RCA brings 22,500 trucks on the railway
29-Apr-2010
Rail Cargo Austria takes the offensive in Combined Transport: 450 trucks a week will be shifted from road to rail thanks to a new business deal
RCA with its subsidiary Intercontainer Austria (ICA) takes the offensive in Combined Transport and has considerably expanded the network between Germany, Austria and Hungary in April. The specific reason behind this are transports from LKW Walter that previously were mainly transported with tractor trailers on the road and in future will roll on environmentally friendly rails. The number of shifted transports is remarkable: in a close co-operation, RCA and LKW WALTER bring an additional 450 trucks a week, i.e. about 22,500 trucks a year, on the railway.
This additional business required Rail Cargo Austria to expand the network
and frequencies. Thus, 18 new combined transport trains weekly will be operated
between Germany (Ruhr area and Ludwigshafen), Austria (Wels and Vienna) and
Hungary (Budapest). “We bring 90 tractor trailers onto the railway every day -
that will be a considerable relief for road traffic and the environment,"
explains Friedrich Macher, Spokesman of Rail Cargo Austria's Board of
Management.
LKW WALTER – pioneer in Combined Transport
The co-operation with LKW WALTER is not a coincidence; the company from Vienna Neudorf that operates another branch in Kufstein is one of Europe’s pioneers in Combined Transport. Already since the early 80ies, LKW WALTER has been focusing on finding intelligent solutions for the combination of different carriers such as truck, rail and ship, in order to be able to offer its customers new, competitive and at the same time eco-compatible transport alternatives.
By now, LKW WALTER has developed an efficient network of intermodal transports. Today, a considerable part of the customers’ transport volumes is handled in Combined Transport in an efficient and eco-compatible manner.
In the last four years alone, LKW WALTER has shifted more than 342,000 road transports to combined transport connections and thus made a considerable contribution to the reduction of pollutant emission, particularly of the greenhouse gas CO². CO² emissions were reduced by 142.217 tons during this time.
Core business of LKW WALTER is the organisation of full truck loads on the
road and in combined transport within Europe, to the CIS states and the Middle
East. More than 3900 full truck loads are organised daily for the company’s
international customers.
Expansion to South-Eastern Europe
In a second phase, RCA will operate another 100 intermodal trains a week to the industrial centres in Italy, Romania, Greece, Turkey, as well as to Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, and Russia. This second phase will be implemented in 2010. ”These intermodal transports (combination of several carriers) form the basis for Rail Cargo Austria’s enhanced CEE concept. We have turned the economic crisis into an opportunity to advance internationalisation. In 2010, ÖBB’s goods transport subsidiary Rail Cargo Austria is the second strongest railway freight transport company in Europe and the strongest in CEE - a fantastic success for Austria,” says a pleased Macher.
Requirement to European transport policy
The European transport policy is required to make fundamental decisions: should the focus be shifted to the environmentally friendly railway or should the more cost-effective road be continued to be promoted? If the decision is made in favour of the railway, a general framework for the transport policy must speedily be created allowing for an economically viable European rail freight transport. “Brussels must at long last make decisions in its transport policy in favour of the climate and the environmentally friendly railway. Wishful thinking, demands and lip services are of no use, if massive investments in roads continue and the railway is left at a disadvantage,” challenges Macher the European Union to come up with a sustainable and future-oriented European railway transport policy.
Intercontainer Austria
Intercontainer Austria GesmbH (ICA) is an RCA subsidiary as well as an internationally active, neutral container operator and specialist in combined transport. Competence, reliability and high service quality are factors that have made ICA into one of Austria’s leading transport undertakings. ICA’s business segments focus on maritime transport and continental unaccompanied transport.
Background: Combined Transport
Combined Transport stands for a transport chain that integrates different carriers. The main part of the transport is made by rail, sea or inland water vessel and the road section of the journey is kept as short as possible. The transported freight is handled in standardised transport units (containers, swap bodies, road semi-trailers). A number of special flat wagons are available for rail transport.