Unit 2

RAIL TRANSPORT

INTRODUCING NEW INFORMATION

Ex. 1. a) Read the text and find 2 or 3 sentences that express the main idea.

RAIL FREIGHT COMPANIES

International Rail Freight is the grandfather of all inter-railway cooperative efforts in Europe, at least for intermodal traffic. It was established in 1993 when two big rail companies, Rail Freight and Inter Freight, signed an agreement of co-operation.

Rail Freight was founded in 1967 and is owned by 28 different railways. Its head office is in Basle but there are offices throughout Europe from Lisbon to Moscow.

Inter Freight was founded in 1949 with the purpose of handling refrigerated rail traffic in conventional rail wagons. They have a fleet of 6,500 container wagons and handled 46,500 tonnes of temperature-controlled consignments last year.

Although IRF operates trains mainly in Western Europe, a scheduled service in Moscow and Turkey has been also introduced. They are planning to start time-tabled trains for classic (non-container) wagon-loaded traffic. A shuttle service to Barcelona is expected to go into operation soon.

IRF is co-operating in a number of joint ventures, a customer service organisation is being set up in Germany.

The Company's main goal is to increase productivity by developing train control systems with special fleet control functions. They are also trying to increase the capacity of their main routes by raising the axle loads from 31 to 35 tonnes per axle. Steel wagons are being replaced by rapiddischarge aluminium wagons. Automatic wagon identification points have recently been installed in addition to hot box detectors. In close co-opera- tion with other big European rail operators they are working on a system of freight "freeways" to reduce journey time and become fully competitive both on price and services.

b)Re-read the text and say if the statements are true or false. Correct the false statements.

1.Rail Freight is a state company with the head office in Berlin.

2.R-Freight was established in 1993.

3.IRF operates in Western Europe and handles refrigerators only.

4.A scheduled service to Moscow will be introduced next year.

5.The main goal of the company is to increase its fleet.

6.The company has increased the axle load to 40 tons per axle.

7.Hot box detectors have recently been installed on all trains that run on the route Barcelona—Moscow.

8.IRF are trying to reduce journey time by replacing steel wagons with rapid-discharge aluminium wagons.

Ex. 2. Look through the text again and say what was mentioned in the text about:

a) IRF and their business;	c) the main goal of the Company.
b) the IRF fleet of wagons;

DEVELOPING READING TECHNIQUES

Ex. 3. Listen to the text "Rail Freight Companies" and follow it with your eyes.

Ex. 4. Listen to the text again and repeat it sentence by sentence.

Ex. 5. Read the text aloud, approximate time of reading is 1.5 min.

LEARNING NEW WORDS

Ex. 6. a) Find the words in bold type and try to guess their meaning. Check up the translation of the words in the vocabulary (p. S3). Write them out in your vocabulary.

b) Write down ail the words unknown to you in your vocabulary.

Ex. 7. Translate the following phrases from the text:

1)to introduce a shuttle service

2)to handle refrigerated rail traffic

3)to increase the capacity of the route

4)to operate a scheduled service

S)to reduce journey time

6)to become competitive

7)to replace a fleet control system

Ex. 8. Match the verbs on the left with the noun phrases on the right and translate the expressions they make into Russian:

Rail Transport	37
a) to handle	l) into operation
b) to go	2) conventional railway wagons
c) to replace	3) joint venture
d) to reduce	4) productivity
e) to raise	5) rapid-discharge wagons
0 to establish	6) wagon identification points
g) to own	7) delivery time
h) to install	8) a railway

Ex. 9. Fill in the gaps with the words given in the box changing the form of the

words if necessary.

to produce products

production

productivity

A manufacturer (or a manufacturing company)

—g o o d s -

The goods it makes are its

- When a manufacturing com-

pany extends, it usually increases its

.

I f

° " c

y e a r 1 1

100 tonnes and the next year

— 1 1 0

t o n n e s '

it

by 10%.

has increased

When a company invests m

new equipment,

its

_

is growing. Each company thinks of

increasing its

Ex. 10. Make nouns from the verbs given in the box and insert them in the sentences.

Model: to replace — replacement

to own

to introduce to reduce

to produce to handle to install

1. Our partners agreed to deliver

by the end of the month.

