RLL Container Report - 05 April 2017
From: John Keir, Ross Learmont Ltd. Email: john.keir@telia.com Date: 05 April 2017
A Standard approach to an ancient intermodal route.
In the middle of March, representatives from eleven countries met in Delhi to discuss how to improve cross-border rail services stretching from Turkey in the west to Myanmar (Burma) in the east. Delegates from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia and Turkey discussed the establishment of a seamless rail corridor linking Istanbul in the west with Yangon (Rangoon) in the east. The newly restored rail lines in the Caucasus will bring Turkey’s megacity on the Bosphorus closer to the capitals of Iran and Pakistan. The next phase of the ambitious construction plan should extend the line to Delhi, Kolkata (Calcutta) and Dhaka (Bangladesh). Delegates discussed not only missing sections of rail line but also the equally important question of operational and non-physical barriers inhibiting the extension of the existing rail infrastructure.
Deep-sea shipping lines dominate international trade not only because they can sail the Seven Seas but also because they have centuries of experience in breaking into new markets and in establishing rules and regulations for the export and import of goods. The agency network of the leading shipping lines has access to a vast bank of knowledge and experience in handling a wide range of questions and problems in all counties around the globe. The lines’ personnel can also draw on their own personal experience quickly to resolve a whole library of problems. Most importantly, any sort of problem - technical, fiscal, administrative etc – can be discussed and resolved by shipping colleagues all around the globe, often by using a single common language.
Try this approach in the rail sector and the process quickly grinds to a halt. In addition to different gauges and languages, individual rail systems have different processes regarding administrative and procedural matters. Such matters have to be discussed and resolved internally before one can contemplate extending rail services into neighbouring countries with entirely different approaches. If one wishes to send cargo from Istanbul to Yangon, all one needs to do is containerise the cargo and load the box on to a deep-sea vessel. A few weeks later, the cargo is discharged in Myanmar and is then delivered to the local receiver. The procedure is as easy as falling off a log. Try the same trick by rail and more than likely the cargo will end up in a logjam. This explains why the rail sector has to meet together in Delhi in order to discuss and resolve any procedural inconsistencies.
In theory, a high-speed container train should be able to clock up 1,000 km per day. But the advantage of speed is soon squandered when it encounters a border crossing compounded by a change of gauge. On the route from Istanbul to Yangon, there are six border crossings and no less than four changes of gauge, which combine to negate the possibility of higher speeds. On a container vessel, operating between the Eastern Mediterranean and South East Asia, the captain and his crew are responsible for the safe delivery of the cargo to the port of discharge. However, with block trains the responsibility for the cargo passes from one train operator to another, while at the same time, the train driver will change a number of times per day. So, if you are wondering when your train cargo is going to arrive, who are you going to call – try calling ghostbusters.
John Keir, Ross Learmont Ltd.
05 April 2017
Copyright ©, 2017, John Keir