Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Co’s new Caspian Sea train ferry Azerbaijan entered service on May 7, linking Baku with Kuryk in Kazakhstan and Turkmenbashi in Turkmenistan. The RoPax ship was built by the Baku Shipyard to a design by Ukraine’s Marine Engineering Bureau. It is 154·5 m long and 17·7 m wide with capacity for up to 56 wagons or 50 lorries and 100 passengers. It has 688 m of 1 520 mm gauge track on two levels, with the lower level accessed via a wagon lift supplied by SMS-SME. A second ship is under construction.
Testing of a battery locomotive charged from the overhead electrification for use on last-mile operations is amongst the sMArt Green Ports as Integrated Efficient multimodal hub (MAGPIE) project which has been awarded €25m of EU funding. The project is to be undertaken by the Green Port alliance of 45 companies, knowledge institutes and port authorities headed by the Port of Rotterdam Authority.
RailAdventure has acquired a majority stake in Dutch company Railexperts BV, which has 15 employees and operates testing and other special trains as well as a control centre for the co-ordination of rail freight traffic.
US Customs & Border Protection has announced a $46m initiative to replace ageing scanning systems at 12 rail ports of entry on the Mexican and Canadian borders with scanners that use X-rays rather than radioactive isotopes to produce images for cargo inspection. ‘The high-quality images produced by the new rail cargo scanners will enhance CBP’s efforts to interdict stowaways, deadly narcotics, and other contraband while facilitating the flow of lawful trade’, explained William A. Ferrara, Executive Assistant Commissioner of the CBP Office of Field Operations. Installation and testing is to begin in the autumn of 2021.
DB Cargo UK and Maritime Intermodal are conducting trials of using 100% renewable Hydro-Treated Vegetable Oil to fuel two Class 66 locomotives hauling intermodal services from the Port of Felixstowe to East Midlands Gateway. The HVO supplied by Crown Oil is made through the hydro-treatment of waste vegetable oils or animal fats. ‘We are delighted that Maritime has agreed to be the first intermodal customer to work with us on this exciting project that could ultimately lead to a significant reduction in our carbon footprint and that of our customers’, said DB Cargo UK’s Head of Sales Roger Neary.
On May 10 Medway signed its first company agreement with the Portuguese drivers’ union SMAQ, enabling its trains to run only with the driver in the cab on the entire national network.
GB Railfreight has been awarded its first contract from AP Moller-Maersk, a two-year deal to operate five trains a week from Felixstowe to the new Newell & Wright facility at Tinsley near Sheffield. ‘We are a growing organisation, always looking for the next opportunity and working with Maersk was an excellent opportunity’, said GBRf Managing Director John Smith. ‘We hope this is the beginning of a great relationship.’
CSX Transportation has agreed to acquire Quality Carriers from Quality Distribution, in order to develop a multimodal chemicals transport business. Quality Carriers is the largest provider of bulk liquid chemicals lorry transport in North America, serving more than 100 terminals across the USA, Canada and Mexico. The transaction is expected to close in Q3, but terms were not disclosed.
North Lanarkshire Council’s Planning Committee has approved Phase 1 of the Mossend International Railfreight Park in Scotland. This will provide Scotland’s first freight terminal able to handle 775 m long electric trains, and will have a capacity of 16 trains/day as part of a 24/7 operation.
Norfolk Southern says it is the first Class I railway in North America to issue green bonds, having closed a US$500m offering on May 12 to fund investments to reduce its carbon emissions. ‘Green bonds challenge us to reduce our environmental impacts and evaluate not only where we have been, but where we want to go’, said Chief Sustainability Officer Josh Raglin. ‘Through innovation and collaboration with our many partners, we aim to be the transportation industry leader delivering the low-carbon economy.’
Kansas City Southern has promoted Timothy Livingston from General Manager Network Operations to Vice-President Transportation for the company’s operations in the US and Mexico.
