European night flight bans drive air express to high speed Chunnel trains
2012 03 29
- Details
EUROCAREX, an alliance of French, Belgian and Dutch airports, ran its first test train to London's St Pancras Station after an overnight trip from Lyon via Paris's Charles de Gaulle hub to circumvent the rising number of night flight bans, reports Bloomberg.
High-speed mail and parcel services may become possible if the Anglo-French safety office allows trains that travel at 190 miles per hour (305kph). London to Charles de Gaulle airport would take little more than two hours, Carex says with Amsterdam's Schiphol airport accessible within three and a half hours and Frankfurt in five and a half.
Said Air France cargo delegate to Carex Olivier Rilhac: "You can't be very optimistic about night flights. We want to be a client, but we can't lose customers, so we must find a way with EuroCarex to devise a more competitive model."
Said Eurotunnel's GB Railfreight cargo chief John Smith: "There's huge potential. As time rolls on with the green agenda, problems at airports and the capacity that these trains can offer, the economics are going to begin to swing in its favour."
Each train would carry 120 tonnes of parcels, equal to seven 737 freighters. Rail will be competitive in both the next-day delivery express market and in three-day deliveries where cost is the chief priority, says a Brussels-based Carex statement.
The test run, arranged with Societe Nationale des Chemins de Fer Francais (SNCF) and rail networks in Britain, seeks to establish value for end users. Potential customers include Air France-KLM, FedEx, UPS, Geodis and Worldwide Flight Services.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping NewsEuropean night flight bans drive air express to high speed Chunnel trains
EUROCAREX, an alliance of French, Belgian and Dutch airports, ran its first test train to London's St Pancras Station after an overnight trip from Lyon via Paris's Charles de Gaulle hub to circumvent the rising number of night flight bans, reports Bloomberg.
High-speed mail and parcel services may become possible if the Anglo-French safety office allows trains that travel at 190 miles per hour (305kph). London to Charles de Gaulle airport would take little more than two hours, Carex says with Amsterdam's Schiphol airport accessible within three and a half hours and Frankfurt in five and a half.
Said Air France cargo delegate to Carex Olivier Rilhac: "You can't be very optimistic about night flights. We want to be a client, but we can't lose customers, so we must find a way with EuroCarex to devise a more competitive model."
Said Eurotunnel's GB Railfreight cargo chief John Smith: "There's huge potential. As time rolls on with the green agenda, problems at airports and the capacity that these trains can offer, the economics are going to begin to swing in its favour."
Each train would carry 120 tonnes of parcels, equal to seven 737 freighters. Rail will be competitive in both the next-day delivery express market and in three-day deliveries where cost is the chief priority, says a Brussels-based Carex statement.
The test run, arranged with Societe Nationale des Chemins de Fer Francais (SNCF) and rail networks in Britain, seeks to establish value for end users. Potential customers include Air France-KLM, FedEx, UPS, Geodis and Worldwide Flight Services.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
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