Specials - ITJ | Transport Journal

International Transport Journal 35-36 2013 Central Europe51Same tenor in Germany, Austria and Switzerland«The railways mustwin back lost volumes»The closure of many rail loading stations has led to a shift of traffic from rail to road,not only in Switzerland but also in Austria. In both cases these rationalisation measureswere a consequence of economic pressure rather than a response to environmentalconsiderations. The loser of these changes is wagonload traffic.Three Central European colleagues – hostDr Frank Furrer, secretary general of VAPSwitzerland, Jürgen Tuscher, of VPI Germany(on the left), Frank Petutschnig, of VPI Austria.Photo: Wilf SeifertThe number of Austrian rail loading stations has beenreduced from 540 to 461 since 2010. At the same time, aspecial service freight surcharge has been introduced at76 stations. In many cases both measures became effectivewithin six weeks after their announcement, causinguncertainty among shippers with regard to the future ofthe terminals that remained.The handling of timber was more than proportionallyaffected by this retrograde ecological step. «This is notthe end of the story either,» Frank Petutschnig, secretarygeneralof Austria’s private wagon association VPI prophesiedin mid-May at a Swiss transport industry associationVAP's Freight Wagon Forum in Zurich. A further roundof reductions to 420 stations was announced at the end oflast year, and this, it is calculated by Rail Cargo Austria,will result in nearly 35,000 more truck journeys per year.However, there is some good news. Petutschnig has submitteda set of strategic measures to strengthen railfreighttraffic to the Austrian government.Three examples.• A support programme for the provision of rail freightservices in the single-wagon traffic, unaccompaniedcombined transport and rolling motorway (ro-mo)segments.• «New» support for private sidings and terminals up tothe year 2017.• Strategic objectives in the form of a master transportplan, incorporating current measures. The aim is for40% of Austrian goods traffic to be carried by rail by2025 (in 2010 it was 33%).Single-wagon traffic in decline all over Europe«The shift of freight traffic from road to rail must bebacked by political will and must be defined by concreteobjectives, not wishes,» Petutschnig placed on record.For the assurance of a high-quality, sustainable offeringhe argued for a reduction in production costs over thelast mile, more intensive customer care and cooperationwith other rail transport enterprises and forwarders, etc.The talk by Petutschnig’s German opposite numberJürgen Tuscher, chief executive of his country’s privatewagon association VPI, was also devoted to the main topicof single-wagon traffic. Between 2011 and 2012, transportvolumes in Germany fell by 2.4% to 366million t in termsof goods carried, and by 2.7% to 110 billion in terms oftonne-kilometres. In Tuscher’s view, the political supportfor the transfer of freight to rail is not so marked in Germany as it is inits neighbouring countries to the south. «Our politicians seem to be moreinterested in the subject of overlong HGVs,» he remarked wryly.Tuscher illustrated the profitability dilemma facing European staterailways with four core statements.• In recent years, no major rail freight undertaking has made sufficientprofits to allow for reinvestment.• A number of principal competitors are faced with large deficits andserious structural challenges.• Irrational margin expectations (keyword break-even point) encouragesdistortions of competition.• It is difficult, in the face of intermodal competition, to pass pan-Europeancost increases on to customers.Wilf SeifertSchiffahrts- und Speditions-AktiengesellschaftF I ATAwww.navis-ag.comHamburg · Bremen · Hannover · FreibergRotterdam · Antwerpen · Barcelona