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Tag: railway

  • JR East metro station outlets opening in Singapore

    JR East metro station outlets opening in Singapore

    East Japan Railway Co. is expanding its operations into Singapore with new JR East metro station stores launching in island’s metro stations.

    The firm is planning to set up store clusters at 27 out of the 32 stations on the Thomson-East Coast Line, which will be partially operational by the end of the year. It is the first Japanese railways firm to start-up commercial operations in another country.

    The firm’s contract to establish JR East metro station stores along the line was secured via its local unit along with SMRT Experience and store chain operator NTUC Fairprice Co-operative for S$24 million (US$17.3 million) last month. The three partners will trade as Stellar Singapore, in which JR East will hold a 35 percent shareholding.

    Under the terms of the agreement, Stellar Singapore will rent 5000sqm of total floor space at the stations under a 16-year lease. The largest single shopping center will cover 1570sqm at Woodlands Station.

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  • Parkson Retail to open store above Chinese railway station

    Parkson Retail to open store above Chinese railway station

    Parkson Retail Group is preparing to occupy a complex above Nanjing Railway Station in Chinese Jiangxi.

    The group, a Hong Kong-listed firm controlled by Malaysian Parkson Holdings Bhd, won its US$6.1 million bid for the tenancy of buildings above the Bayi Guan Station of the Nanchang Rail Transit Line 1 in the city.

    The 12-year tenancy will allow a 42,903sqm retail space for the firm, although no formal agreement on the tenancy has been signed as of yet.

    A statement from the firm read: “The tenancy, if materialised, may constitute a discloseable transaction for PRGL,” given its alignment with the firm’s development strategy for the province.

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  • Vietnam gives nod for $300mln railway upgrade

    Vietnam gives nod for $300mln railway upgrade

    Vietnam’s National Assembly has approved a $300 million budget for four railway upgrade projects on its transnational route.

    The four projects are to be implemented along the Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City route. The funds will be sourced from the contingency budget of the Public Investment Plan 2016-2020 that the parliament approved in 2016.

    A total of VND1.95 trillion ($84 million) will be spent to reinforce over 100 weak bridges on the Hanoi-HCMC route. Propulsion systems on this route will also be improved.

    Another VND1.8 trillion ($77 million) will be spent on reinforcing 11 of over 22 tunnels on the route section between Vinh and Nha Trang provinces. New stations will also be opened along this route.

    The route section from Hanoi to Vinh will be upgraded at a cost of VND1.4 trillion ($60 million), which will be spent on reinforcing the current foundation, opening a third track in stations that currently have only two, and other upgrades.

    Similar upgrades will be applied on the route from Nha Trang to HCMC with a budget of VND1.85 trillion ($79 million).

    The Standing Committee of the National Assembly has also approved VND8 trillion ($343 million) for 10 road projects.

    The Vietnamese government has recently initiated efforts to upgrade the country’s outdated railway system. Many experts, including former senior railway officials, have said that the sector has suffered government neglect for a long time.

    Vietnam’s railway sector has not received any major investment in the last 140 years.

    Fifty-five percent of 7,200 coaches are equipped with an outdated brake system, while 72 percent of almost 400 locomotives are high on emissions and low on economic efficiency, according to the Vietnam Register.

    Vietnam currently has over 3,000 kilometers of railway tracks, none of them high-speed.

    All Vietnamese trains run on diesel, while Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, Japan and China have electric railway systems.

  • Launch of Rail and Road Freight Services from China to Central Asia

    Launch of Rail and Road Freight Services from China to Central Asia

    New cross-border rail and trucking services launched by Kerry Logistic connects China through Kazakhstan to Caucasus and Turkey. This would expand the company’s preexisting presence in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia in Caucasus.

    Starting from Lianyungang, the well-known bridgehead of the New Eurasian Land Bridge in China, the new westbound rail freight service will bring shipments across Kazakhstan and Caspian Sea to multiple destinations in Turkey through the newly-bulit Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway. To offer greater flexibility to customers with different volume needs, both block train and single wagon services are being offered. With a transit time of 18-20 days, the main products to be moved by the new cross-border services will include electronic parts, electrical appliances, minerals, auto parts, and other industrial goods.

    In addition to the rail freight service, trucking service along the same trade route from China to Caucasus and Turkey has also been launched with an addition of 50 trucks to the company’s existing fleet. With a transit time of around 12-14 days, this will provide an alternative solution for customers who look for a faster way of getting their cargoes to the destinations.