2. The

• •

of the new shuttle service to Moscow was suspended

for two

months.

3. The

and the shareholders will hold a meeting in December.

4.

Toyota is one of the main

of high quality cars in the world.

5.

If prices for oil go up,

's prices will rise dramatically.

6. If

in a country increases and economy starts boom-

ing, people get rewarding jobs, earn good money and want more

7- .		of cargo at railway terminals sometimes take a
lot of time.
8. The joint company had to invest heavily into the				of
new hot box detectors.

38

Unit 2

Ex. 11. Check yourself. Give English equivalents of the following Russian word com­ binations:

1)железнодорожные перевозки грузов

2)установить новое оборудование

3)создать совместное предприятие

4)увеличить производительность

5)ввести новый маршрут движения поездов по расписанию

6)определить основную цель работы

7)увеличить нагрузку на ось

8)с целью обработки рефрижераторных составов

9)подписать соглашение о сотрудничестве

10)система идентификации вагонов

11)выставить счет заказчику

12)отгрузить заказ морем

13)разместить твердый заказ на 100 детекторов у Смит и Ко

14)предоставить пятипроцентную скидку

15)вести переговоры по заключению сделки

16)назначить обоснованные цены

REVIEWING GRAMMAR

The Tenses of the Verb in the Passive Voice

Ex. 12. Study the table given below.

	Indefinite /			Continuous /					Perfect
		Simple			Progressive
Formula	to be + V-ed			to be + being + V-ed				to have been + V-ed
Present	am	^		am	^
	is	> asked		is	>	being asked		h a T } b e e n a s k e d
	are	J		are	J
Past	was	\ . .		was	\	. .	. ,
	were )> asked			were )> being asked				had been asked
1 Future	shall \		.					shall \	" ,
	will	/ Ы а 5 к е	*					will J	have been asked

Rail Transport	39

Ex. 13. Read and translate the following sentences paying attention to the Passive voice. Make questions and negative statements.

1.Dangerous cargoes are carried in containers.

2.Scheduled services are being introduced now.

3.Their fleet of vehicles was increased last year.

4.The goods will be cleared at this terminal.

5.The French truck has just been loaded.

6.Russian trucks can be used on international routes.

7.The new model of truck will have been developed by 2012.

Ex. 14. Make sentences according to the model using the words given as prompts.

Model 1: When were the goods handled?

Prompts: thisgroupage cargo, the container, consignment No 19, this semi-trailer, the German trucks, the frozen chicken, etc.

Model 2: Where will the truck be sent?

Prompts: the order (to place), the spare parts (to deliver), the deal (to make), the colleague (to meet), the goods (to sell), the trucks (to buy), etc.

Model 3: The cargo has just been loaded, hasn't it?

Prompts: the ship (to discharge), the visit (to set up), the machines (to supply), the best prices (to offer), good after-sales ser­ vice (to promise), etc.

Model 4: They are impressed by the range of our products.

Prompts: the after-sales service, the low prices, the high quality of the goods, the reliability of the machines, our approach to busi­ ness, the warehouse equipment, etc.

Ex. IS. Make questions to which the following sentences may be answers.

1.Most cargo in Russia is transported by rail. (How?)

2.When you make a deal with foreign partners, you usually ask them to reduce the price which is offered. (What?)

3.The volume of cargo going through the Channel Tunnel will double over the next few years. (When?)

4.National railways in Europe will be privatised to meet the growing market requirements of the European Community. (Why?)

Unit 2

5.Western freight forwarders wanted to co-operate with Russian rail. (Who?)

6.Most wagons in Russian rail were replaced last year. (When?)

7.Up-to-date equipment has recently been installed at rail terminals in the Moscow region. (Where?)

8.When customers are invoiced, two copies of Invoice are usually writ­ ten out. (How many?)

9.As a rule, good discounts are given to regular buyers. (Who?)

Ex. 16. Translate the following sentences into English.

1.Наши прицепы продаются во многих странах Азии по вполне конкурентоспособным ценам.

2.Вчера вам звонили несколько раз. Я просила перезвонить сего­ дня утром.

3.Запасные части будут поставлены к концу недели.

4.Если появится новый маршрут, перевозки продуктов увеличат­ ся в 2 раза.

5.- Машину уже загрузили?

