Concluding Report Pragmatic Solutions to improve rail-freight transport along the North-South Corridor 4th March 2002 This report is confidential and only intended for client‘s.
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Concluding Report Pragmatic Solutions to improve rail-freight transport along the North-South Corridor 4th March 2002 This report is confidential and only intended for client‘s use On the basis of the results of the initial hearing and interviews, the problems and their causes in the freight corridor were analysed and possible solutions identified... Procedure 1. Hearing in CH und NL with market participants Selected interviews with market participants Interim Report Review though 2nd hearing (CH und NL) and coordination with D and I Overview problem areas Revised final report on improving the north-south freight corridor Understanding causes Proposed solutions October 2001 December 2001 January 2002 January 2002 February 2002 March 2002 … the most important conclusions are presented here RPMU_849_MM01_10.ppt 1 Today‘s rail-freight transport problems can be summarised into three areas Problem areas of rail-freight transport on the north-south axis 1 Problem area Quality1) Characteris Delays tics Long transport times Lack of Track & Trace, inadequate client information Response times 2 Cost and cost structure Disproportiantely high price Pricing structure too complex “too late” Weighting 4 1) Quality also includes short-term capacity shortfalls, which lead to poor quality 2) Includes the mediam to ,long-term capacity shortfalls RPMU_849_MM01_10.ppt “too costly” 3 Capacity2) Long-term capacity shortfall in long distance network, local feeder networks and at terminals “too little” 2 1 4 0 Highest priority Lowest priority 2 It was possible to identify 7 main causes on the basis of the causal analysis of the three problem areas Cause) Details Lack of locomotives Planning Access restrictions Condition of locomotives Lack of drivers Planning Access restrictions 3 Customs procedure (esp. for private train operators) Complexity and time needed for customs checks for crossborder freight transport 4 Inadequate international coordination and flow of information Coordination on introduction of timetables Coordination and flow of information in daily planning 5 Prioritisation of shipments in case of delay and unforeseen events Freight transport vs. Passenger transport Between various types of freight transport Capacity shortfall in infrastructure Bottle-neck on north-south corridor Bottle-necks at terminals Differing pricing methods Variability and transparency of route prices Variability and transparency of train prices 1 2 6 7 1) Not according to importance RPMU_849_MM01_10.ppt 3 The causes identified relate to the fact that the north-south corridor currently consists of nationally managed transport and networks Interface problems and maximisation of market forces Operator ROs, e.g. Railion, Level (Rail Operator, Shortlines, ACTS RO) Infrastructure level FNM, etc. DB SBB Germany Switzerland BLS, etc. FS Infrastructure Manager Holland RPMU_849_MM01_10.ppt HGK, etc. Italy 4 The causes identified could be addressed by an integrated corridor concept for the north-south axis Short to medium term Medium to long term RO1 Operator (Transport) level ROs ROs ROs ROs RO2 RO3 Corridor Control Centre Infrastructure level NL D CH I NL D CH I Infrastructure remains in national hands, only the management of the infrastructure will be internationally integrated RPMU_849_MM01_10.ppt 5 This would require significant changes to current practices... Measures to realise the integrated north-south corridor Integrated infrastructure management Improved operation (transport) Capacity improvements Harmonised basic conditions Measures partly already initiated by market participants 1. Dedicated Corridor Control Centre 2. „One stop shop“ for clients using corridor 3. Transparency in corridor pricing 4. Integrated timetable planning (cross-border) 5. Greater flexibility of prioritisation of transports, particularly in case of delays 6. Corridor-specific locomotive pool 7. Cross-border use of locomotives and drivers 8. Better coordination and information flows in daily planning and disposition of ROs 9. Analysis and planning of on north-south corridor 10. Elimination of bottle-necks and optimisation of capacity of north-south corridor 11. Extension of simplified customs procedures for all rail operators 12. Mutual recognition of training and licensing of train drivers 13. Mutual recognition of locomotive licensing 14. Market observation to prevent distortion of competition … the necessary measures are listed as follows... RPMU_849_MM01_10.ppt 6 A joint Corridor Control Centre would enable an integrated management of corridor infrastructure in the medium to long-term and thereby improved coordination and information flows Measure 1: Corridor Control Centre (short to medium-term) The Corridor Control Centre consists of infrastructure managers from 4 countries, who jointly supervise the corridor infrastructure from one location Operation RO1 RO2 RO3 RO4 RO5 … As an operations control centre information flow and integrated operations management can therefore be assured It must be supported by open IT systems in order to enable the rail operators to monitor their trains Corridor Control Centre The Control Centre should also have Account Managers for important rail operators so as to provide