    Edwardo Erni, Managing Director – China & North Asia of Kerry Logistics, said, “We are excited about the launch of this new cross-border service. With our rail freight and trucking capabilities extending their reach to the strategic locations of Turkey and Caucasus, we will be able to grasp the immense market opportunities presented by the Belt and Road initiative with our enhanced position in the region.”

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  • Tigers Linking Rail Freight Destinations

    Tigers Linking Rail Freight Destinations

    Tigers has launched a new rail freight service, called Tiger Rail, offering customers a 16-day transit time both east and westbound, between Duisburg, Germany, and Hefei, Chongqing, and Chengdu, China.

    Tiger Rail customers can charter a train, or book Full Container Load (FCL) or Less than Container Load (LCL) shipments on weekly scheduled services to and from over 15 origin stations in China.

    The Hong Kong-headquartered supply chain specialist is also planning to offer

    e-commerce customers shipping parcels from Europe to China a cost-effective service along the new Silk Road.

    “We have seized the opportunity to provide integrated logistics for our customers, who increasingly require shorter transit times than ocean freight, and lower costs than airfreight, making Tiger Rail the perfect solution,” said Paul Huang, Managing Director, Tigers China.

    “Our customers benefit from lower shipping costs by empty container return in Switzerland for westbound services, and Shipper’s Own Container (SOC) for eastbound services, for both FCL and LCL.

    “Tigers has already supported customers to transport over 500 TEUs as FCL, and 1500 cubic meters (CBMs) as LCL along the new Silk Road.”

    Tiger Rail’s inaugural shipment took place over the summer, on behalf of one of one of the largest manufacturers of exhaust and suspension systems, which chartered a train to transport construction materials, auto parts, and electronics.

    “We are currently preparing test shipments for European Union (EU) Business to Consumer (B2C) parcels importing to China with Tiger Rail, and look forward to expanding our rail freight capabilities even further,” said Andrew Jillings, Chief Executive Officer and Group Managing Director, Tigers.

    Tiger Rail customers can track and trace their freight shipments using the Tiger Trax platform.

    The launch of Tiger Rail comes only weeks after Tigers achieved Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) certification in the UK, expanded its footprint with a new office in Leeds, and launched a post-Brexit solution to combat any disruption caused by Brexit.

  • DB Schenker On-Track in Driving Rail Freight Solutions for Customers across Asia Pacific

    DB Schenker On-Track in Driving Rail Freight Solutions for Customers across Asia Pacific

    Since inaugurating the first Beijing – Hamburg rail link in 2008, DB Schenker has since developed an unparalleled portfolio of Euro-Asia Rail door-to-door services, linking China with Germany and the rest of Europe – such as Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Harbin, Hefei, Suzhou, Shenyang, Wuhan, Yiwu, Zhengzhou with Duisburg, Hamburg, Leipzig, Nuremburg, as well as Lodz, London, Lyon, Tilburg, Warsaw, and many others.

    “Having pioneered the rail service between China and Europe some 10 years ago, we are today in a unique position as the market leader for both LCL and FCL. We are proud to be recognized as such and we will continue to drive innovation around our rail products to and from China”, said Mr Thomas Sorensen, CEO for North and Central China.

    Along with the Pan-Australia Rail solutions network (linking Sydney to Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin and Perth), and the Trans-Java Rail solutions in Indonesia (linking Jakarta with Surabaya and Semarang), DB Schenker offers the gamut of daily/regular Full-Container-Load (FCL), Less-than-Container-Load (LCL), Block-trains, multi-customer, reefer services and so on, to customers in the Automotive, Electronics, Industrial/Chemicals, Consumer Goods, and other sectors.

    At the recent Asian Freight, Logistics and Supply Chain Awards (AFLAS) held on 29th June 2017, DB Schenker was again ranked as the Best Logistics Service Provider – Rail for the second year running. Having won AFLAS awards in all major logistics related categories in the past, including Best Logistics Service Provider – Sea Freight and Air Freight as well as Best Road Haulier, DB Schenker’s heritage and pedigree in Rail offers truly peerless inter-modal solutions for shippers in Asia.

    “Incorporating comprehensive Rail Logistics Services into our suite of solutions unleashes a higher level of robustness, to achieve the optimal balance in calibrating Cost, Lead Time, Risk Mitigation, and Environmental Impact in the supply chain”, added Mr Norman Mummery, SVP Contract Logistics/SCM for Asia Pacific.

