Flying Dutchman Austria & Hungary − Rotterdam on rails
RCA’s subsidiary Intercontainer Austria (ICA) is offering services on the route Wels - Rotterdam with direct daily overnight rail connections. With the Flying Dutchman system, ICA connects Linz, Enns, Wels, Graz, Vienna and certainly also Budapest with the port of Rotterdam.
Today, about 25 % of all container transports from and to Austria come from the port of Rotterdam. This share has considerably increased in the last years. About 80 % of these containers are transported by rail; in 2009, an average of 17 runs a week were operated. ”Europe is growing closer together – also in rail freight transport. The key words when it comes to achieving development goals are service, flexibility and innovation. With the Flying Dutchman system, we offer our customers an optimal connection with the port of Rotterdam,” says a pleased Friedrich Macher, Spokesman of Rail Cargo Austria’s Board of Management.
ICA – specialist for container transports
Intercontainer Austria is an international container operator and specialist in combined transport (CT). The company’s offer includes CT connections from and to Europe’s key commercial centres. ICA’s business segments focus on maritime transport and continental unaccompanied transport.
International Logistics solutions: Steel for Formula 1
RCA’s subsidiary EXPRESS-INTERFRACHT delivers prefabricated steel components to Abu Dhabi for new Formula 1 circuit. A prestige project has been completed in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates: the Formula 1 circuit, on which a Grand Prix is to be held for the first time on November 1. The buildings and grandstands on the area of the Yas Marina Circuit were mostly constructed with steel components transported by EXPRESS-INTERFRACHT.
RCA – from Europe to the world
”We were pleased to be part of this exciting project and have demonstrated that RCA sets standards as total logistics servicer provider,“ says Friedrich Macher, Spokesman of the Management Board of Rail Cargo Austria. Since late summer 2008, EXPRESS-INTERFRACHT has organised many transports from all over Europe to Abu Dhabi.
This project included the transport of steel products from London or Barcelona either directly or via consolidation points such as Hamburg on call order to the construction site in Abu Dhabi. The team of Overseas Container/Airfreight was responsible for all aspects of transport and customs clearance and demonstrated flexibility also in the choice of the used modes of transport, which included conventional RO/RO shipping (roll on/roll off – the cargo is loaded onto the vessel in vehicles) as well as container or airfreight transport.
Modern services of RCA pharma logistics
Rail Cargo Austria is one of the major pharma logistics companies in Austria. The RCA employees for pharmaceutical products attach great importance to the compliance with the very strict pharmaceutical quality standards, “because we can meet the exacting demands of our customers only with highest quality across the entire logistics process,” says Günter Weisskircher, Key Account Manager Pharma/Contract Logistics. “Innovative logistics solutions and customer services are of utmost importance for the pharma and health care sector.”
Position and temperature read-back via GPS for RCA customers An example for RCA’s modern customer service can be found in Graz-Werndorf: via GPS, customers can see the exact position of the trucks carrying their loads on an electronic map. In addition, the real temperature in the cargo hold can be read back and changed through a web interface, so that customers are updated in real time about the degree of heat in the truck and can make any necessary changes.
Emergency scenarios for blackouts
The RCA warehouse in Wels is well prepared for a possible blackout with two emergency scenarios: on the one hand, the sensitive goods are protected with an emergency power generator in case of a failure of the cooling system. This equipment cools the storage rooms for 48 hours at the temperature required for pharmaceuticals and vaccines, i.e. at between 2 und 8 degrees Celsius. Another emergency plan provides for the removal of the goods from the stores. For this purpose, the pallets, to which RFID chips are attached, are picked up by a logistics partner and transported to interim storages. The chips document that the required temperature has been maintained throughout the entire procedure. As soon as the emergency is over, the undamaged pharma products are returned to the RCA warehouse.
Emergency plans and position as well as temperature read-back via GPS are important services that – in combination with a dedicated and professional customer service – have placed Rail Cargo Austria in the position of market leader.
Branch line logistics for Sunpor Kunststoff GmbH
The company Sunpor has relied on a safe transport solution of Rail Cargo Austria since 2008: the new system of handling transports through the Branch line ensures a continuous cost-effective and safe delivery.
