FV-2000 - Quality of Freight Villages Structure and Operations

FV-2000 - Quality of Freight Villages Structure and Operations


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At the Spanish level, there seems to be a lack of co-ordination with respect to the Freight Villages, transport systems and intermodal transport specifically. In order for the Freight Villages to function well, there needs to be a high level of co-ordination between two parts, the Freight Villages and the transport operators. (ESP)


There are not enough intermodal terminals in Spain, and those that do exist are not efficient because they do not have the means and equipment to offer services and conditions that compete with the road system. This is where the need to develop intermodal terminals arises, which are capable of offering more versatile and efficient services and deals. (ESP)


Logistics divisions should have, adjacent or incorporated, an adequate railway structure linking them to Freight Villages and the most relevant commercial Ports. They would thus be able to offer modern and effective railway services. Until now only the National Railway Operator offers railway service, and it has created many obstacles for any private initiative concerning railway systems to link Freight Villages. Another obstacle is the high investment required to create a successful railway service. (ESP)


In analysing the evolution of the Spanish railway service, it becomes evident that hardly any changes have been made over the past 30 years. This fact is especially notable when we consider that there are aspects that need improvement: on one hand, the duration of transit is often longer by railway than by road, and on the other, the railway offers a less than reliable service as cargo often does not reach its destination. Logistics operators point out that the time elapsed to move from the last railway node to the intermodal terminal of the FV is double that of the original trip. Plus which the Spanish railway does not reach all destinations, illustrating the so called "problem of the final Kilometre." This problem could be remedied by making the intermodal terminal of the Freight Village the key node for modal changes. (ESP)


In order for the railway service to be successful, the policy of fees must be equal or lesser than that of the road system. Many Spanish transporters request that the method of transport (railway versus road) be agile and take into consideration the two factors mentioned above: equal or lower price and favourable transit duration. (ESP)


Another disadvantage of the Spanish railway is that it does not use the UICC rail width, which unites all the other European railway systems. This means that time is lost at the border where switching engines is required, in addition to incurring extra cost because cargo must be moved from a platform on one track to one on another track. Another possibility is to adopt the automatic Bogies system: engines and cars come with several annexed axes that automatically adapt to the width of the track. But the changeover still requires time and the initial investment is much greater than for than of a regular train. Neither system fits into the desired conditions. (ESP)


For decades the railway service has been concerned with improvements its passenger transportation and has overlooked commercial transport. Some examples are the AVE that links Madrid and Sevilla, the Local Barcelona-Madrid and the Euromed linking Valencia and Barcelona. (ESP)

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[extraido de http://www.freight-village.com/projects.html#]