    “We are humbled and thankful to win this award for the second year in a row, voted by shippers and peers from the industry.  As a pioneer and first-mover in Rail among Global 3PLs for Asia, we are unrelenting in pushing the limits to strengthen our network and take our customers further”, says Ditlev Blicher, CEO of DB Schenker in Asia Pacific.

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  • DHL and Latvian Railways join forces to boost Baltic-China trade

    DHL and Latvian Railways join forces to boost Baltic-China trade

    Baltic and Nordic exporters can look forward to faster, cheaper and more reliable logistics connections to China’s immense export market, following the signing of a new agreement between Latvia’s State Joint Stock Company Latvijas dzelzceļš (LDz) and DHL Global Forwarding.

    The Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation (MUC) signed between both companies will see both organisations focus on establishing multimodal rail connections between China and Latvia, including both freight connections and consolidation services centred in Riga City. Under the MUC, new connections will include guaranteed transit times and simplified customs and handling procedures for inbound and outbound cargo, as well as support for more flexible shipments such as Less-than-Container Load (LCL) freight.

    “So far, very few Baltic or Nordic businesses have fully tapped into the immense market opportunities that China and the broader Asia Pacific region currently offer,” said Steve Huang, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding Greater China. “The two regions’ exports made up only 0.7% of China’s imports on average between 2011 to 2015, despite China’s demand for overseas goods which both regions excel in — like high-quality food products, textiles, and pharmaceuticals — growing rapidly in this time.[1]”

    “With the economies of Latvia and its neighbours expected to grow faster than the rest of the European Union,[2] businesses in the region will need to look to new markets like China to fuel their expansion. By building rapid, reliable logistics connections between the Baltic and Asia Pacific, we hope to give the region’s businesses a strong foundation for ongoing growth.”

    The MUC comes as DHL begins service along its newest Asia-Europe multimodal route connecting Shenzhen to Minsk via rail. DHL holds similar agreements with national rail providers in Belarus, Chengdu, and other major hubs along China’s proposed “Belt and Road” trade routes.

    “DHL has led the way in realising the Belt and Road’s opportunities for numerous countries, including the Nordic states that its Shenzhen-Minsk route will directly service,” said president of LDz, Edvīns Bērziņš. “This new agreement will give Latvian businesses the flexibility and confidence to engage in freer trade with Chinese and Asian markets, as well as establish Latvia as a strategic gateway along the Belt and Road to other parts of Europe — a twofold boost to the country’s production and logistics industries.”

    The MUC also includes provisions for ocean freight and intermodal shipping between Latvia, Scandinavia, and the UK and Ireland, as well as air and road freight connections to major cities across continental Europe.

  • DHL adds another China-Europe rail link

    DHL adds another China-Europe rail link

    DHL manages new route with supply chain partner China Brilliant, providing both LCL and FCL service to DHL customers.

    DHL Global Forwarding has launched the first regular service connecting Shenzhen to Minsk, Belarus via rail in less than 12 days. The new route covers new overland connections to several major cities along China’s “Belt and Road” and is the latest route in the DHL Asia-Europe-Asia multimodal network.

    DHL will manage the new route together with China Brilliant, an integrated service provider in global manufacturing and consumption with which DHL signed an MOU last year. Offering both Less-than-Container Load (LCL) and Full Container Load (FCL) services along the route, DHL gives businesses increased flexibility to meet rapidly growing and evolving market demands for electronics, industrial and automotive parts, and fresh food in both Eastern Europe and China.

    “Eastern Europe’s economies are growing faster than almost any others worldwide,¹ with significant export opportunities arising from the region’s rising wages and disposable income levels,² ” said Steve Huang, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding Greater China. “Minsk offers Chinese businesses an efficient gateway into the Baltic States and Nordic countries in addition to other major European destinations like Warsaw, Hamburg and Tilburg via Brest.”

    “With Shenzhen’s economy exceeding expectations to grow by 9% last year,³ the route also opens sizable opportunities for European exporters looking to sell to one of China’s most vibrant trade and business hubs, or use it as an important gateway to Southeast Asia and the rest of the Chinese consumer market. Our newest route further supports strategic infrastructure projects designed especially to support the Belt and Road, such as the Great Stone Industrial Park – the largest joint project between China and Belarus that will span decades;⁴ strengthens bilateral ties between the two countries; and also lays the groundwork for further rail connectivity to the Nordic and Middle Eastern states involved in the Belt and Road.”

