THOUGHTFUL
TRUCK
BRAND LOGISTICS TESTED
A SCANIA WITH LNG
ALTERNATIVE FUEL IN
SEPTEMBER.
Š
KODA AUTO did the testing on the
routes Mladá Boleslav – Bielefeld
and Uznach, also together with the forwarders, Yusen Logistics and CS Cargo.
The truck has a range of 1,300 km and is
powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG),
which is considerably more eco-friendly than conventional fuels. In comparison with diesel engines, its production of
particulate matter is lower by 95 %, nitro-gen oxide by 90 % and CO2 by 25 %.
The noise level caused by combustion is
50 % lower. The main advantage of LNG
as compared to CNG is its three times
smaller volume – and therefore a three times longer range with the same tank volume. An LNG tractor unit can reach up
to 1,300 km. Being a match for diesel
trucks, it becomes an interesting alternative for heavy, long-distance haulage.
Vehicles powered by LNG are 15 % more
fuel-efficient and appear to be a good
substitute for diesel.
The implementation of LNG propulsion in truck transport is hampered mainly by the weak infra-structure, which consists of approx. 150 LNG filling stations,
located mainly in the southern, western
and northern parts of Europe. In Czechia,
there is only a single, private filling station located in Louny. LNG technologies
are still more expensive than diesel vehicles. Their purchase price is higher by a half
and the return is approx. five years. Moreover, LNG propulsion has not yet enjoyed
much legislative support. RED
TRAINS HAVE THE
GREEN LIGHT
GREEN OPERATION PLAYS A KEY ROLE
IN CARMAKERS’ LOGISTICS
R
ailway trucks loaded with
new cars or material leave
the ŠKODA AUTO plants
every day. They transport 56 % of
the daily production to destinations abroad. Eight trains depart
from Mladá Boleslav and six from
Kvasiny. The railway in the main
factory has 20 km of rails, 7 railroad cross-ings, 63 switches and
2 modern EffiShunter locomotives. Each weighs 72 tons and can
carry even the heaviest train sets
of up to 1,400 tonnes.
Eco-friendly Engines
The just-one-year old locomotives are powered by engines with
catalytic converters that meet
the strictest emission standards
of Stage IIIb. They consume 50 %
of fuel compared to engines in
pre-vious locomotives. In addition to the reduced CO2 production, their friendliness towards the
envi-ronment is also evidenced by
the fact that the current engines
consume over 80 % less oil than
the original engines. Both engines
serve seven shipping locations in
the main plant.
Clear Timetable
The railway operates just like any
freight station, and the trains follow railway regulations. The traffic is precisely planned and trains
follow a timetable. Everything is
managed by a dispatcher, who
communicates with the employees of the national railway
network. Train dispatchers and
engine drivers receive vocational
education, shunters are trained.
A Considerate Future
ŠKODA AUTO is expecting to
strengthen its rail transport in
the future, as it is more eco-friendly than road transport. However, its kick-in is restrained by the
lack of special railway trucks, insuffi-cient traffic routes and the
number of locomotives. Also,
there are not enough drivers and
road transport is still cheaper. Nevertheless, trains provide a more
attractive transport alternative.
Logis-tics dispatches 200 railway trucks loaded with cars every day, and Mladá Boleslav alone
sends out over 350,000 cars on
more than 34,000 railway trucks
per year. RED
A Conference on
the Train
In September, Brand Logistics
initiated a meeting of experts
within the GreenTRAIN Conference,
devoted to changes in the transport
infrastructure in the Czech Republic.
Representatives of major companies
boarded the “Green Train”,
travelling from Prague to Nymburk.
A programme that fo-cused on
supporting rail transportation was
discussed during the journey, which
took place in a set consisting of
ČD Cargo, ČD and SŽDC carriages.
"Experts and managers talked about
the devel-opment of logistics and
eco-friendly transport," says Jiří Cee,
Head of Brand Logistics and Guarantor of VW Group’s Green Logistics.
IF ALL THE DISPATCHED TRAINS
WERE CONNECTED ONE AFTER
ANOTHER, THEIR LENGTH
WOULD EXCEED 900 KM, WHICH
IS THE DISTANCE FROM MLADÁ
BOLESLAV TO PARIS
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