Deutsche Bahn forges alliance with SNCF in goods transport
DB Cargo AG, the goods-transport unit of Deutsche Bahn AG, said it and its French counterpart, Fret SNCF, plan to abolish time-consuming and costly clearing procedures at the German-French border. (2/12/2002)
From June, goods trains will for the first time be able to move without stopping between the main station at Mannheim on the German side and a switchyard in Lorraine on the French side. Modern multi-system engines will make it unnecessary to change engines at the border.
Malmström said these moves arise from a collaboration agreement signed at the end of January by Hartmut Mehdorn, chairman of Deutsche Bahn AG, and Louis Gallois, president of Société National des Chemins de Fers.
The railways carry no more than 12% of goods moving between Germany and France. Both national rail operators want to change that. Mehdorn pointed out that a heavy goods vehicle can travel from Stockholm to Madrid without stopping except to refuel, whereas the divergence in the national systems used for electricity supply and for signalling makes it necessary for trains to make several border stops.
The moves by Deutsche Bahn and SNCF should please European Union Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio. She recently said that while there remain 15 mutually discrete national rail systems, all efforts to introduce a more effective and more competitive railway service within the EU will have been wasted.
Author:Newsdesk, eyefortransport.com