— Нет еще. Мне кажется, загрузку закончат только к вечеру.

6.Сколько груза обрабатывает ваш терминал?

7.Таможенная очистка груза производится на этом терминале, да?

8.Большинство товаров, которые импортировались в нашу стра­ ну, перевозились автомобильным транспортом.

9.Подвижной состав фирмы Truck & Trailer не будет использовать­ ся на этом маршруте.

10.— Когда могут быть отправлены грузы по нашему заказу?

-Вы имеете в виду запасные части к полуприцепам? Их толь­ ко что отправили.

Ex. 17. Put in the verbs using correct tense in the Active or Passive Voice.

1.When goods (to carry) from one place to another, they (to insure) with an insurance company.

2.As we (not to give a discount), we (to buy) trucks from Volvo last year.

3.The wagon (to discharge) at the moment. When your trucks (to ar­ rive) at the station?

4.Swiss railways (not to be able to carry) 4-metre high vehicles across Switzerland until the construction of the new tunnels (to complete).

5.What new freight service just (to introduce) by their company?

6.When they (to invoice) customers, CIF prices usually (to quote) as they (to have) forwarding agents throughout Europe.

ail Transport	41

7.A new terminal (to go into operation) last week but the volume of freight which we (to handle) (not to reduce).

8.A German-Austrian joint venture (to set up) recently to increase pro­ ductivity and reduce costs.

9.Many transport and forwarding companies in Russia (to create) by private investors who realise the importance of intermodal traffic de­ velopment.

10.Broken parts (to replace) as soon as we (to inform) of the breakage.

Ex. 18. Put in prepositions where necessary.

1. We have just introduced this service

the market and think we

can raise productivity

5%.

2. A big concession was made

the Buyers as we realise that their

order was worth $ 1000 to

our company.

3. If you quote

CIF prices, we think we'll be able to place a bigger

order

you.

4. A new route will go

operation next month

addition

the shuttle service which was introduced

last year.

5. We'll give you a 10% discount

the price if you increase your

order

100 wagons.

6. The new hot box detectors were bought

the Italian manufac­

turers. They are

the world

high quality and satisfy

standards.

7. We were invoiced

the amount of $ 1000 to be paid

the end

the month.

8. The company requires

100 pallets

immediate deliv­

ery and 100 more

.

3 months.

9. If you don't mind, this deal will be discussed

your manager

the 2nd

February.

10. — What's the purpose

your coming

Brussels?

— It's a business trip.

I was invited

Sky Cargo Ltd.

Ex. 19. Put in articles or possessive pronouns where necessary. Get ready to dis­ cuss the text.

Britain is

only state in

European Union which fully

privatised

rail service.

other states, such as

Germany,

Italy,

Sweden, and

Netherlands have

state owner­

of

E.U. to

ship1

railways though there was

decision of

ownership — собственность

42

Unit 2

create1

_ single competitive rail market in

Europe.

main

competitor for

rail is

road transport but to attract freight away

from

roads

rail industry

must invest in

new projects.

Traditionally,

British Rail Freight had left

investments

in

rolling stock2 and

terminals to

customers. However,

new

business approach is to provide3

wagons if and when

clients

ask for them and to organise

collection and

delivery from

rail head4

to

customer.

interest in

rail freight has been

historically minimal because

requirements of

price,

reli­

ability and

time were not met.

rail is

alternative to

road but this is more true for

shuttle service than for

multi­

drop stations. There is

growing interest in

rail because

people's attitudes are changing but

rail has to stand up financially.

Ex. 20. Translate the following sentences into English.

1. Плата за перевозку грузов по железной дороге недавно значи­ тельно возросла. Железнодорожный транспорт в России нахо­ дится под контролем государства, которое в последнее время проявляет большой интерес к его развитию.

2.Интермодальные перевозки в Европе постоянно развиваются. Каждый год создаются совместные транспортные предприятия и возникают экспедиторские фирмы.

3.Во время гарантийного периода все неисправные детекторы за­ меняются на новые бесплатно.

4.Если фирме предоставляется скидка, продавец надеется, что заказ будет увеличен.

5.Будет несправедливо делать им уступку снова. В прошлый раз

мы организовали разгрузку в выходной день, хотя они не опла­ тили грузчикам эту работу.

