Re: Deutsche Bahn to buy EWS - FT.com


"D7666" <d7666@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1183114464.415627.147570@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Jun 29, 11:22 am, "Lüko Willms" <l.wil...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I note that you chose not to address the issue of Eurotunnel, which
will be a major problem for DB/EWS.

I did address that various times, but I think that this is rather an
asset.

Luko, I read your replied and I don't think you have fully understood
what we are saying.

Eurotunnel/Europorte is not just a train operator - Eurotunnel is a
railway. In simple terms it is a private railway that now - in terms
of DB acquiring EWS - connects two physical regions in which DB may
operate. This gives DB no rights whatsover to run trains through the
tunnel at any other than commerical rates - they will still be subject
to high charges levied by Eurotunnel. It is the *customers* of EWS who
have ceased sending their freight by rail when EWS passed on tunnel
charges to them.

If freight *customers* do not send freight by rail because it is too
expensive it is to no advantage to DB, or anyone else, to have access
to the tunnel gateways.

--
Nick
It could be said that Eurotunnel hasn't really increased its prices but
that, until now, the national operators have been shielded from the full
prices by the subsidies given under the Minimum Usage Agreement to sweeten
the sale of Railfreight Distribution International. The exodus from Channel
Tunnel railfreight started long before this subsidy was withdrawn, however,
and I would suggest stems from a number of causes:-

The massive disruption services caused by the clandestin/stowaway problem in
2000-2. Not only was the timetable virtually thrown out, as trains were
illegally boarded, after people either 'dropped' track circuits in front of
them, and then stopped when those on board separated the brake pipes, but
some trains from Italy seem to have had stowaways on board for several days,
judging by the damage that had been done to the loads. This caused the loss
of a lot of the edible product traffic from Italy, which had been a
potentially large growth area.

The post-Hatfield disruption in the UK, coupled with the problems of the
WCML modernisation, which caused the hitherto reliable UK services to become
very unreliable.

The various problems within SNCF, including traction/driver shortages,
strikes, and the virtual closure of the Modane route for tunnel rebuilding
(this latter being compounded by a freight train demolishing a bridge at
Culoz). These combined to see a lot of traffic diverted via Belgium and
Germany- the problems were not confined to traffic from the UK, as at least
one operator pulled out of operations to the Iberian Peninsula from the
Benelux region due to unreliability.

There has also been a lot of traffic lost from what economists would call
structural changes. Examples include :-
the sale of the Rover Group. From the very beginning, they had sent a daily
train of Land Rovers, Minis and other cars to Italy. Once the group was sold
to BMW, and then split into three, there was no longer enough traffic for a
daily train, and the economies of scale were lost.
The closure of the Corus plant at Shelton, which generated enough wagon-load
traffic for the equivalent of a couple of trains a week, and which also
shared the Bescot- Longport trip with traffic for one of EWSs two remaining
conventional freight terminals- once was was lost, the other also went.
The loss of car-manufacturing at Dagenham, which meant that the Transfesa
train only runs four or five times a week rather than eight or ten.
On top of the obvious losses, there is the loss of manufacturing in
Britain generally, which has meant a lot of vehicles return empty (a problem
not confined to rail, as road hauliers have suffered as well).
I would like to see a general increase in through rail freight via the
tunnel (it helps pay my mortgage, apart from anything else), but I don't
think the acquisition of EWS by Railon will have as huge an impact as some
would like to think- the problems are not just down to tunnel pricing, but a
multiplicity of other factors. Some of these may be addressed by increased
bargaining power, others are beyond the powers of mere railway operators.
Brian




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