TX Logistik has launched a container service from Jade-Weser Port near Wilhelmshaven to the Tricon container terminal in Nürnberg and the Duss Kombiterminal in Kornwestheim, which is a hub for Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg. Both routes are operated as direct connections under the boxXpress brand. Further destinations are planned for the first half of the year.
Latvia’s LDZ Cargo has obtained safety certification for operations in Estonia, and has entered into an infrastructure use agreement with Eesti Raudtee.
On January 17 UK operator Freightliner launched a service between Southampton and Coatbridge for Ocean Network Express, which is purchasing GD+ hydrotreated waste and residue vegetable oil fuel equivalent to the diesel used between Southampton and Crewe where the service switches to electric traction.
CSX and Norfolk Southern owned Conrail is to replace its bulky paper rulebooks with Comply365’s tablet app. ‘We needed an innovative system that would keep our rulebooks consistent across our network and make it easy for our crews to access the information they need’, said Brian Simon, Manager of Safety at Conrail. ‘The experience and value Comply365 bring will make it a smooth transition for our administrators to begin electronic document delivery and an intuitive experience for our mobile end users.’
ÖBB Rail Cargo Group has established a Serbian subsidiary, Rail Cargo Carrier — Southeast, making Serbia the 13th European country where it has its own staff and locomotives. The company will mainly provide transit services between Turkey and central and southeast Europe, strengthening RCG’s position in Turkey.
Less-than-truckload logistics company XPO is organising the transport of containers of components from Schneider Electric’s warehouse at Mions in France by road to a rail terminal at Vénissieux in Lyon, then by rail through the Channel Tunnel or to Dourges near Lille for a ferry connection, and then by road to Telford in the UK. This is expected to reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 46% per year compared with all-road transport of 200 full lorries.
The rebuilding of KiwiRail’s Kaiwharawhara Wellington Interislander ferry terminal has been approved under a fast-track consenting process, and main construction is scheduled to start by mid-2023. Two replacement train ferries are to be delivered from 2025 as part of a NZ$8·6bn government investment in KiwiRail’s rail and ferry infrastructure.
Russia’s state leasing company GTLK has ordered United Wagon Co Type 19-9549 grain and milled product wagons for use by operator MRT from this year. The 19-9549 hopper wagons have 25 tonne axle loads and a capacity of 120 m3 or 76 tonnes, adding 6 tonnes more than older designs, and an overhaul interval of 1 million km or eight years compared to 110-210 000 km and three years for its older grain wagons.
ÖBB Rail Cargo Group has received a Carbon Disclosure Project B rating, up from a C. ‘This year’s result is not only a significant improvement on last year, but also places us above the European average. It proves that we are making our contribution to a Europe worth living in the spirit of the Paris Climate Agreement’, said CEO Clemens Först.