6.При перевозке любой груз непременно страхуется.

7.Вы можете назначить цену и выписать счет сразу же? Товар ну­ жен нам срочно.

8.Вы не возражаете, если счет будет выслан вам завтра?

9.— Ты думаешь, стоит поторговаться?

—Конечно. Продавец почти всегда предоставляет скидку. Наша цель — купить дешевле.

to create — создавать

rolling stock — подвижной состав to provide - обеспечивать

rail head — железнодорожный терминал

Rail Transport	43

10. Новые вагоны поступили на российский рынок в прошлом году. Они были куплены многими перевозчиками, так как их грузо­ подъемность намного выше, чем у предыдущей модели.

LEARNING ТО LISTEN AND ТО SPEAK

Ex. 21. listen to the telephone conversation and say what discount Mr. Ivauov re­ ceived at the end of the talk: a) 2%; b) 2.5%; c) 5%.

M A K I N G A DEAL

Mr. I vanov, a Russian businessman, is in England. He is visiting Brown & Co. Ltd, a firm which manufactures electronic equipment. He is nego­ tiating a deal with Robert Smith, Sales Manager of the Company.

Ivanov: Mr. Smith, we want to place a firm order for XBS3 Detectors. Smith: Excellent. How many would you like to buy?

Ivanov: We'd like five for immediate delivery and 130 in two months' time. By the end of June, that is.

Smith: I see. That's a very good order. I didn't realise you were that big. Well, you know the price of the detector is $ 1,200 per unit that's without freight and insurance. When we invoice the customers, we usually quote FOB Southampton. But perhaps you prefer the goods to go by air?

Ivanov: No, air freight's too expensive. They can go by sea. But if you don't mind, I'd like you to quote CIF St. Petersburg.

Smith: Al l right, we can do it. You want us to quote for 135 XBS3 Detec­ tors, CI F St. Petersburg, goods to be shipped by sea.

Ivanov: Correct. There's another thing. As this is a fairly big order I was wondering what sort of discount you could offer. Would 5% be reasonable?

Smith: Oh, I don't think we could go that high. As a special concession...

since you are a new customer, I could possibly give you 2% off the price.

Ivanov: 2%? That's not too much. This order will be worth over $ 10,000 to your company.

Smith: Yes, I realise that.

Ivanov: And don't forget, we may place orders for some of your other models.

44

Unit 2

Smith: I would not like to talk about it any longer. How about 2.5%? Ivanov: Oh, I suppose that's fair enough. OK then, agreed.

Ex. 22. Listen to the dialogue again and say what you remember about:

a)Brown and Co. Ltd and their products;

b)the order the Russian company was going to place with the British company;

c)the discount Mr. Ivanov got from the manufacturers.

Ex. 23. Listen to the dialogue again and $ay if the following sentences are true or false. Correct those which are false.

1.Mr. Ivanov is going to buy containers from the British company.

2.The price for the detectors includes freight and insurance.

3.Mr. Ivanov prefers the goods to go by air.

4.Mr. Smith quoted CIF St. Petersburg.

5.Mr. Ivanov didn't ask for a discount.

6.Mr. Smith offered Mr. Ivanov a 10 per cent discount.

7.The Russian company placed an order for 200 detectors.

Ex. 24. Listen to the conversation and repeat it sentence by sentence.

Ex. 25. Reorder the conversation. If you have difficulty, translate the sentences into Russian.

Smith: I see. That's a very good order. I didn't realise you were that big. Well, you know the price of the detector is $1,200 per unit that's without freight and insurance. When we invoice the customers, we usually quote FOB Southampton. But perhaps you prefer the goods to go by air?

Ivanov: Mr. Smith, we want to place a firm order for XBS3 Detectors. Smith: Excellent. How many would you like to buy?

Ivanov: No, air freight's too expensive. They can go by sea. But if you

don't mind, I'd like you to quote CIF St. Petersburg.

Smith: All right, we can do it. You want us to quote for 135 XBS3 Detectors, CIF St. Petersburg, goods to be shipped by sea.

Ivanov: We'd like five for immediate delivery and 130 in two months' time. By the end of June, that is.

Rail Transport	45
Ex. 26. Complete the conversation.