The factory in St. Pölten/Unterradlberg – Europe’s most modern and third largest EPS manufacturer – is situated on 42,000 m² and equipped with a Branch line. This was designed so that wagons used during one day can be parked within the Branch line. To start with, about 40,000 tons were transhipped on the new facilities. In the next year, the volume handled by the Branch line is to be continuously increased to between 120,000 and 130,000 tons.
The raw material (styrol) used for granule production is safely and cost-effectively delivered with tank wagons. Transshipment from the wagons to the buffer tanks is made through transfer hoses on two track axles. Collection devices (track sumps) prevent soil contaminations in case of material leakage. On the third track axle, ranshipment of the finished EPS granule for removal to railway wagons for further processing is planned for the future. The company’s internal logistics process is simplified with the track connection and many truck runs to and within the factory premises can be avoided. Furthermore, the high transport capacity of the railway reduces the use of load units during delivery, which lowers costs and preserves the environment. In 2011, the company Sunpor Kunststoff GmbH will be able to save 2.1 million litres of diesel and to prevent the emission of 7,000 tons of CO2.
”Virtually the entire styrol supply of the main factory in St. Pölten will be handled via the Branch line in main-line service. Thus Sunpor can reduce the truck mileage for raw material transports by about two thirds and sustainably secure the location thanks to the safe and cost-effective delivery by railway,” says Clemens Pedevilla, head of Logistics of the company Sunpor Kunststoff GmbH.
ÖKOMBI: Brenner Highway on Wheels tops record results from 2008
ÖKOMBI – a wholly owned subsidiary of Rail Cargo Austria – is expert and market leader in the Highway On Wheels business in all of Europe. At the end of year 2009 a new record was achieved, as of 225,700 trucks were transported on the Highway on Wheels through Tyrol – a comfortable growth of 10 %. In total, 54 trains are operated daily on the Brenner axis (38 Wörgl – Brenner, 10 Wörgl – Trento, 6 Regensburg – Trento). The average capacity utilisation of the trains was a good 89 %, which means that nine out of a total capacity of ten truck bays were used.
Market share of Highway on Wheels in transit transport across the Brenner is 15 %
The market share of the Highway on Wheels in the entire transit transport of heavy trucks across the Brenner was a pleasing 15 % in 2009. (2008: 10 %). In total, every day more than 1,000 truck bays have been available on the 54 trains of the Brenner Highway on Wheels since September 2009. For 2010, the bay capacity will be extended to 300,000. Thus it should be possible to reach a figure of more than 250,000 trucks to be transported on the Highway on Wheels. The Highway on Wheels still is of utmost importance at the Brenner, because around 85 % of the trucks and semi-trailers driving there are not cranable (codified). This means that they are not suitable for handling in unaccompanied combined transport (such as containers or swap bodies) and there are only two possibilities of transport: by road or on the Highway on Wheels.
Brenner Highway on Wheels spared the air in Tyrol about 25,000 tons of CO2 in 2009
In 2009, as many trucks as never before were transported on the Brenner axis and ÖKOMBI can further develop its impressive market leader role in Europe. Increases on the Highway on Wheels automatically entail a relief for the environment. A study of the Federal Ministry of Environment shows that a 40 ton truck emits an average of 813 grams of CO2 per kilometre – thus the environment was spared about 25,000 tons of CO2 in 2009 – 3,000 tons more than in 2008. In January 2010, ÖKOMBI will, for the first time, send to all transport undertakings that have used the Highway on Wheels in 2009 a report of the CO2 quantities saved by using the Highway on Wheels. Every fully loaded train spares the bordering residents and the environment a considerable quantity of CO2. Furthermore, the truck drivers can relax in the couchette coach during the train journey and thus comply with the stipulated rest periods. Toll savings, diesel savings and lower wear during every Highway on Wheels trip represent several other advantages of the monetary kind for transport entrepreneurs.
Facts:
- ÖKOMBI achieved a new record of 225,700 trucks by year end 2009
- Capacity to be increased to 300,000 bays in 2010
For further details please contact www.railcargo.at
