Consignia, the state-owned postal services group, is considering drastic changes to its distribution network that could lead to a big reduction in its use of mail trains.
A review of the company’s transport needs is understood to be seeking substantial savings in the cost of distributing 80m letters a day, of which about 20 per cent go by train
Read MoreBritain’s troubled privatised rail infrastructure company, Railtrack, last night finally collapsed after the government refused to hand over any more state subsidy.
On Sunday the High Court in London appointed Ernst & Young, the accountants, as administrators for Railtrack after the company accepted it could no longer pay its bills.
Read MoreShares in Railtrack, Britain’s troubled privatised rail infrastructure company, were suspended on Monday after the High Court in London on Sunday appointed Ernst & Young, the accountants, as administrators when the company accepted it could no longer pay its bills.
But the board issued a feisty statement saying Railtrack and the government had been in negotiations about funding from June, when John Robinson was appointed chairman, until the end of last week, “with no indication from the government that it intended to take the actions which have now transpired”.
Railtrack “reluctantly accepted that there was no credible alternative to administration”, said the statement.
Read MoreAutomotive Logistics
Huge flows of containerised automotive components are now being shipped around Europe by rail, which is now winning its fair share of traffic as competition between service providers grows.
Joe Pickers, general manager UK of Spanish rail operator Transfesa, emphasises the contribution that rail can make to the supply chain. The operator runs between six and 12 blocktrains a week, between Ford’s production plants in Dagenham, east London and Valencia.
“Each train carries 44 13.6 metre swapbodies, ” he says.
“It would be difficult to arrange the movement of such a large volume of freight by road at any one time.”
Transit time is between 36 and 48 hours, and Pickers says the service is extremely competitive in both speed and price, compared with road.
Read MoreDespite the uncertain economic outlook and its possible adverse effects on the logistics business, Schenker CEO Håkan Larsson is confident that his group has good prospects of success in the international market over the next few years
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