Newsletter
BLS Cargo has found itself in a stable situation again after having weathered the year of 2009 in which the economic crisis took hold. In spite of a considerable fall in demand, we were able to contain the 2009 annual loss within strict limits and have now realigned our resources and process to the new market conditions. The customers and partners of BLS Cargo have supported us greatly in our efforts here. It is especially in our day-to-day operations where well-established order processes and routines, which in part stem from business relations that go back many years, were able to save us considerable dispatching costs.
We noticed an improvement in capacity utilisation and a clear upward trend in orders in the first quarter of 2010. Together with the new rail haulage services that were started in this period, it is a development which gives us confidence for the remaining course of the year.
Nevertheless, a high degree of volatility continues to exist in the business and market environment. This, on the one hand, within the framework of Europe with its debt and currency problems. And, on the other, in conjunction with the restructuring of Trenitalia's and SNCF's wagonload freight network, as well as the new safety regulations that were introduced after the accident in Viareggio (I). We have ascribed the greatest importance to being able to manage these challenges in order to, once again, support the positive development of the company.
Dr. Dirk Stahl, CEO BLS Cargo AG
Summary
» 1. 2009 Annual result, BLS Cargo: a successful response to the economic crisis
» 2. First Re 486 christened
» 3. New haulage order for BLS Cargo
» 4. Restructuring of wagonload freight services (WLFS) in Italy
» 5. Priority European Rail Freight Network (PERFN) – an EU project for efficient freight transportation
» 6. Consultation on line charging system
» 7. «Insights into BLS Cargo AG» series – Part 2: The engineers at BLS Cargo
» 8. Hafenfest Birsfelden, 18th/19th/20th June 2010
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1. 2009 Annual result, BLS Cargo: a successful response to the economic crisis
The international economic crisis had a strong impact on the 2009 business year for BLS Cargo. The fall in rail haulage operations as a result of worsened economic conditions had a knock-on effect on the transport services provided by BLS Cargo, which fell by 19% compared with 2008. BLS Cargo took this situation as an inducement to take a close and detailed look at the costs and processes within the company. The rapid implementation of short-term operational measures such as halts to new employment and investments as well as the hire of locomotives and locomotive drivers to other railways allowed BLS Cargo and BLS jointly to counteract the downward trend.
To coincide with the start of the efficiency-raising project "2011: The Way Up" in the summer of 2009, BLS Cargo introduced structural measures which had as their aim the placement on a flexible basis and optimisation over the medium to long-term of resources and personnel deployment, which would consequently allow the company to chart a course to achieve sustainable, positive trading results again. The results of the project can be assessed as having been positive to date. The desired savings targets were achieved, transferred to a long-term plan spanning several years and secured by means of concrete measures. Thanks to the introduced counter measures and the efficiency-raising programme, BLS Cargo was able to restrict the 2009 annual loss to 3.6 million CHF. The 2009 annual report contains further information on this:
» German annual report
» English annual report
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2. First Re 486 christened
BLS Cargo extends the reach of its cross-border production strategy. Since December 2009, the company's new Re 486-type multisystem locomotives have been assigned to cross-border operations that extend to Italy. These locomotives can operate in Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Germany – the first vehicles in the history of BLS Cargo AG to be able to do so.
As part of a joint production concept with DB Schenker Rail and NordCargo, since the last timetable changeover the new Re 486 multisystem locomotives have regularly hauled the trains of customers Ambrogio and Hupac between Basel and Gallarate along the Lötschberg line, as well as between Basel and Busto Arsizio and Novara along the Gotthard line.
As part of a celebration, the first locomotive of this series was christened in Domodossola. In Domodossola (photograph), Don Gaudenzio, in the company of the constructor, Bombardier Transportation, customer representatives from Ambrogio and Hupac, as well as other customers and partners to BLS Cargo, wished the locomotive accident-free travels.
Christening of the first Re 486 in Domodossola (Photograph: Guido Lauper))
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3. New haulage order for BLS Cargo
BLS Cargo also excels amongst waste-disposal logistics: BLS Cargo has, for several weeks now, transported excavated material from the Bonfol hazardous-waste site (Jura) to Basel. These transport operations are taking place as part of the four-year clean up of the hazardous-waste site.