Ivanov:

Smith: Oh, no. I don't think we could go that high. As a special concession since you are a new customer I could possibly give you 2% off the price.

Ivanov:

Smith: But unfortunately our maximum discount is only 3%.

Ivanov:

Smith: I tell you what. 1 don't want to talk with you about it any longer. How about 2.5%?

Ivanov:

Ex. 27. Have a conversation with your partner using the information below.

You are a big road carrier in Russia and you want to start international operations in Germany and France but as your tracks don't meet the European ecological standards you have to buy 5 "Volvo tracks to start operations. \blvo trucks are rather expensive and you want to get a discount for your order for 5 trucks.

Speak to the representative of Volvo and ask him for a 10% discount. Tell hhn they can expect bigger orders from your company in the near future.

LEARNING TO WRITE

Ex. 28. You work for a big rail transport company. You have received a free copy of International Freighting Weekly containing the following letter. Your boss wants to know if it's worth subscribing to the journal. Tell him what the letter is about and recommend him to subscribe to the journal.

A LETTER TO T H E EDITOR

International Freighting Weekly

151 Roseberry Avenue, London

15 December 200 _

Dear Sir,

I am moved by Steve Winter's viewpoint in IFW (December 15) and would like to respond to it.

46

Unit 2

In the transport business, customers are making more and more demands on their suppliers to improve quality and reduce costs. Our task is to become more efficient and to achieve this goal but the railways' attitude1 to service and pricing is quite different.

Channel Tunnel service levels have deteriorated2 to the point where one of our customers has demanded3 we move his product by road. The level4 of service is bad enough but in addition to it the railways want a 4% increase in their charges5, which is neither moral nor deserved6. They continue to enjoy their monopoly position and ignore the real commercial problems.

I do not know any other industry where quality is allowed to suf­ fer7, yet prices rise unchecked.

David Bull

Sales & Marketing Director N D X

Ex. 29. Read the letter again and answer the questions.

1.What service does N D X offer to their customers?

2.Why is the rail charge increased?

3.Is it possible to improve quality and reduce prices?

4.How can the situation in Channel Tunnel be changed?

5.Why is the writer annoyed?

Ex. 30. a) You are the editor of International Freighting Weekly. Write a short let­ ter to David Bull and invite him to come to your office for an interview.

b)Role-play a telephone conversation between David Bull and the editor of IFNV who is inviting David to do an interview with their reporter.

Ex. 31. Your boss has decided to subscribe to International Freighting Weekly.

Write a letter to them and make a subscription for the second half of the year.

	attitude — отношение
1	to deteriorate — ухудшаться
5	to demand — требовать

4level - уровень

5charge - плата

6to deserve - заслуживать

7to suffer — страдать

Rail Transport	47

LEARNING TO READ AND TO ANALYSE

Ex. 32. Read the text and say whether it is:

a)an advertisement;

b)a passage from a textbook;

c)an encyclopedia article;

d)a newspaper article.

The current optimism in the freight market has been encouraged by the new Labour government. EWS (English Wales System) operation is worth around 90 m tonnes per year and 7.5m tonnes of this are petroleum and chemical products. The company runs tank trains between ports and inland distribution terminals, carries a variety of liquids from various stag­ es in the production chain. Over the last few years EWS has been starting new traffic flows and increasing the frequency of trains on the existing services.

As well as block trains EWS attracts smaller customers which do not want to contract a whole train. The Enterprise network serves around 200 locations across the country on both a direct and a hub-and-spoke servic­ es and carries wagon, tank and container traffic.

EWS is adding new routes and "thickening" existing ones with a greater frequency of service. They also invest in new designs for rolling stock and track to make the UK rail infrastructure compatible with the continent.

Ex. 33. There are some names of goods and types of vehicles in the article. Find them and write them out.

Goods	!	^fehicles

Ex. 34. Say what you remember from the article about the English Wales System operations.

Ex. 35. Read the advertisement and say who it is intended for:

a)companies dealing with transportation;

b)individuals;

48

Unit 2

c)companies importing or exporting goods from Europe;

d)companies importing or exporting goods from Asia;

e)companies importing or exporting goods from America.

SeaRail offers an efficient and safe method of transporting goods by rail between Russia and Scandinavia.

