THE DB CARGO CUSTOMER MAGAZINE NO. 02 | 16 STRONG NETWORK With its staff, DB Cargo is committed to providing single-wagon transport throughout Europe Page 08 RELIABILITY IS PLANNABLE JOURNEY OF THE CENTURY FINAL LEG OF THE JOURNEY The British The Gotthard Locomotives on locomotive team Tunnel is open the way to the museum Page 30 Page 36 Page 52 EDITORIAL “Rail freight transport in the United Arab Emirates is certainly a thrilling adventure!” HANS-GEORG WERNER MEMBER OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD AT DB CARGO FOR REGION EAST PASSION FOR RAIL Do you know what fascinates me about DB Cargo? It is the fusion of technology from the last century with state-of-the-art digital processes now –meaning that we bridge several generations of technological development. In our single-wagon transport, we at DB Cargo have a unique selling point in Europe. No other rail company of our size is prepared to take the risk of operating such a complex European system. Behind this lie the efforts of our staff. This is why, for this magazine, we have focused on people who nor- mally do not appear in the spotlight very often: our freight station workers, who work hard around the clock. Day after day, we aim to fill this fascinating railway system anew with life and enthusiasm. I very much hope that you, too, sense the passion that characterises : Michael Neuhaus our company. Cover A THRILLING ADVENTURE BY RAIL I wish you an exciting read, DB Cargo’s joint venture with Etihad Rail DB transports up to 7.2 million tonnes of sulphur per year. Andreas Busemann ulphur granulate is produced during The 264 km route will facilitate the trans- locomotives and 240 freight wagons. Sthe extraction and processing of nat- port of granulated sulphur from inland Around 70 DB employees drive the Member of the Management Board at DB Cargo AG for Sales & Marketing ural gas, especially acid gas, as is found sources to the port of Ruwais for export. trains, train technical staff and keep the in the UAE. Hundreds of thousands of Etihad Rail DB runs two trains a day, wagons, tracks and bridges in good con- tonnes of the sulphur-yellow material is each train comprises 110 wagons and dition. No mean feat in a country where produced every month and is transport- transports up to 11,000 tonnes of granu- engine drivers are faced with scorching Interested in the latest from ed by Etihad Rail DB. Etihad Rail DB is late, a valuable raw material for industry temperatures and sand drifts piling on the world of DB Cargo? Sign up for the responsible for the operations and main- and agriculture. the tracks. “It is certainly a thrilling newsletter so you don’t miss tenance of theUnited Arab Emirates’ DB AG and Etihad Rail joined forces adventure to be taking by rail,” says out on any news from the railways. Sandvik Process Systems, DB/Pablo Castagnola/Ramon Haindl. Castagnola/Ramon DB/Pablo Systems, Sandvik Process national railway, transporting up to 7.2 in 2013 to establish Etihad Rail DB. To- Hans-Georg Werner, Member of the Man- : Subscribe at: million tonnes of granulated sulphur per day, Etihad Rail DB takes care of the op- agement Board at DB Cargo for Region www.dbcargo.com/newsletter-en year from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais. eration and maintenance of the seven East. “And we are part of it!” an Photos 02 RAILWAYS 02 | 16 03 CONTENTS FOCUS: A STRONG SYSTEM FOR EUROPE RELIABILITY IS PLANNABLE: DB CARGO UK Single-wagon transport for customers who think and act on a truly European scale – to this end, DB Cargo brings many workers together on the whole continent in a well-functioning production system. FOCUS ON SINGLE-WAGON TRANSPORT 17 ZUKUNFT BAHN 42 AT DOUBLE SPEED DB Cargo establishes a rapid-reaction force to The rail operator is working constantly to im- improve quality in production. prove supply chains for its automotive customers. Experts at DB Cargo Logistics GmbH 18 RELIABILITY AND QUALITY have shown in the case of Opel An interview with Dr Jürgen Wilder, CEO of that it is possible to halve journey times. DB Cargo, on single-wagon transport. 20 FROM THE NORTH CAPE TO LISBON CUSTOMERS & PROJECTS A European transport bridge is celebrating its tenth anniversary: Railnet France. 44 PARTNERSHIP FOR QUALITY Europe’s steel industry is going through turbu- 22 EFFICIENT NETWORK lent times. The Austrian steel group voestalpine DB Cargo Polska is operating a well-used service is placing its faith in new structures, for its customers. innovative products and improved quality. The rail freight operator is helping 24 NETWORK FOR MEDIUM-SIZED COMPANIES with this as the group’s logistics partner. DB Cargo succeeds in Italy with customised single-wagon transport solutions. 47 CUSTOMER SERVICE – BRITISH STYLE As a major customer needed wagons urgently, 26 SUCCESS IN BAVARIA the workers at DB Cargo’s British One year after the opening of the Kombi- subsidiary converted unused wagons. Terminal Burghausen, the transhipment volume has almost doubled. 