From 1961 to 1976, around 114,00 tonnes of hazardous waste from the chemicals industry in Basel, as well as the canton of Berne, regional industry and the Swiss army were used as landfill at the Bonfol hazardous-waste site. The landfill site, a former clay pit, covers an area of around 20,000 square metres, the size of four football pitches. In accordance with the Swiss Contaminated Site Ordinance, which entered into force in 1998, and at the request of the Canton of Jura, Basel’s chemicals industry decided to remediate the Bonfol hazardous-waste site once and for all. For this purpose, the waste is excavated in closed halls and stabilised for transport in special containers. This remediation work has now commenced after preliminary work that has spanned several years.
To transport the special containers by rail, AWILOG-Transport GmbH makes use of private wagons. This company is not only responsible for transport but also for technical, organisational and administrative aspects of the entire operation, which includes logistics. BLS Cargo submitted an offer for the required transport services as part of the call for tenders and was successfully awarded the contract by DB Schenker Rail Deutschland for providing the daily transport services between Bonfol and Basel. The transport operations commenced at the start of April and are scheduled to finish in the summer of 2014.
BLS Cargo is using the Chemins de Fer du Jura (CJ) as the haulage operator for the transport of the wagon groups comprising four to five wagons from the siding in Bonfol through to Porrentruy station. The wagons are then transferred to DB Schenker Rail Deutschland in the Basel Badischer shunting station. Here, they are fed into the German wagonload freight network and transported on to waste disposal facilities in Baar-Ebenhausen, Hamburg, Biebesheim (Germany) and Antwerp (Belgium).
BLS Cargo is delighted to have been awarded this new transport contract and make use of its existing and newly-acquired expertise, which also extends to the field of waste disposal logistics.
Bonfil landfill site (Photograph: HIM)
Further information on the remediation of the landfill site can be found on the following website (in German/French):
» bci Betriebs-AG
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4. Restructuring of wagonload freight services (WLFS) in Italy
Trenitalia Cargo has taken the decision to strongly curtail the WLFS network in Italy. Since 1.4.2010, only 44 railway stations in the entirety of Italy have been served by WLFS and, of these, a further two stations have been earmarked for closure by the end of June 2010. To coincide with this - in conjunction with the measures introduced in the aftermath of the accident in Viareggion (I) - the transportation of hazardous goods in the remaining WLFS with Trenitalia has been prohibited. The haulage operations of BLS Cargo have also been affected by this reduction. BLS Cargo has, for some time now, been in intensive contact with its customers as well as Trenitalia and other partner railways in an effort to develop alternatives. Maintaining rail haulage operations has been the foremost objective in all the discussions here.
A concrete example of a customer solution arising from such talks is the new BLS service for Nordisk Transport Rail (NTR), a Swedish logistics company for which a new concept was developed in partnership with Trenitalia. As the previous hub of Verona was no longer able to be used for all their flows due to the phasing-out of Italian WLFS, these operations were transferred to the Domodossola hub which receives many incoming trains from within Italy, i.e. feeder trains. From there, a weekly BLS Cargo train now travels all the way to Rostock via the Lötschberg axis, and then on to Trelleborg by ferry, where it is taken over by Greencargo.
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5. Priority European Rail Freight Network (PERFN) – an EU project for efficient freight transportation
In 2007, the EU set the PERFN project in train as part of its transport policy, with the objective of achieving a railway network where priority is given over to freight transportation. The last three years have also seen the launch of additional, complementary projects such as the simplification of interoperability (TAF-TSI), infrastructure enlargements as part of the promotion of trans-European transport networks (TEN-V) and in all freight haulage corridors (specifically Corridor A "Rotterdam-Genoa") as well as the successive introduction of ERTMS (European Railway Traffic Management System, which, from a technical standpoint, comprises 2 parts (ECTS (train protection)) and GSM-R (mobile radio communication for railways).
At the moment, very important discussions relating to the PERFN are taking place within the commission and parliament of the EU. These are intended to establish a participatory right for railway undertakings within the corridor organisation, define the capacities reserved for freight haulage on corridors up to a yet-to-be-defined time point X and define the application of priority rules in day-to-day operations.
BLS Cargo is doing everything in its power to try and ensure that rail freight is strengthened in the areas mentioned in order to be able to implement the road-to-rail transfer policy. It is expected that disadvantages with regard to passenger transportation will be able to be resolved without impacting negatively on the entire track system. To this end, BLS Cargo remains in close contact with lobbying organisations in Brussels and various partners. A first decision indicative of the direction of PERFN has been planned for 2010.