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  • DHL opens China Rail Competence Center

    DHL opens China Rail Competence Center

    HL Global Forwarding has opened a central China Rail Competence Center in Stuttgart to help with the coordination of freight transported between Germany and Asia by rail.

    “Rail freight volumes between Germany and Asia have increased 10-fold in just one year. In order to meet ever-increasing demand, the onus is on us to grow, optimize processes and create synergies. It is for this very reason that we decided to establish a central China Rail Competence Center,” said Volker Oesau, CEO DHL Global Forwarding Germany and Central Europe.

    In a statement issued today (8 May), DHL said that staff at the Stuttgart Rail Competence Center will develop “appropriate multi-modal transport solutions and coordinating end-to-end transport processes, from collection, export and transit formalities, and the Euro-Asian rail service, right through to customs clearance in the land of arrival and delivery by truck or combined rail transport”.

    DHL Global Forwarding current offers 15 rail connections between Germany and the Far East. The trains follow the course of the trans-Kazakh western corridor and the trans-Siberian northern corridor with a network of rail hubs in the major economic centres of China, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.

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  • UPS expands China-Europe rail service

    UPS expands China-Europe rail service

    UPS announced the addition of six stations to its Preferred full and less-than-container load (FCL and LCL) multimodal rail service between Europe and China. The additional stations will give customers moving goods on the world’s largest trade lane more options to reduce supply chain costs and better balance cost/time-in-transit requirements.

    Changsha, Chongqing, Suzhou and Wuhan Stations were added in China to the existing stations of Zhengzhou and Chengdu. In Europe stops in Duisburg, Germany and Warsaw, Poland were added to the existing stops of Lodz, Poland and Hamburg, Germany.

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  • Bank Mandiri disburses Rp1.2 trillion for double-track railway

    Bank Mandiri disburses Rp1.2 trillion for double-track railway

    State-owned Bank Mandiri has disbursed Rp1.2 trillion to state-owned railway firm PT KAI for the development of a double-track railway in South Sumatra.

    Senior Executive Vice President of Bank Mandiri Alexandra Askandar in the signing of the agreement with KAI on Tuesday said the special transaction loan has a term of 10 years.

    “The development of a double-track railway in South Sumatra will accelerate the delivery of coal to the coal-fired power plant in Suralaya,” he noted.

    The double-track railway line links the mining area of Bukit Asam in Tanjungenim Baru to Tarahan, Lampung.

    The special loan transaction agreement was signed by Askandar and KAI Finance Director Didiek Hartantyo.

    Askandar said the disbursement of the loan was a form of support for the development of strategic infrastructure projects nationwide, one of which is the transport sector.

    By October 2016, Bank Mandiri had provided Rp37.1 trillion to the transport sector. This is the largest financial commitment in the infrastructure segment which totalled Rp96.9 trillion, or an increase of 53 percent on an annual basis.

    Besides the railway sector, Mandiri has also provided financing for power plants amounting to Rp32.1 trillion.

    Infrastructure financing is included in the corporate loan segment. Mandiri disbursed corporate loans until the third quarter of 2016, amounting to Rp212.4 trillion, up 14.3 percent year on year.

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  • Nokia deploys network for Kuala Lumpur rail line

    Nokia deploys network for Kuala Lumpur rail line

    Nokia has deployed a mission-critical advanced communications network for Kuala Lumpur’s new railway line.

    The Kelana Jaya light rail transit (LRT) line extension is now supported by an advanced communications network  supporting high-speed voice, data and video traffic.

    The network the railway operations and passenger services for the line’s 13 new stations, which see a combined 350,000 passengers daily.

    Nokia also provided systems integration services to enhance safety and security through remote diagnostics and automated functions; constant situation awareness with video surveillance; Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA); monitoring systems; telephone and radio communications services; automated fare collection (AFC); and public address and passenger information systems.

    The project was completed in conjunction with CMC Engineering Sdn Bhd.

    “As one of the National Key Results Areas (NKRA) under the Malaysian government transformation program (GTP), the Kelana Jaya LRT Line Extension project is another important government initiative to deliver an effective and seamless public transportation system for the Greater Kuala Lumpur area,” CMC Engineering CEO.Hazwan Alif Abdul Rahman said.

