BTJ 5/2011 - Baltic Press

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EWTC II newsletterBusiness opportunities in railway transport of the East-West Transport CorridorIntegrated rail transportThe EWTC Joint Railway concept is aimed at proposing measures, inline with provisions of the green transport corridor concept and theEU transport policy, for integrating rail business processes to ensurethe smooth movement of goods within the corridor.The constantly increasing volume oftrade between Europe and Asia raisesthe need to create a sustainable transportcorridor from the Southern BalticSea region via Belarus, Russia and Central Asiancountries to China, as well as to Ukraine andthe Black Sea region. Railway transportationbetween the two continents more than twicereduces the time of cargo delivery comparedto sea transport and is more environmentallyfriendly, safe and efficient in long-distancetransportation, compared to road transport.The complexity of the rail business withinthe East-West Transport Corridor has beeninherited historically, as the rail net in eachcountry was created by a nation’s strategicneeds according to the existing legal bases.Two different rail gauge systems (1,435 mmand 1,520 mm) are present in the corridor, nothaving a direct link. There is also a huge diversityof technical, organizational, informationaland business railway models in the EWTCcountries and the country-oriented approachis still very strong in the railway sector, particularlyin the non-EU countries.One of the EWTC II project’s work packages(WP) is involved in the improvement ofbusiness opportunities in rail transport. Activitiesare implemented through a numberof thematic tasks concentrating on: preparationof the EWTC Joint Railway concept forseamless rail cargo flows (responsible WPpartner and task leader: Lithuanian Railways),examination of possibilities to expand42 | Baltic Transport Journal | 5/2011Photo: Green Cargoshuttle train markets (task leaders: Port ofKarlshamn, Danish Trafikstyrelsen, LithuanianRailways), setting prerequisites for newrail ferry services (task leader: Port of Sassnitz)and for improvement of rail services byremoving some of the bottlenecks in Swedenand Lithuania (task leaders: Swedish TransportAdministration, Lithuanian Railways).During implementation of the EWTCJoint Railway concept the outcomes of thebest practice projects, aimed at harmonizinginternational intermodal transport chainsand corridors, were examined. Findings of thePROMIT, InteGRail, RailNetEurope, BRA-VO (Brenner corridor), REORIENT Corridor,Corridor B, FreightWise and BE LOGICprojects, as well as the results of the shuttletrain VIKING project (within the 1,520 mmrail network) were useful for preliminary formulationcriteria, domain and key performanceindicators (KPI). The concept’s preliminarymodel was presented and approved at theWP partners meeting in Vilnius on February24, 2011 and in the EWTC partners Midtermconference in Fredericia on March 23-24,2011. Five key areas, important for the smoothmovement of freight by rail, namely: political,social, technological, administrative and business,were selected and discussed. The developmentof the model was continued duringworkshops of the task partners together withSwedish and Danish rail business in Malmöon May 24, 2011. What is now crucial are theconcrete steps to expand freight services ofintermodal rail transport, remove hindrancesand bottlenecks, improving service quality.Danish and Swedish EWTC II projectpartners are implementing the railway shuttleconcept from Esbjerg (Denmark) to Karlshamn(Sweden). Two studies, involving amarket investigation on launching the newcargo services and a possibility for introducinginnovative technical solutions in terminals,have been developed. A working group consistingof Lithuanian, Russian and Belarusianrailway companies’ representatives coordinatestarting conditions of a new shuttle train fromKlaipėda/Kaliningrad to Moscow. A trial runof the train is expected later this year or earlynext year. On the other hand, a new workinggroup of Lithuanian and Kazakhstan railways’representatives and freight forwarding companiesfrom Klaipėda examines the possibilitiesof launching a shuttle train on the Klaipėda-Alma Ata-Dostyk route, with an extension toUrumqi in China. The Port of Sassnitz is consideringthe option of running a railway ferrybetween Sassnitz-Baltiysk (Germany, RussianFederation). A market study will be completedsoon and at the moment intensive negotiationsare taking place. Another EWTC II projectpartner, Swedish Transport Administration,has prepared a study for railway improvementon the Helsingborg–Blekinge route.Lithuanian Railways has signed an agreementwith the Ukrainian transport company Plaskefor expanding VIKING’s operations on thiscountry’s territory and for representing theaforementioned company in