48 ALLIANCE FOR QUALITY A new framework agreement reaffirms the close partnership between DB Cargo COMPANY & PEOPLE and the steel company ArcelorMittal. 32 “MANAGING TRAFFIC FLOWS IN FUTURE” 50 RELOADING CONCEPT: STEEL AND TIMBER DB Cargo establishes a new national BROUGHT TOGETHER subsidiary in the Czech Republic. CEO Tomasz Nieten and DB Cargo have succeeded in combin- Grzegorz Iwański explains why. ing steel and timber transport between Germany and Sweden in close cooperation with 34 DIGITISATION IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US ALL the customers. DB Cargo Polska is focusing on digitisation, says Paweł Pucek, Board Member for Sales. 52 THE FINAL LEG OF THE JOURNEY In Poland, DB Cargo is renovating disused loco- 35 FURTHER SCOPE FOR COOPERATION motives for a museum. Framework agreement between DB Cargo and the Lithuanian railways. 54 FINAL CALL / SAVE THE DATE / IMPRINT MARKETS & INNOVATIONS 36 JOURNEY OF THE CENTURY THROUGH THE ALPS railways is available as an app or in printed DB Cargo will be one of the first rail Bertrand/hemis.fr/Getty RIEGER Tjaden, DB Cargo/Oliver Images operators to run scheduled services through form in German, too. MORE SPEED, MORE FLEXIBILITY, the newly opened Gotthard Base Tunnel. Photos: MORE EFFICIENCY: DB CARGO DANMARK 04 RAILWAYS 02 | 16 05 NEWS NEWS / MANCHESTER/ UNITED KINGDOM ZABRZE POLAND THE MXA WAGON IS CHRISTENED AWARD FOR CSR INITIATIVES AT THE “LOBSTER” DB CARGO DB Cargo UK and the British infrastructure operator Network Rail The Responsible Business Forum in Poland has honoured DB Cargo Polska have chosen a very unusual approach to the issue of safety on the for its engagement in health, environmental protection and voluntary railways. They discussed the topic with primary schoolchildren work among its employees. The awarding body is a non-governmental and organised a competition to select the name for a new type of organisation that looks closely at matters related to corporate social wagon. The children were more than up to the task and the bright responsibility. The Forum describes the Polish DB Cargo subsidiary’s red, rectangular MXA wagon (see also page 47) will now be called good practice initiatives, in particular, as exemplary in the organisa­ the “Lobster”. The name continues a tradition that goes back to tion’s renowned annual report. The awarded practices are: the safety the 1940s, when rail wagons were named after aquatic animals. The and health days, the “Tipps vom Ökolöwen” (“Tips from the Eco-lion”) name was suggested by schoolgirls Emilia Sneiegon (10), Nicole initiative and the “Get on the train to help” volunteering programme. Biechowiak (10) and Rachel McLoughlin (11) from The Willows “We are proud that our activities have received this additional recogni­ Primary School in Manchester. DB Cargo UK also named a locomo- tion,” says Katarzyna Marciniak of DB Cargo Polska. “Our employ- tive after their school. “Everyone had a brilliant day and we were ees are doing a lot of things in this area as part of the volunteering delighted to name our 60020 locomotive after The Willows Primary programme that our company has introduced.” The Responsible School on behalf of Emilia, Nicole and Rachel,” said DB Cargo UK Business Forum publishes an annual report on “Responsible Business CEO Geoff Spencer. an in Poland. Good Practices”. The full English version is available at www.odpowiedzialnybiznes.pl/english/. an MAINZ/GERMANY THE RAILWAYS GET QUICKER AT MAKING WAGONS QUIETER The rail operator is accelerating its efforts in converting to HAMBURG/GERMANY low-noise freight wagons. By the end of this year, 50 per cent NORTHERN PORTS CONFERENCE: of the DB Cargo fleet will have been fitted with what Hamburg EUROPEAN CHAMPION IN ATTENDANCE are known as “whisper brakes”. To date, more than 21,000 freight wagons have been fitted with this noise-reduction Prominent support for DB Cargo and TFG Transfracht: technology. That figure is planned to reach 32,000 by the the 10th Northern Ports Conference held in Hamburg end of the year. The “whisper brake”, which relies on brake Manchester at the end of April was moderated by Thomas Helmer blocks with newly developed composites, can halve the (pictured). The winner of the European football noise of passing freight trains, as perceived by the human ear. championship and presenter of the football talk show By 2020, DB Cargo aims to convert all its existing freight “Doppelpass” illustrated the similarities and differ­ wagons and, in addition, to have procured a total of around ences between professional football and logistics in a 9,000 new quiet wagons with composite brake blocks. mh Mainz keynote speech. The host of the anniversary event Zabrze was Dirk Steffes, Head of the Intermodal Sector at DB Cargo.