In Russia the consignors load Russian wagons and SeaRail take care of the reloading in Finland to modern bogie changeable wagons. SeaRail delivers the goods to the consignee in Sweden, Norway or Denmark via the train ferry m/s1 SeaWind. The train ferry sails between Turku and Stockholm daily.

SeaRail has got about 300 wagons, can also offer collection/distribution by lorry for areas with no rail network. SeaRail also offers warehousing services in Turku.

Ex. 36. Read the advertisement again and answer the following questions:

1.Why is the company called SeaRail?

2.Rail tracks are different in different countries, aren't they?

3.What additional services do SeaRail offer?

Ex. 37. You work for a transport company in Russia. You want to find new partners

in Norway. You have read the SeaRail advertisement. Write a letter to them asking for detailed information about their company.

Ex. 38. You represent a transport company. Describe the services of your company to a potential customer.

Ex. 39. Read the texts given below in order to determine the main idea of each of them. Find the text most interesting for you and write a summary of it in English.

RAILROADS

Recently the railroad industry has recorded a new high for freight traffic. Coal, grain, and chemicals are the major commodities shipped by rail. However, intermodal, railroad traffic has risen considerably This rapid increase is due to mainly the introduction of specialized railcars that carry double stacked containers. The double stack efficiencies have made it possible to move containers faster, reducing delivery times and carrying export

1 m/s

Rail Transport	49

and domestic traffic on the backhaul. Double stack cars now account for approximately 40 percent of total intermodal capacity.

A once-fragmented industry could be in a position to offer more unified regional services based on better-coordinated schedules and related services.

For the customers of International Marketing Companies (IMC; transportation coordinators for shippers who use rail as the primary mode), this will offer a single regional service, faster and more efficient use of routes, rail cars and cargo handling equipment, larger and faster throughput of international rail yards, and improved communications between shippers and carrier.

On the other hand, it can be argued that if these rail mergers continue, there is the possibility that shippers could have only two or three large nationwide networks to meet their rail-related transportation needs. To prevent monopoly pricing situations that would affect the competitiveness of captive users of rail services, some shipper organizations are calling for safeguards or alternatively, some kind of re-regulation of the railroad industry.

The rail industry is considering other improvements to reduce its costs and improve services. One such initiative is the sharing of equipment between rail carriers to gain maximum utilization of those assets. For the shipper, this could mean more cost-effective placement, loading, transit, unloading and release of intermodal containers and trailers. For carriers, it has the potential of improving equipment utilization, maintenance and purchasing/replacement programs for intermodal containers, trailers and transfer and storage yards.

Reliability of services by the rail industry is greatly dependent on the condition of the rail carriers' infrastructure. After decades of neglect, poor service by the railroads often led to loss of customers where customers had a Choice of alternative services, or the business had moved or closed because of the lack of such alternatives. To win back customers, and possibly attract new ones, the railroads have in the past decade and a half spent billions of dollars to improve their infrastructure to provide faster and more efficient services, including intermodal. This includes improved tracks crossings, faster intra-line and inter-line rail yards including intermodal, and equipment handling and inspection systems to spot equipment damage faster and more reliably.

RAIL M E R G E R CROSSES THE CANADIAN BORDER

Next spring shippers will see a new north-south/east-west rail freighting entity with a network spanning 18,670 route-miles in 16 US states and eight Canadian provinces, and a staff of some 26,000 employees. If Cana-

4-B99

50

Unit 2

dian National Railway (CN) acquires Illinois Central (1С), the CN/IC network will be a major force in North American transport, particularly in the fiercely competitive rail market in the US Midwest. Without a merger with CN, 1С faces an uncertain future in the consolidating US railroad industry. Major rail consolidations in the US eastern and western regions threaten IC's future traffic with more rigorous competition. Yet IC's op­ portunities to consolidate with any of the major US rail carriers may have been limited by potential adverse effects on competition. The firms told the STB (US Surface Transportation Board) that they had identified US $216.2 m in "total quantifiable benefits" that would flow from the consol­ idated operations in a normal year.

The payoff for shippers could be substantial as the merged entity would invest US $141.5 m in new equipment and facilities, and significantly im­ prove the US rail transport system in a simple, straightforward transac­ tion.

