• Euro Cargo Rail connects the DB Schenker logistical centre in Blanc-Mesnil located north of Paris with Saarbrücken by introducing a twice-a-week service.
• The Swiss intermodal transport company Hupac and the French transport and logistics group SNCF Geodis have joined forces to maximize the combined transport potential on the European east-west axis.
• Some ten agricultural cooperatives in Northern France are investigating the possibility of constructing a multimodal platform in Languevoisin, on the Seine-Nord Canal.
• The Swiss railway operator BLS has strengthened its market share in transit traffic through Switzerland last year and is now market leader with a share of 43%.
• The French government has appointed Alexis Rouque as new general manager of the Ports de Paris.
• In a unique appeal some 25 transport umbrella organisations have urged Europe not to let the projected 32,7 billion euros investment in the TEN-T’s be diluted.
• Hafen und Güterverkehr Köln (HGK), the administrator of the port of Cologne, has set up a subsidiary in Switzerland.
• Shippers from the Dutch “Lean and Green” scheme want to cooperate regionally to build a sustainable supply chain making more use of inland navigation.
• Inland ports from the Niederrhein region in Germany should cooperate more in order to balance competition from the Dutch inland ports.
• The three Seine ports, Le Havre, Rouen and Paris, united in HAROPA, together handled 22.3 million tons maritime cargo in the first quarter of the year.

• Euro Cargo Rail connects the DB Schenker logistical centre in Blanc-Mesnil located north of Paris with Saarbrücken by introducing a twice-a-week service.

The logistical platform is intended for clients in the steel industry, but paper and palletized cargo are transported too. DB Schenker hopes to achieve a turnover of 100,000 tons by the end of the year and is already planning an increase in the frequency.

• The Swiss intermodal transport company Hupac and the French transport and logistics group SNCF Geodis have joined forces to maximize the combined transport potential on the European east-west axis.

In order to achieve this they will combine their networks via the Antwerp-Dourges service, now exploited by SNCF Geodis. Thanks to the collaboration between the two service providers the European network of Hupac will be linked with the domestic combined transport network of SNCF Geodis in France. The French operator profits by getting access to an extended network offering daily or weekly services to Eastern Germany (Schwarzheide), Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia) and further on to China.

• Some ten agricultural cooperatives in Northern France are investigating the possibility of constructing a multimodal platform in Languevoisin, on the Seine-Nord Canal.

To that end they have united in the “Union Canal Seine-Nord”. At first the platform would cater to handling grains and other agricultural products and fertilizers. But in a further stage granulates from other sectors could be handled. Choosing Languevoisin was inspired by its favourable location amidst a large agricultural area and the equidistance to Antwerp and Rouen, according to the participants. The close vicinity of the railway track Le Havre-Dijon was also influential. Moreover the site already contains grain silos with a capacity of 100.000 tons and a grain starch plant.

• The Swiss railway operator BLS has strengthened its market share in transit traffic through Switzerland last year and is now market leader with a share of 43%.

In unaccompanied combined transport the transport performance (tkm) grew by 15.7%. On the Rollende Landstrasse it grew by 6.6% thanks to a frequency increase to 11 train duos daily. Conventional wagonloads was up by 25%. Growth was achieved on both corridors, the Gotthard axis gaining 22%, the Lötschberg-Simplon axis 29%. Due to losing a big contract to a competitor the transport performance in domestic transport and import and export fell by 41%.

• The French government has appointed Alexis Rouque as new general manager of the Ports de Paris.

Rouque replaces Hervé Martel, who is now the new number one at Grand Port Maritime du Havre. Rouque (38) started his career as a customs inspector in 1998. He interrupted his career in 2003 to study at the famous ENA administration school. Having graduated in 2006 he was appointed auditor at the French Court of Accounts. Not long after he became advisor to minister Jean-Louis Borloo (Environement, Energy, Sea) in matters of green technology. He also supervised negotiations regarding environmental matters. Later followed appointments as advisor to respectively minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet (Environment and Transport) and as head of the minister’s office of Benoît Apparu (housing).

• In a unique appeal some 25 transport umbrella organisations have urged Europe not to let the projected 32,7 billion euros investment in the TEN-T’s be diluted.

Some member states want to scale down this projected sum. The appeal was initiated by the European Federation of Inland Ports. According to Isabelle Ryckbost, EFIP’s director, the 32,7 billion investment should be viewed from an appropriate perspective. “At first glance the sum seems astronomical,” she says. “But one mustn’t overlook the fact that at the same time a lot of other funds are being cut or simply annulled.” To prove her point she referred to the European Regional Investment Fund and the incorporation of the Marco Polo Funds in the TEN-T scheme. “The 32,7 billion euros should therefore be considered as an indispensable and vital minimum, which should receive a guaranteed status,” she concluded. ESPO secretary-general Patrick Verhoeven added that the transport community does not need a blank cheque, but that it does require Europe to create transparency on how the money will be spent. “Only by doing so can we make sure that the money is used for those projects of the core network that are of real added value in Europe. If not, the TEN-T revision threatens to be nothing more than wishful thinking,” he warned.

• Hafen und Güterverkehr Köln (HGK), the administrator of the port of Cologne, has set up a subsidiary in Switzerland.

Through this company, Rheinland Cargo Schweiz, HGK wants to act more independently on the Swiss Market. In future direct trains will be put into operation between the port of Cologne and destinations in Switzerland. Up until now HGK had to rely on cooperation with SBB Cargo aor BLS Cargo for these links.

• Shippers from the Dutch “Lean and Green” scheme want to cooperate regionally to build a sustainable supply chain making more use of inland navigation.

A first reconnaissance faze for the new “Lean and Green” concept was recently completed. The aim is to start modestly and then to gradually expand. Eventually six more regions could be involved in the process. The concept wants to jointly deal with both deepsea and shortsea container flows by using barges as transport mode. A national steering committee will disseminate experiences and share results of test cases. After this first faze a second kick off before summer will identify the regions involved. In autumn the first trial projects should get underway.

• Inland ports from the Niederrhein region in Germany should cooperate more in order to balance competition from the Dutch inland ports.

This plea was made by the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Niederrhein, Burkard Landers. According to Landers ports as Emmerich, Orsoy, Emmelsum, Rhein-Lippe and Wesel stand by and watch lethargically how Dutch ports on the Meuse river invest huge sums in container capacity. In ports such as Wanssum, Cuijk and Born a few hundred million euros are being spent to accommodate increasing traffic flows from the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp. Businesses in Niederrhein fear that soon cargo with their region as final destination will end up being unloaded in the Netherlands, with on carriage to Germany by trucks.

• The three Seine ports, Le Havre, Rouen and Paris, united in HAROPA, together handled 22.3 million tons maritime cargo in the first quarter of the year.

Liquid bulk represented 12,2 million tons, equalling 55% of the total. In comparison with last year this constitutes a decrease by 7%. Container traffic however amounted to 6.1 million tons, 27% of the total, scoring an increase of 27% in volume (tons) and 21% in number of teus (620,000) also in comparison with last year. Dry bulk reached 3 million tons, accounting 14% of the total, a fall of 17%. Barge traffic grew with 5% to reach 7.5 million tons