Hungarian role seen in China-Europe freight - by Daniel Hirsch

Prospects for economic growth through multiple methods of transport in countries in the so-called “Mediterranean Corridor/Corridor V” were examined in a conference in Budapest this month, with Hungary said to be well-placed to play an important role as a bridge between Western, Eastern and Southern Europe.

The conference, organised by the Hungarian-Italian Chamber of Commerce, focused on “Pan-European inter-modal corridors as opportunities for regional development from an anti-crisis perspective”. Speakers included Daniel Wieland, senior vice-president rail logistics and forwarding at DB Schenker, chamber president Maurizio Sauli, Italian ambassador to Hungary Maria Assunta and the Hungarian state secretary at the National Development Ministry, János Fónagy.

Wieland addressed economic opportunities and perspectives presented by the use of the two rail routes from China to Europe, the “northern” and “southern” routes, with reference to the additional logistics offerings from DB Schenker. “We link the strongly growing provinces around major cities such as Chongqing with Europe by rail,” Wieland said.

The 12,000-kilometre northern route leads from Shanghai via Russia, Belarus and Poland, while the 10,000-kilometre southern route leads from Chongqing via Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus and Poland.

With growing distances into the Chinese hinterland, rail-based transport from there directly to Europe can generate economic advantages and ideally complement the possibilities of air freight and sea freight,” Wieland said. “By rail the transport time is up to 16 days quicker than by sea, while there is a cost saving of up to 75 per cent compared to air freight.”

Read more: Hungarian role seen in China-Europe freight | The Budapest Times

Alternet: Railroads: Let's Get Get Those Freight Trucks Off the Road and Put America Back on Tracks - by Philip Longman

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Railroads - Let's Get Get Those Freight Trucks Off the Road and Put America Back on Tracks - by Philip Longman

The railroad has long been reluctant to accept government investment in its infrastructure out of fear of public meddling, such as being compelled to run money-losing passenger trains. But now, like most of the industry, it has changed its mind, and it happily accepted Virginia’s offer last year to fund a small portion -- $40 million -- of the investment needed to get more freight traffic off I-81 and onto the Crescent Corridor. The railroad estimates that with an additional $2 billion in infrastructure investment, it could divert a million trucks off the road, which is currently carrying just under five million. State officials are thinking even bigger: a study sponsored by the Virginia DOT finds that a cumulative investment over ten to twelve years of less than $8 billion would divert 30 percent of the growing truck traffic on I-81 to rail. That would be far more bang for the state’s buck than the $11 billion it would take to add more lanes to the highway

Forbes: Google backs Europe case against Microsoft browser

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Google backs Europe case against Microsoft browser

Google Inc. wants to help European regulators prove Microsoft Corp. has stifled competition and innovation by bundling its popular Web browser with the Windows operating system. The decision to back the European Commission, announced Tuesday, isn't a surprise because Google wants to lessen the dominance of Microsoft's Internet Explorer with a competing Web browser called Chrome.

Food Productiondaily: EU Commission unveils logistics proposals - by Ahmed ElAmin

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EU Commission unveils logistics proposals - by Ahmed ElAmin

A series of proposed measures unveiled yesterday by the European Commission could help make freight transportion cheaper and simpler for manufacturers. The proposal for a common transport policy marks a bid by the EU to cut down on pollution, oil consumption and road congestion, mainly by allowing bigger loads and providing designated rail lines between countries for freight. On average, logistics accounts for 12 per cent of the final costs of a finished product in the manufacturing sector. The Commission estimate includes costs such as transportation and warehousing.

The Commission has identified about 500 bottlenecks in the current system that it says create unnecessary obstacles to the efficient flow of goods - including a lack of parking spaces for trucks and red tape. The Commission wants to encourage paperless information flows, the use of radio frequency identification and satellite services as a means of simplifying logistics. The Commission also plans to create a single transport document for all forms of freight transport, to replace the many versions currently used, depending on the mode. Another proposal would lead to a single reporting interface for freight transport.