Since its foundation in 2010, the Xrail Alliance has consistently strived to increase the competitiveness of Wagonload rail traffic in Europe in order to shift traffic from road to rail, thus protecting the environment. The next steps in this enriched cooperation have been taken with the signing of the agreement to implement international capacity booking starting in 2015, as announced by the CEOs and top representatives of the seven rail freight operators during the Xrail panel session at the transport logistic trade show.

“The new level of commitment is crucial for the partners to develop a sustainable model for the Wagonload traffic in Europe and to offer customers reliable Xrail services throughout all Alliance partners’ networks,” says Mr. Ferdinand Schmidt, Chairman of Xrail.

Implementation of capacity booking
The Xrail Alliance partners have decided to make an industry change by implementing capacity-­?managed networks and connecting these via a capacity booking broker on Xrail level by 2015. With the new features, the partners will enhance the efficiency and reliability of international Wagonload and extend the availability of Xrail quality services to all Wagonload traffics between the Alliance partners.

“We believe that customers will strongly benefit from the international capacity booking system, which will provide them with guaranteed allocated capacity and a reliable Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) at the time of booking,” says Mr. Schmidt, and he continues: “customers can thus perceive a higher standard in terms of quality, transparency and commitment in  international Wagonload traffic.”

Network extension to Northern Italy
Another important step for the sustainable growth and continuous enhancement of the Alliance is the extension of the Xrail network to Northern Italy. NordCargo, a subsidiary of DB Schenker Rail, will start to offer the Xrail standards during the course of 2013, while Rail Cargo Italia, part of the Rail Cargo Group, will follow in the beginning of 2014. In total, about 30 stations in Italy will benefit from the Xrail service features.

Customers will therefore benefit from quality transports to and from Northern Italy, including improved transport information  before, during and after the transport, according to the Xrail standards.

More information on www.xrail.eu.