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6. Consultation on line charging system
The Federal Office of Transport (FOT) plans to introduce a revised line charging system in Switzerland in 2013 and, to this end, started a consultation in April 2010. BLS Cargo AG, together with BLS, has the following opinion with regard to this:
In the political debates to come, BLS Cargo will continue to lobby intensively for a line charging system that is friendly towards freight haulage. You can find the response of BLS Cargo/ BLS here » Response in German
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7. «Insights into BLS Cargo AG» series – Part 2: The engineers at BLS Cargo
7. "Insights into BLS Cargo AG" series – Part 2: The engineers at BLS Cargo
Nothing happens without locomotives. Although locomotives summon up a low-maintenance impression, and stand ready at all hours of the day and night, this is only possible thanks to the untiring efforts of many helpers behind the scenes. At BLS Cargo, the vehicles division CPF bears the responsibility for everything to do with asset management from procurement, on-board equipment to ensuring the operational serviceability of locomotives.
The new Re 486 multi-system locomotives have now been deployed successfully for a year in Switzerland, Austria, Germany and, since the timetable changeover, also in Italy (» Media Releases). As one of the first operators of this type series, BLS Cargo is engaging in the role of a close sparring partner to the manufacturer, Bombardier Transportation. Much has been learnt over the one-year operational period, and weaknesses have been identified. The corrective changes and improvements will be incorporated in the next releases of the vehicle software. Ultimately, all of BLS Cargo's stipulations concerning the new locomotives will need to be implemented, as set out in the contract.
ETCS screen from Bombardier
The European Train Control System (ETCS) has attracted particular attention during the introduction of the Re 486 as this is the first time that a vehicle equipped with the ETCS from Bombardier has operated on the Swiss railway network (with the exception of the Zofingen-Sempach ETCS pilot route). At the present time, approval for the Re 486 as the leading vehicle with in-cab signalling for the Lötschberg base route and the newly-constructed Mattstetten-Rothrist line has still not been granted. This is now set to change.
After the ETCS had undergone testing by the manufacturer in the Mannheim and Stockholm laboratories, fields tests onboard locomotives and along routes in Switzerland, China and Holland commenced in August 2009 in order to test the vehicle equipment thoroughly in all terrains and climates. How are these field tests faring? The restricted availability of test routes presents a considerable challenge. Accordingly, individual tests can practically only be carried out during the evenings on weekends. In the specific case of the ETCS tests, every shift comprises a test supervisor, an ETCS engineer and a locomotive driver. Depending on the test in question, further participants from Bombardier, the SBB, the Federal Office of Transport and BLS Cargo might supplement the test team. As a result, it might be the case that up to six nations are represented in the driver's cab. Daniel Fuhrer, the Re 486 Project Manager at BLS Cargo, comments: "The conversation sometimes resembles a linguistic cacophony of English, French and Swiss-German."
It has once again been shown that fields tests are irreplaceable as such and that real weaknesses only become apparent during the process of integrating the system on a vehicle. It is important for BLS Cargo that ETCS operation on the Re 485 becomes the same in each locomotive; this will standardise its operation and reduce the training time for locomotive drivers.
If all goes according to plan, the Re 486 should be able to be deployed as the leading vehicle with in-cab signalling as from the start of 2011. This will allow for a further simplification of operating procedures. One thing is however already certain, the first train will be awaited with eager anticipation.
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8. Hafenfest Birsfelden, 18th/19th/20th June 2010
This year's Birsfelden Port Festival will be held under the banner of "Experiencing, Admiring, Understanding". BLS Cargo will be taking part in the "Habourside Transport Exhibition" with one of its new multi-system locomotives. Visitors will not only be able to marvel at the locomotive from the inside, but also have its workings explained down to the smallest detail by a locomotive driver. Product managers will also be on hand to answer any questions to do with BLS Cargo. And if that isn't reason enough for a visit to the BLS Cargo stand, then the chance of winning a model locomotive with an attractive Alpinist design must surely present further allure.
You can visit the BLS Cargo stand at the following times:
Saturday, the 19th June 2010, 10:00 – 18:00 hrs
Sunday, the 20th June 2010, 10:00 – 16:00 hrs
You can find more information about the Hafenfest Birsfelden on the following website (only in German):
» Hafenfest Birsfelden
Lokomotive Re 486
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