a contact interface(Single-Point-of-Contact) Infrastructure Furthermore, the ITCs and if necessary important clients should also be able to take a seat in the Control Centre NL RPMU_849_MM01_10.ppt D CH I 7 In addition a Corridor Infrastructure Sales Office could be set up as a One-stop-shop for Clients Measure 2+3:„One-stop-shop“ and price transparency Own client of Open Access Operator (e.g. IKEA) Client The future model of the One-Stop-Shop could be an infrastructure sales office for the track network management RO 1 Infrastructure Manager 1 Open Access Logistics Company Client RO 2 Corridor Infrastructure Operations Office This office should be operated by the various corridor infrastructure managers Infrastructure Manager 2 The roll would consist of timetable planning, track management and price setting of infrastructure for national rail companies and Open Access Operators Infrastructure Manager 3 Client RPMU_849_MM01_10.ppt RO 3 The One-Stop-Shop should also contribute to transparency of corridor pricing and bring Infrastructure about a harmonisation of price setting Manager 4 methods 8 The joint planning of timetables and resources should continue to be improved in order to raise the quality of rail-freight transport Measure 4: Integrated timetable planning (cross-border) It is important that national timetables for rail-freight are altered on the same date each year so as to prevent disruption Open IT planning systems could contribute to improved coordination of the timetable planning in rail-freight transport – Such systems would enable advance insight into the creation of international timetables – They could also be useful to test the availability of locomotives, drivers and track/network capacity beyond one‘s own border RPMU_849_MM01_10.ppt 9 The prioritisation rules used by the Corridor Control Centre should be well-considered and take into account the volume of various transports Measure 5: Greater flexibility in prioritising shipments Basically the prioritisation rules should be reconsidered and moreover with regard to – Passenger transport and freight transport as well as – Between various types of freight transport (e.g. UCT versus Truck on Train The „Value“ concept could be used as a priority determinant – One stretch of track could contribute to the transportation of 1.5 million tonnes of international freight per year – The same stretch of track could also be used to carry just 100 local passengers a day – A decision-support system could be used to weigh up different types of transport and determine corresponding priorities The reconsideration or flexiblee approach to priority rules is important particularly in case of delays, in order to raise the quality of rail-freight transport RPMU_849_MM01_10.ppt 10 Furthermore, dedicated locomotives for the northsouth corridor would improve the quality of cross-border railfreight transport Measure 6: Corridor-specific locomotive pool Dedicated locomotives for freight transport could be used to bring about an optimal service in the corridor. Ideal characteristics include: – Medium to high hauling power – Medium speed, so that it can keep up with quicker passenger trains and also maximise track capacity – Multi-current locomotives enabling cross-border operation in various electricity systems – Equipped for various signal systems (the standardisation in Europe will render this requirement superfluous in future) – Diesel locomotives could be used where conditions permit (e.g. less incline) Dedication would also prevent the locomotives being used for other transports and mean they were ready when needed The railway companies could either dedicate their own locomotives for the corridor or set up a transport company with a locomotive pool for the corridor to lease locomotives to ROs in the corridor RPMU_849_MM01_10.ppt 11 Cross-border use of multi-current or diesel locomotives would reduce the number of locomotive changes at critical points in the network Measure 7: Cross-border use of locomotives and drivers I (3kV) Present Electric CH (15kV) D (15kV) Electric Electric NL (1.5kV) Diesel Electric Diesel Diesel/Multi-current Electric Diesel/Multi-current Future Optimisation of overall stretch Advantage: Fewer Locomotive changes Avoids locomotive changes at critical points RPMU_849_MM01_10.ppt = Locomotive change Neither locomotives nor drivers should be changed at the border, but rather at points for optimal efficiency. 12 Through better coordination and communication between ROs on the corridor in daily planning and disposition, the quality of freight transport can be raised Measure 8: Better coordination and information in daily planning and disposition of ROs Joint planning and disposition of freight transport companies can be improved through transport concepts such as overlapping transport planning and controls (e.g. SBB/Trenitalia Feeder/Long Haul) and by extraction of specific corridors – Since the introduction of the feeder/long haul project, SBB/Trenitalia have been able to make significant improvements and plan to extend the concept In addition, the EVUs should be informed more quickly of delays through daily planning and priority setting of shipments better coordinated By having a seat in the Corridor Control Centre, the communication of information between ROs will be simplified RPMU_849_MM01_10.ppt 13 A corridor capacity plan could be a basis for a capacity improvement along the north-south axis Measure 9: