Prihláste sa na odber noviniek
Direct loading or unloading on the railway siding is the best way to increase the amount of transport by rail.
The goal across the European Union is clear: by 2030, get 30% of freight transport to rail. But how to achieve it? An important aspect in countries where single wagonload transport (SWT) persists is to preserve this segment and support it. One of the ways is to support the creation of new and the maintenance, revitalization and modernization of existing railway sidings. And the same applies to them as to SWT: it is very easy to shut them down, but their subsequent restoration is then almost impossible.
How to build a new railway siding
The construction of new railway sidings in Slovakia would deserve simpler legislation and support in the form of European fund projects, which would thus contribute to the transfer of goods to the rails. Those who already have a siding, will hardly abandon the benefits of using it.
In Slovakia, the Transport Office issues permit for the operation of sidings based on Act No. 513/2009 Coll. and 14 points are required to fulfil its conditions. It requires a lot of permits and strict conditions for using the railway siding must be followed. One of the key permits, in addition to the construction permit, is the approval of the railway infrastructure administrator, ŽSR, to connect the railway siding to public rail network without disruption of operations. The connection to the direct line is the most complicated, therefore sidings are usually connected to railway stations. If everything goes well, the license to operate the railway siding is issued for seven years.
The best solution – connecting to an active or unused siding
The complexity of equipping a new siding discourages most interested parties, but there is another way. Slovakia has a large number of railway sidings inherited from the past - and today only a fraction of them is functional. So, if there is any chance to connect to an unused or already active siding, this is the simplest solution.
The advantage of an active siding is that there is already an existing service from ZSSK CARGO, and the costs usually decrease with several tenants - but everything depends on the owner of the siding and his requirements for fees for its use
For example, the company Betacar in Pezinok has 5 co-users on the siding, with Lesy SR among them. This is proof that when the owner of the siding asks for reasonable money for its use, interested businesses for co-usage will appear.
Another example is the company Saker, which, as a co-user of the siding, loads scrap with a bi-weekly service on the KBZ siding in Zohor.
In third place, another company dealing in scrap metal - FRV in Bratislava-Rača - is quite exemplary. Originally, they loaded on the unloading and loading track (VNVK) at the station in Vajnory, but they decided to buy the existing siding and today, to their satisfaction, they load this secondary raw material there. ZSSK CARGO assembles from single wagonloads into groups of wagons and unit trains. They go to processors in Slovakia and abroad.
According to the company's representatives, they had no idea that service by rail could be so simple. And three meetings with ZSSK CARGO were enough for everything to be agreed upon for long-term cooperation.
How to find out whom to communicate with regarding the use of siding
For eco-conscious businesses considering connecting to an existing siding, it's not easy to figure out who to talk to about it. However, ZSSK CARGO can help here as well. As the coordinator for contractual activities of the siding agenda, Anna Imreová, says: "We can help you contact the relevant owner of the siding. We will forward the correct contact, but we must be prepared for the fact that not everyone wants to use or rent the siding. However, we will be happy to provide contacts to the right persons, either as owners, or to companies that know how to renovate the siding in terms of construction to get it into an operable condition," she adds. At the same time, A. Imreová goes personally with the customers to survey the sidings, finding out which obstacles stand in the way of the goods traveling on the rails. And sometimes these obstacles are literally physical. "Recently, for example, it happened to us in Bratislava that while surveying the siding, we came across a large tree that had grown between two tracks - the siding had not been used for so long," recalls A. Imreová.
The easiest first contact is the sales manager of the respective region, whose contacts you can find on the ZSSK CARGO website.
When the siding can be put into operation
When nothing prevents the siding from being operated, there is one last thing left. A service contract with ZSSK CARGO. In it, the service technology will be agreed upon - that is, how often the wagons are delivered in and taken away. "We try to tailor our service schedule to meet the customer's needs as much as possible. The ideal operation mode is servicing the siding twice a week, when the customer always has time to unload and load everything necessary," says A. Imreová.
The best goods that have a chance to compete with road transport are those that weigh a lot - that is, for example, scrap metal, wood, grains, sugar beets, chemicals. In Slovakia, construction materials, especially gravel and sand, which are driven by trucks destroying roads, have a huge untapped potential. These heavy trucks cause a lot of damage to roads, which then must be repaired with taxpayers' money.
What is necessary to think about at the end? "It is important to order only as many wagons as you can fit on the siding. Because when private wagons stand on the siding, you don't pay for them. However, if they stop at the station, you already must pay for the staying fee," recommends Anna Imreová.
It is also important to optimize the number of daily services. For example, one of the Slovak car assembly plants has 14 daily services ordered, but they are not always used. However, ZSSK CARGO personnel must remain on standby - and cannot serve other customers as effectively.
Renewal, operation, connection or activation of a railway siding is a very individual matter, but at ZSSK CARGO you can count on the fact that where there is a will, there is always a way. The railway.
For your inquiries regarding siding services at ZSSK CARGO, do not hesitate to contact the sales managers of individual regions, or sales representative for sidings for Bratislava region, Karina Guštarová, on gustarova.karina@zscargo.sk or phone number +421 911 991 854.
Photos: Matúš Dlugoš, Maroš Lesňák, Martin Mačanga, Ivan Kamenský, Marek Bielich
