COVID-19 is making its presence felt in every aspect of life. Business has ground to a halt in many sectors but freight transport is keeping our countries and the European economy moving, all whilst protecting our dedicated staff and customers. In fact, the crisis that Europe is going through shows how vital rail freight transport is to our nations and companies.
Governments across Europe are promoting the free flow of cargo. Shifting road to rail has proven crucial to keeping the flow of goods moving, and every member of RFF has a key role to play.
Fret SNCF is pulling out all the stops to support medical staff and the public. Crisis conference calls are being held several times a day to keep trains circulating, especially the “vital trains” transporting chlorine to treatment plants for drinking water and gas to urban heating plants that supply hospitals.
CFL cargo is monitoring the situation on a daily basis and has deployed a series of measures in order to ensure a work environment compliant to health and security requirements whilst maintaining the continuity of services. All activities are running and they are providing specific support to critical clients and critical supply chain flows. “Our people are committed to maintaining business continuity; a big thank you to all of them “, says Laurence Zenner, CEO CFL cargo.
Although a ban on international passenger transport has been imposed in Austria, the ÖBB Rail Cargo Group has been able to keep freight traffic moving in and out of the country. All of the company’s national and international freight train services are running according to schedule and without any restrictions. Depending on customer requirements, the capacity for intermodal and conventional rail freight transport can be increased at any time. In order to protect staff, train drivers and locomotives are being changed over at the border in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Italy, and all vehicles thoroughly disinfected. Special efforts are in place to increase cleaning services for work equipment as well as the disinfection of vehicles and sites that are critical for operations. Round the clock availability and replenishment of disinfectant supplies in all business premises guarantees compliance with all hygiene regulations.
The company’s dedicated crisis taskforce convenes on a daily basis and is in close consultation with the Crisis and Disaster Management of the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry for Health and its agency AGES (Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety Ltd.) and is implementing all official hygiene measures and regulations. This supports and ensures the communication line between the federal government and the upstream service agencies. In addition, the ÖBB has been in an intense exchange with the Ministries for Domestic Affairs and Transport.
“As the largest mobility service provider in Austria, we have a great responsibility towards our country when it comes to passenger and freight transport. We assure you that we will still be there for our customers, even in these hard times”, states Clemens Först, CEO ÖBB Rail Cargo Group.
DB Cargo is also in constant communication with all relevant federal and state authorities and is following all recommendations provided by the Robert Koch Institute. They have taken all necessary measures to prevent infections among employees. Emergency plans for transport are in place for the event of any change to in the operational situation. DB Cargo is also able to take on further transport at short notice to secure the delivery of freight supplies. "We transport everything that our customers request," says DB Cargo CEO Dr. Sigrid Nikutta. A hotline is available for new customers who want to transfer to rail at short notice due to the longer border clearance times. Here, consignors and forwarders will be given advice on transport alternatives from 8 am to 8 pm Mondays through Fridays.
Lineas also sees it as we see it as their mission and responsibility to help keep the European supply chain going. Their teams are ready to help find solutions and are going the extra mile to keep trains running during this difficult period. You can read more at : bit.ly/LineasCovid
UIC has launched the COVID-19 task force, which held its kick-off meeting by video conference on 5th March 2020.In the context of COVID-19, the strength of these networks is used to give Members and partners the possibility to regularly exchange information on status and about preventive measures and procedures. A dedicated email address has also been set up.
In the spirit of sharing current practices, UIC members and partner organisations have provided the task force with relevant information leading to the publication of the newest UIC document: Management of COVID-19: Guidance for railway stakeholders, A series of potential measures published by the International Union of Railways.
Contributions have already been sent by railway companies from all over the world, including: Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, the Netherlands and the United States of America.
This document will be continually updated throughout the duration of this crisis and UIC welcomes continued contributions from its members to help one and all manage the global response to COVID-19: https://uic.org/IMG/pdf/uic-management-of-covid-19-guidance-for-railway-stakeholders.pdf
CER is thankful to all rail transport workers for keeping the essential services running. The COVID-19 pandemic is a stress test for the whole European Union: for its institutions, for its economy, for its citizens. Railways are as much impacted by the consequences of the pandemic as by the consequences of the public measures taken to fight it, but are working hard to ensure freight and passenger rail transport continues. CER is closely monitoring the situation across Europe. They are in regular exchange with the European Commission to assess the impact of the pandemic on rail freight transport and help define appropriate solutions to keep goods moving while keeping railway staff safe.
It is in times like these that we realise just how important it is to stand by each other. This is certainly what the Rail Freight Forward coalition stands for. The RFF members are doing everything in their power to make sure supplies move from A to B no matter what. We are the ones who are moving freight forward. In Europe and for Europe.