Capacity plan Identification of existing bottle-necks Terminal capacity Single-track stretches Overstretched network hubs Identification of possible solutions (Return to national plans and information from 1st hearing where available) Capacity increase of exisitng terminals Planning of new terminals Use of closed facilities Study feasibility of track widening Examine alternative routes, so as to avoid over loading certain stretches Identify other measures to increase capacity Development and adoption of capacity development plan with measures and cost estimates RPMU_849_MM01_10.ppt 14 Capacity improvement must – based on the capacity plan – be tackled on 3 levels Measure 10: Removal of bottle-necks and optimisation of capacity on north-south corridor S. Europe N. Europe Strategic/Long-term Pre-defined projects (e.g. NRLA) requiring large investments and long implementation periods Local feeder/terminal Bottle-necks– Possibility of using disused or not fully used routes and terminals/sidings RPMU_849_MM01_10.ppt Local bottle-necks in long-distance network– bottlenecks can sometimes be lifted with short-term measures, e.g. Signal changes to increase capacity 15 The harmonisation of basic conditions is required to create and integrated north-south corridor Measures 11-14: Harmonisation of basic conditions Simplified customs procedures Without „simplified customs procedures“ cross-border freight transport is rendered highly difficult The „simplified customs procedures “ should be extended to all rail operators – Private rail operators – National rail companies, operating abroad under Open Access Consequently, the outsourcing of the accounting point into an independent service company capable of taking over the billing of rail operators should be assessed Training and licensing of drivers and locomotives Variation in individual countries of rules regarding training and licensing of train drivers and differences in approval of locomotives restrict the cross-border use of resources The mutual recognition of training and licensing rules would enable more efficient operations on the north-south corridor Market observation Coordinated market observation to avoid distortions to competition RPMU_849_MM01_10.ppt 16 The implemenation of the concept of an integrated north-south corridor has significant advantages for all market participants Expected effects Advantages for rail companies Improved punctuality Improved quality Reduced circulation time Reduced rail operating costs Higher volume Higher attractivity Advantages for clients Reduced costs for carriage owners Better real time service information RPMU_849_MM01_10.ppt Higher product-profitability Reduced prices Reduced, internal transport costs Lower “crisis management” costs Better planning of arrival times 17 The realisation of the corridor concept requires the implementation of numerous short, medium and long-term measures Masterplan Implemenation periods Integrated infrastructure management Improved Operation Capacity improvements Harmonised basic conditions RPMU_849_MM01_10.ppt Short-term (2002-2003) Medium-term (2004-2007) Long-term (2008-2015) Creation of Corridor Control Centre Creation of corridor infrastructure, Improvement of planning integration coordination and sales office for freight transport as “One-stop-shop” Revision of priority setting rules Development of more open IT sys Creation of price transparency tems (e.g. Train Position Tracking) for all corridor users Corridor specific locomotive pool Cross-border use of locomotives Acquisition of multi-current locoand drivers motives Improvement of coordination and information flows in daily freight transport planning Drafting of capacity plan for northsouth corridor Capacity improvement: Lifting of bottle-necks (e.g. Terminals, local feeder networks etc) Extension of simplified customs procedure to all rail operators Coordinated market observation to prvent distortion of competition Outsourcing of accounting point for simplified customs procedure Mutual recognition of training and licensing of locomotives and drivers Extension of main network according to needs 18 Clearly defined areas of responsibility were set for each field of tasks Responsibilities Person/Agency responsible Infrastructure Managers in the individual countries State – Forcing and support with international cooperation – Common revision of rules on prioritisation with infrastructure managers – Promotion of a priority pilot project within the exisiting working group on North-South freight freeway ROs: Cooperation on Corridor Control Centre ROs of the North-South Corridor State – Enabling of cross-border use of train drivers and locomotives through mutual recognition Transport companies and terminal operators – Close cooperation with ROs in improvement measures Integrated infrastructure management Improved operation Capacity improvements State with strong participation of infrastructure Infrastructure manager, ROs, terminal operators and transport managers and terminal operators companies – Initiator – Joint compilation of capacity plan for the corridor – Financing – Upgrading of infrastructure according to requirements – Implementation State Harmonised basic conditions RPMU_849_MM01_10.ppt Participant/Support ROs and transport companies – Specialist support, elaboration of proposals – Assessment of outsourcing of costing point for the simplified customs procedure into an independent service company 19