International Railway Journal - August 2007 - (Page 48)

The last word Private operators are driving liberalisation Mr Bernhard Kunz, CEO of Swiss intermodal operator Hupac, is a firm believer in the benefit of competition in Europe’s railway networks, and the importance of encouraging private, independent operators. Regional editor Anitra Green explains his reasoning. W HAT are the keys for success in a highly competitive market like the increasingly important intermodal transport scene in Europe? While Switzerland is in a unique position due to the barrier of the Alps on the north-south axis, it is also unique in Europe in shifting a huge proportion of its through traffic by rail - 44% - compared with 34% by truck (the remaining 22% is domestic wagonload traffic). And volumes are still rising, in line with the modal shift policy being actively pursued by the Swiss government. Mr Bernhard Kunz, as head of one of Europe’s leading intermodal operators, took his own company and his own country as a case study in a presentation to Euroforum’s recent Logistics Forum 2007 in Basle. He attributes Hupac’s success at least in part to the fact that it has remained independent. A comparison between today’s situation and that of 2000 reveals that many operators seven years ago were independent and only Intercontainer-Interfrigo (ICF) was directly controlled by the railways. But things have changed radically since then in continental Europe. “Now Hupac, ERS and RailLink are the only independents left,” says Kunz. “It’s true that Kombiverkehr is owned half and half by German Rail (DB) and various forwarding and logistics companies, but nearly 90% of the wagons are owned by DB, so it can’t be truly independent.” Hupac by contrast owns its wagons, which Kunz considers to be a very important factor. He points out discrimination in all spheres is rife: in Belgium for example, the incumbent insists on training all locomotive drivers, and there are dozens of other cases across Europe. Another strength Hupac has over many other private operators is that it has its own terminals and IT systems. It has 99 shareholders, of which only 28% are railways, the rest being transport and logistics companies. This not only keeps the company very close to the market, but also ensures it is not dominated or controlled by any one railway. Following rail liberalisation, Hupac actively plays the market: from 2005, it has been contracting one traction provider only for each route, end-to-end, which has brought a marked improvement in quality of service. Hupac currently employs six traction providers: SBB Cargo, Railion, not always neutral, high entry barriers, high risks for small operators, and national laws to protect incumbents instead of neutral arbitration for cases of discrimination. Kunz shows there is a direct correlation between the market share occupied by incumbents, and growth in railfreight. “Where there’s competition, there’s growth,” he says succinctly. At one end of the scale is France, where the incumbent has almost 100% of the market and railfreight is decreasing, and Italy, where the situation is little better (2005 figures). At the other end is Britain, where smaller private operators account for 30% of the railfreight market and performance overall in tonnekm leapt by 70% in the 10 years to 2004, and the Netherlands, where growth was nearly as high with 15% “There is a big shortage of terminal capacity, which is partly due to resistance by incumbents and partly because of local political opposition.” Bernhard Kunz Trenitalia, rail4chem, FNC, and DLC. “This is what I like best in the morning - looking out of my office window in Chiasso and seeing all the different locomotives outside, all multicoloured like canaries,” Kunz smiles. But it’s not easy: where there should be competition across the board with perhaps 20% of freight being carried by independent operators, he believes there is a distinct danger of returning to a monopoly in European railfreight. Moreover, Kunz feels there is a lack of political support, infrastructure that is private operators. In the middle are Switzerland with growth of about 30%, Austria with 35% and Germany with 25%, all with private operators accounting for around 10% of the market. Kunz says another factor for success is a smooth homologation process. But instead of simple, nondiscriminatory processes for homologation and certification on a Europe-wide basis, with neutral, independent agencies, in reality there is everything from a European system (RIV) to national and even local procedures, which is time- consuming. There is also the issue of differing safety systems in every country. Then there are the terminals. “There’s terminal congestion everywhere, and there’s far too much politics,” Kunz points out. “We’ve been fighting for an independent terminal in Belgium. We can’t use a Belgian National Railways (SNCB) terminal because they charge as much for 50m of track as we’d pay for the entire route from Antwerp to Duisburg. We’ve also had problems in Italy with getting approval to expand the Busto Gallarate terminal. There is a big shortage of terminal capacity in general, not only in Italy but also the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, which is partly due to resistance by incumbents and partly because of local political opposition. What is needed are subsidies and political support,” he emphasises. A vital factor for success is of course more infrastructure, which Switzerland is working on and financing itself. Kunz says the Lötschberg base tunnel, now open to freight traffic, brings no increase in capacity for either general freight or intermodal traffic. However, he anticipates enormous productivity gains with completion of the Gotthard base tunnel, now expected in 2017, provided access lines to the north and south are also upgraded (specifically the Offenburg Basle line in Germany, and an avoiding line round Milan to provide better access to southern Italy). “Compared with the existing mountain line, I expect a 25% increase in the weight of trains on this route,” he says. IRJ 48 IRJ August 2007

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of International Railway Journal - August 2007

Contents This month News Market News Transit News News Analysis Voith Goes For Maxima Impact First Gauge-Changeable Loco Under Test Power Surge China Feels the Need For Speed A Firm Foundation For Chinese High-Speed Testing Times on the Betuwe Route Tough Tests For Mass Transit Software A Measure of Success Rendezvous Full Contact List Advertisers Index The Last Word

International Railway Journal - August 2007

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