ISSUE 2 2010


NEWS


Community Service Providers, who act as intermediaries between the freight industry and customs are asking for more consultation on the replacement of the CHIEF (Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight) computer system. The CSPs have written to HMRC programme director Stella Jarvis, pointing out that the 1 January 2012 deadline for introduction of


the new computer system could be too tight, especially if it is accompanied by a switch from the existing Edifact to XML message standards. Agency Sector Management


chairman and chairman of SITPRO’s Ports and Borders Group, Peter MacSwiney said that system operator Cap Gemini wants to move the existing centralised system to a more dispersed


Eurotunnel sees cross-Channel rail growth with GBRf purchase


Eurotunnel Group has acquired UK rail freight operator GBRf from First Group and plans to strengthen its presence in the cross-Channel and UK domestic rail market. The new £26.3m acquisition will complement Eurotunnel’s existing Europorte rail freight business in France, which itself includes the French business of Veolia Cargo. There are however no immediate plans to merge GBRf with Europorte and the existing branding and management team will be retained. One priority would be to


target the “underdeveloped” cross-Channel rail freight market, which the incumbent operators, DB Schenker and SNCF had neglected, said Eurotunnel’s chairman and chief executive, Jacques Gounon. Currently, the Tunnel was handling only about 1.2 million tonnes of through rail freight a year compared with a capacity of about 10m tonnes. “We are willing to tackle this market if they won’t,” said Gounon. GBRf managing director John


Smith added that there were also possibilities in the bulk and heavy freight sectors of the market. There may also be opportunities to move maritime boxes between the north French port of Dunkirk and the UK, bypassing future port congestion in Great Britain. In the UK, GBRf handles bulk


freight, block container trains to and from Felixstowe for shipping line MSC as well as railway infrastructure traffic. There could also be possibilities to develop further domestic UK


business, possibly in conjunction with third party logistics companies, said Mr Smith. There were however still


some obstacles facing other cross-Channel rail operators, particularly DB Schenker’s monopoly of the Dollands Moor traction depot at the English end of the Tunnel – which had in the past led to other operators’ trains being delayed by up to a day – and even the fact that DB Schenker was in charge of spare parts for the Class 92 locomotives, the only type currently allowed to haul freight trains through the tunnel. (Eurotunnel has a fleet of 11 of the type.) Jacques Gounon told FBJ that


he would consider operating freight services on the high- speed rail link between the Tunnel and the London area. Objections such as the weight of freight trains or loss of capacity if slower freight trains had to be interleaved with high speed passenger trains were invalid, he said, and Eurotunnel Group had the expertise to overcome any issues, he said. “For example, we already operate some of the heaviest trains in the world through the Tunnel and we also cater for a very wide range of different train speeds.” At the Rail Freight Group (RFG)


policy manager Maggie Simpson welcomed the move but said it was vital that it should be an opportunity to decrease the cost of moving international rail freight between the UK and France. She added that as the third largest rail freight operator in the UK, GBRf would add a considerable presence to Europorte.


‘service orientated architecture’ model but the timetable has alarmed many people in the trade. XML standards, while more modern and easier to use, would also need up to ten times more processing capacity, not just within HMRC but also at the CSP level. “Making it work and shaking all the bugs out of the system would just not be possible within the proposed timeframe,”


he told FBJ. One possible solution might be for Cap Gemini to introduce an XML-based system but then to convert messages to Edifact at CSP level. Mindful of the disastrous


Travicom debacle in the mid- 1980s, when import customs at the UK’s major airports ground to halt after the failure of a new computer system, Peter MacSwiney warned: “This could


be worse than that episode, because unlike Travicom, Chief also handles exports. Make no mistake – if Chief fails, it can stop the entire country.” Not only could it lead to a total seizure of airfreight, but ports like Dover could also seize up if there was a total system failure.” He also pointed out that the


cut-over date was only a few months before the Olympics


5 Traders urge rethink on customs computer plans


in London, guaranteeing maximum embarrassment to the Government and UK plc. The move to the new model


is driven by cost savings, but MacSwiney asks whether that is appropriate, given that the entire UK economy is at stake. He adds: “I’m also nervous because there is so much else already going on on the systems front, including the new Import Control System.”


East End express?


Eurotunnel chief Jacques Gounon said there may also be possibilities to develop high-speed freight from the continent to the UK under the express industry-sponsored ‘CAREX’ (Cargo Rail Express) project to operate TGV or Eurostar-style trains for freight and parcels as an alternative to air transport. GBRf could partner Eurotunnel in developing high speed freight operations in the UK, for example by providing a pool of drivers who could be trained up to operate high speed services into Europe. High speed dedicated parcels trains could run to a site in East London after the 2012 Olympics using adapted high speed passenger trains that would carry airfreight-style containers from the Paris area in under three hours, as well as from other locations in Europe. A number of express freight carriers including Fedex and TNT are involved in CAREX, along with airports, SNCF and other rail operators. Jacques Gounon described it as a long-term project for the next 5-10 years.


First IL-96 to Australia


Polet Airlines and Air Charter Service have completed the first charter flight of an IL-96 into Australia, from Liege, Belgium to Adelaide on 1 July. The 3.7m diameter cargo was too large for a B747, making the IL-96 the ideal aircraft for the job. The cargo was a four and a half ton slewing ring for a blast furnace. Toll Dnata was the handling agent in Adelaide.


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