from the technology.

The six organisations have produced a document, Joint Rail Sector Declaration on Digitalisation of Railways, which says it reaffirms each organisation’s commitment to providing products and services using digital technologies for the benefit of the people.

‘Backbone of transport in Europe’

It has been signed by Libor Lochman, Executive Director of the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Managers (CER); Monika Heiming, Executive Director of the Association of European Railway Infrastructure Managers; Julia Lamb, Secretary General of the European Rail Freight Association (ERFA); Gilles Peterhans, Secretary General of the International Union of Wagon Keepers (UIP); Thomas Avanzata, Director of the European Department of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP – Union Internationale des Transports Publics; and Philippe Citroën, Director General of the Association of the European Rail Industry (UNIFE).

“Digitalisation is ever more present in all aspects of life, and offers enormous opportunities and challenges”, says the document. “The rail sector, as the backbone of transport in Europe, is not new to the digital age, and is today intensifying its use of digital technologies in order to match the pace and scope of digitalisation in the wider transport chain and to adapt to customer expectations on safety, security, punctuality, capacity, transparency, and information availability. Intense and constructive cooperation of the rail sector with the European Commission is key to accelerate this process.

‘Continuously adapting’

“The shared objective of all rail stakeholders is to offer highly efficient and attractive transport options to their customers, and digitalisation is a key tool to achieve this in a fast-moving technology environment. To foster the rail sector’s attractiveness and competitiveness, we are continuously adapting to the changing needs of end-users, for whom commuting mobile apps and real-time information has become part of everyday life.

The sector therefore welcomes numerous initiatives on open data and expects that any new legislative initiative on data policy will take into consideration the already existing sectorial legislation. This will allow to better promote transport data opening while taking into account specificities of railways for the benefit of customers.”

Download the document here.

With digitalisation and ‘intelligent communications’ playing an increasingly key role in ensuring the effective movement of goods across Europe and the world, the UIP says freight wagon keepers are at the heart of market demand and are reliant on new technologies for helping them improve their assets and make them more attractive to potential customers.

‘Challenges remain’

In calling for better voluntary co-operation between all stakeholders, the organisation says it is ‘very much aware’ that challenges remain due to complex authorisation discussions over data access rights, a lack of standards for data quality and formats, and fears over losing information related to rail traffic patterns.

It has put forward several recommendations: implementation of a flexible decision-making structure to keep a mandatory data catalogue; an obligation by all stakeholders to exchange operational information; promoting an open dialogue on the need for operational data; and regular reviews of data to benefit the future needs of a developing industry landscape.

The aim is to put forward positions and outline expectations in relation to European Union policy initiatives that could boost and enhance European multimodal connectivity and logistics.

If cargo reaches a port and cannot continue its journey inland, then this is most probably due to multimodal connections linking ports to the hinterland are not optimal or sufficient, members attending the first meeting in Brussels were told.

Seamless operations

No cargoes reach consumers while using a single mode of transport, says the IAM, and efforts should therefore be mobilised to ‘facilitate seamless and sustainable operations involving different modes of transport’. Members of the alliance, it adds, will focus on those measures allowing modes, nodes and industrial clusters to be better connected.

The alliance has 22 member organisations, including the International Union of Wagon Keepers (UIP), the International Union for Road-Rail Combined Transport (UIRR), the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) and the Federation of European Private Port Operators and Terminals (FEPORT). All agreed that initial work would focus on three areas: the reduction of air pollution, including decarbonisation and sulphur emissions; intermodality, incorporating the combined transport directive, interoperability; and digitalisation of the sector, including e-transport documents.

Lamia Kerdjoudj-Belkaid, Secretary General of FEPORT, said: “Feport is glad that work starts within IAM. It is a good indication that industry actors believe in ‘stronger together’. We hope that EU institutions will be receptive to industry priorities and will encourage co-operation within the logistics chain.

Positive impetus

“This is particularly important for a number of industries which are getting rid of the ‘silo thinking’, and engaging in ‘change management’ to face the current economic, environmental and social challenges. All actors in the supply chain and logistics sector deserve the support of EU institutions. Time has come for a positive impetus through inclusive European policy-making.”

The ETF meanwhile has elected Giorgio Tuti as President of its Railway Section, the branch of the union which brings together 83 railway trade unions from 37 European countries, and represents thousands of workers in the freight sector.