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

15