negotiations forthe train’s route extension in the Black Searegion, in cooperation with Belarusian andUkrainian railway companies. Also, LithuanianRailways has signed a cooperation agreementwith the Turkish Port of Samson to lookfor opportunities to extend VIKING’s servicesto Turkey. Moreover, in line with EU legislation,the company is implementing TechnicalSpecifications for Interoperability (TSI)of Telematic Application for Freight (TAF)to improve the interaction of European andLithuanian rail networks (it is the first trial toimplement TAF TSI on a 1,520 mm rail network).This is a necessary step in implementingthe European Railway Transport ManagementSystem (ERTMS), which would be anadvantage in the green corridor. The first stage– a study on analysis of requirements on TAFTSI – was prepared and adopted by the steeringcommittee of the task on July 1, 2011. Stasys ZurbaCoordinator of the EWTC II WP“Business Opportunities in Railway Transport”
FocusRailwaysPhoto: Port of GothenburgThe railways from an insurance point of viewThe industry has to keep upThe theme of insurance is still a fairly recent focus of interest in the railway industry, only arising since theliberalisation of the rail transport sector in Europe, which has been and in some cases still is being implementedat different speeds since the start of the 1990s in the various countries belonging to the EU.Since the 1990s insurance has beengrowing steadily in importancefor the railways. In general, stateownedrailways were not insured,and there are still considerable differencesbetween the levels of insurance in place forpublicly-owned rail operators. It can be saidwith certainty, however, that the further thestate withdraws from its role as shareholderin the old public railways, the more importantit becomes to deal with this matter. Forprivate railway companies insurance hasalways been vital, simply to guarantee theirsurvival. There are also legal provisions requiringinsurance to be taken out, in particularto cover public liability.The following is an outline of how insurancecover for rolling stock can be provided.The intention is also to examine thequestion of liability to third parties from aliability insurance point of view. This typeof insurance is obligatory for anyone wishingto operate in the railway sector and/orto even obtain a licence to operate a businessin a specific country. Our observationson this subject are limited to insurancecover for rolling stock and coveragefor liability to third parties.Insurance of rolling stockRailway companies and decision-makersfor leasing companies or the banks whichprovide finance for leasing companies have toask themselves to what extent the risk of lossor damage to rolling stock equipment can betransferred to third parties, e.g. to insurers.Their aim here is frequently to have availablethe broadest possible insurance cover, either byfinding their own solutions (the lessor takes outthe insurance himself) or by means of solutionssupplied by lessees in order to limit their financialrisk in the event of a claim.In developing and constructing an insurancepackage, the first task is to clarify the riskstructure of the business model concerned. Thearchitect of the insurance cover, e.g. the insurancebroker, must first of all establish what risksthe parties concerned want to purchase it for,i.e. what risks they wish to transfer to insurers.In a modern, internationally structuredinsurance concept the following aspects are ofparticular importance:• Will the insurer pay in advance, regardlessof where the liability lies? For example, willthis be the case even if the damage is causedby a workshop or by defective parts? Example:Was the defective vehicle componenteven technically appropriate for the purposeit was used for?• Will any payout be on a new-for-old basis?• Are out-of-service risks covered? For example,a locomotive is not earning, butleasing instalments have to be paid and areplacement locomotive obtained.• Does the cover automatically apply Europe-wide?• What recourse options are granted to theinsurer? Does the policyholder have anysay as regards recourse action?• Does the level of premiums take into accountcorrective (preventive) maintenance?The policyholder should not pay premiumsfor costs incurred for the purpose of preventivemaintenance.• Obligations on the part of co-insuredparties?• What is the situation as regards the underinsurancewaiver?• For the purpose of the insurance contract,who is regarded as the representative? Theaim should be to ensure that e.g. railwaytraffic or operating managers/fleet managersare not regarded as representatives.• Rights conferred by any other contractualagreements, e.g. national insurance5/2011 | Baltic Transport Journal | 43
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BTJ 5/2011 - Baltic Press

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