First major step for Euro Carex, the European high-speed rail freight network

March 21 - Euro Carex1 has achieved a major first: the first test of a high-speed freight train between Lyon St Exupéry airport and St. Pancras International Station in London, travelling via Paris Charles De Gaulle airport and the Channel Tunnel. This test demonstrates the efficiency, speed and environmental benefits of an intermodal transportation system combining air containers and high-speed rail network.

The high-speed freight train number 27274 (which has a potential load of 120 tonnes of parcels equivalent to 7 articulated trucks) left Lyon-St Exupéry airport on Tuesday, 20 March at 16:42. It arrived at St. Pancras International Station in London this morning travelling on High Speed One, via the Channel Tunnel, having previously stopped to load additional cargo at Roissy (Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport).

The Express Rail Euro Carex operation could, in time, be connected to the trans-continental distribution network for next-day delivery with a lower carbon footprint lower than air and road transportation. The express freight business could also be complemented by traditional freight and road freight.

This achievement has been made possible by a seamless coordination between the main European airports which are members of Euro Carex (Paris - CDG, Amsterdam, Liège and Lyon), the infrastructure managers (Eurotunnel, High Speed One and the manager of the French railway network Réseau Ferré de France) the operators (SNCF and Europorte) and their carriers (Air France KLM Cargo Martinair Cargo, Chronopost International, Dimotrans, FedEx Express, Géodis, Geopost, TNT, WFS). Euro Carex is a project on a truly European scale and it is part of Eurotunnel’s strategy to promote the use of the Channel Tunnel for the transfer of freight between the UK and continental Europe.

Euro Carex offers a potential solution to the continuous rise in fuel prices, road congestion and environmental constraints which limit the number of night flights.

Yanick Paternotte, member of the French parliament and Chairman of EURO CAREX, stated in a press release: “I am delighted that today’s test over the European high speed rail network clearly shows the interest of strategic players in the logistics field – airports as well as rail operators –in linking their infrastructures to key European economic centres in order to benefit businesses and communities.”

About Euro Carex:

Euro Carex members include SNCF, Eurotunnel, Europorte, High Speed One, Air France Cargo, La Poste, FedEx Express, WFS, ADP, Roissy Carex, Aéroports de Lyon, London Carex, Lyon Carex, Liège Carex, ACT, TNT, UPS, SADC, Schipol (Amsterdam Airport), Liège Airport.

DB Schenker Rail Offers Direct Services to Paris

Mainz, (March 16, 2012) - With the opening of another rail logistics center on the outskirts of the city, DB Schenker Rail has linked the greater Paris area more closely to its European network.

In mid-January, the company‘s first direct train was on its way to the French capital. At its Blanc Mesnil location, DB Schenker Rail now offers integrated rail logistics solutions for its customers in the steel processing industry. 
The collection point for shipments from Germany is Saarbrücken, with services initially running twice a week from here to the DB Schenker Railport in Survilliers-Fosses, around 30 kilometers north of the center of Paris.

It is only a short distance from here to the greater Paris area (Île-de-France), with the final delivery by truck as required by the customer. 
The new service makes use of DB Schenker Rail’s European network and, with shipments through France handled by Euro Cargo Rail (ECR), a wholly-owned subsidiary of DB Schenker Rail.

The service is ideal for the shipment of paper, but also for paletted goods, such as consumer goods and construction materials. Numerous well-known companies from the paper industry and construction materials industry have already shown interest and are now using the new service.

DB Schenker Rail expects to carry up to 100,000 tons of rail freight on this corridor before the end of the year. As a result, the company is already planning to increase the number of trains per week.
A Europe-wide network of over 100 multifunctional and cross-sector rail logistics centers provides the interfaces between trucking and rail freight services, enabling the company to offer a complete range of additional logistics services. This means that DB Schenker customers can also benefit from integrated rail and intermodal door-to-door logistics concepts throughout Europe.