    Stuart Hendry, head of global enterprise and public sector for Asia Pacific at Nokia, said railway operations can benefit enormously from modern communications networks.

  • Indonesia offers Japan Jakarta-Surabaya rail project

    Indonesia offers Japan Jakarta-Surabaya rail project

    Indonesia has officially offered Japan the opportunity to take part in the semi high-speed rail construction project connecting Jakarta to Surabaya in East Java, a senior minister said.

    Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan delivered the official letter offering the project to the Japanese government during his working visit to Tokyo on Friday, according to a statement released by the ministry’s office.

    “Personally, I am sure Japanese technology is suitable for this project,” he said in the statement released on Friday. The semi high-speed railway would have trains running between 180 and 200 kilometers per hour and would shorten the travel time between Jakarta and Surabaya to 3.5 hours, Luhut added.

    The government planned a double track railway so that it could be utilized to support the transfer of containers in dry port between Jakarta, Semarang and Surabaya.

    Should Tokyo accept the offer to work on the project, Luhut further said he hoped that Japan would implement technology transfers with Indonesia and comply with the country’s regulations that prioritized the use of Indonesian-made products.

  • Indonesian minister encourages digital-technology based railway operations

    Indonesian minister encourages digital-technology based railway operations

    Indonesia needs to focus on exploring new digital technologies in its railway operations to make its services more accessible.

    The railway management needs to work towards more efficiency, higher productivity and better security for both, the industry and passengers.

    “Indonesias railway industry has a long history, going back over 150 years. It significantly contributed to the countrys development and growth, especially in the Java and Sumatra areas. Now, it needs to focus on developing digital technologies,” Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi told a symposium organized by PT Kereta Api Indonesia (Indonesian Railway Corp.) and GE Transportation in Jakarta on Monday.

    The symposium, held to boost the countrys railway operations, was attended by over 200 senior executives and officials from the Ministry of Transportation, the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Industry, the Indonesian Railway Corp, GE Transportation, Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit, PT Transportasi Jakarta (TransJakarta), the Transportation Organization Board for the Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi (Jabodetabek) Area and the Mandiri Bank.

    “Indonesian railway has become the backbone of the land transportation system in the country, carrying over 200 million passengers and almost 30 million tons of cargo every year,” the minister revealed.

    As per available data, Indonesia currently operates approximately 5,000 kilometers of active railway tracks.

    As part of the National Railway Master Plan, Indonesia will extend its railway tracks for another 12,100 kilometers by 2030, including 3,800 kilometers dedicated solely to the urban railway network, serving Bali, Batam, Kalimantan, Papua and Sulawesi.

    “With an abundance of natural resources, massive population and solid economic foundation, Indonesia is predicted to become one of the seven countries in the world with the strongest economy by 2030. To actualize that vision, Indonesias railway system surely needs to be expanded and modernized to make it much more efficient,” the minister remarked.

    Meanwhile, the President of the Indonesian Railway Corp, Edi Sukmoro, pointed out that in todays world, all means of transport, including land, water and air, need to be optimally operated to provide high quality services to the customers while, at the same time, offering a high investment value for the stakeholders.

    “For the Railway Corp, this means optimizing the use of all of our assets from railway tracks to rolling stocks and other supporting facilities. We believe that the digital technology will help us in reaching that goal,” Sukmoro stated.

    In terms of technology utilization, the Railway Corp has also undergone various innovations to maximize services made available to the customers including a renewal of the ticketing system. Customers no longer need to queue up at the station to obtain their railway passes as the company makes use of information technology.

    The facility of e-ticketing and e-gate as well as the railway restoration services have also seen technology based solutions being applied.

    The passengers will be able to pre-order tickets through a website.

    CEO of GE Indonesia Handry Satriago said the company has helped resolve the toughest challenge in the global railway industry through the use of software and data analysis, bringing down locomotive emissions, ensuring lower fuel consumption and enhancing speed and security.

    GE Transportation networks software is able to optimize the mainline train network, classification yard and inter-model terminal in such a significant way that it boosts the railway systems efficiency and productivity to a level like never before.

    On top of that, GE Transportations software solution helps its customers in optimizing the railways operations while at the same time lessening the use of energy. This ultimately leads to lowering of emissions and fuel costs.

    “Our digital technology has been successfully implemented by our customers, despite the fact that some of them are operating in economically and geographically challenging conditions. The same technology can also be implemented in Indonesia to boost the countrys railway operations to the next level,” he concluded.

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