Consolidation extends new, sufficient single-line services to numer­ ous existing and prospective customers by uniting CN — North America's most improved railroad with 1С, the most efficient US Class 1 rail carrier, thereby connecting the Atlantic, Pacific, and US Gulf of Mexico with a single Y-shaped network.

The firms promised that consolidation would enhance the benefits created by the 15-year marketing alliance they struck last April with Kan­ sas City Southern Railway (KCS). CN and KCS also agreed certain track­ age and haulage rights and future terminal investments. This transaction and alliance will promote efficiency, choice and competition in an era when north-south trade flows in North America are growing at double-digit rates. The transaction and alliance will also invigorate a key link — CN's Grand Trunk Western Railroad — among markets served by CN in the corridor between southern Ontario and Chicago. Tin's is important at a time of grow­ ing consolidation in the US rail industry.

Some of the specifics promised if the consolidation is approved include:

•Both firms' train schedules and freight car blocking assignments will change. Many trains will either avoid the congestion inherent in train handling within the Chicago gateway, or move between CN and 1С via an unproved connection in south Chicago.

•CN/IC will launch a direct intermodal service between Montreal and Memphis to handle traffic originating in eastern Canada and Maine.

•A direct Toronto-Shreveport manifest service will be launched to han­

dle return traffic from eastern Canada and points in Michigan to signif-

Rail Transport	51

icant concentration and interchange points at Memphis, Jackson (Mis­ sissippi), and Shreveport — the site of KCS' main classification yard.

"* While-shippers stand to be big winners in this proposed consolidation, beleaguered Union Pacific could be the big loser. This is because a substan­ tial slice of business the merged rail freight firm expects to share will come from extending shipments over its own lines, rather than transferring reve­ nue-enhancing freight to other carriers at the Chicago terminal.

Of particular concern to Union Pacific would be the exceptionally lucrative automotive cargoes that are being heavily targeted by CN/IC combination, as well as chemicals and forest products.

TURKISH RAILWAYS - TIME FOR A CHANGE

Turkey is not a railway country in the Central European sense. The truck is dominant in both domestic and international freight traffic. The downward slope started for the Turkish state-owned railway in the 1950s. At that time, the railway still had an impressive market share of 60%. To­ day the proportion of freight carried by rail in the Turkish transport mar­ ket has dropped to just 4%.

There is an urgent need for investment, but until now the resources have not been available. Bureaucracy, lack of interest in customers' needs and the railway employees' habit of expecting gifts of money all contribute to the railway's negative image. The fact that corruption is rife in the rail sector, and also in other parts of the Turkish administration, is an open secret. TCDD (Turkiye Cumhuriyeri Devlet Demiryoallari) employees are paid a minimum wage and this is the way they make ends meet.

The TCDD is a state company and does not respond very flexibly to customers' needs. According to an Austrian company involved in inter­ modal transport to and from Turkey for many years carrying for example mining products with its own 30 foot containers on this route, there are usually no problems as soon as a train leaves, but until it happens, the customer either has to have patience or put a bank-note in with the way­ bill.

The railway network is inadequate and to a large extent obsolete. The TCDD is a state within a state — terms such as customer service and mar­ keting are foreign words in every sense.

Schenker Arkas is a joint venture by Schenker Austria and the Turkish transport operator Arkas. Schenker uses it for the conventional block-train service from Hungary to Hankali (Istanbul). This train has been running

4*

Unit 2

, successfully for years and also offers the chance to taking freight to Bul­ garia and Romania on the way.

The TCDD's busiest route is the line from the Bulgarian-Turkish border to Istanbul. Here the wagons usually run according to schedule. But from Istanbul, one has to be prepared for surprises at the Hankali ter­ minal in Istanbul where he has to organize the pick-up and distribution of freight and the handling of incoming and outgoing intermodal shipment.

Hankali station lies at the western edge of Istanbul. This is where incorning freight trains from Europe finish their journey and leave for Eu­ rope in the other directions. Not only intermodal trains and conventional trains are handled on TCDD premises at Hankali. At this terminal there is also a huge customs clearance zone for trucks, where the Turkish customs formalities are carried out. The customs agents are mostly former customs officials who are very familiar with the complicated Turkish customs for­ malities. They know the rules of the game very well when they are dealing with the Turkish customs bureaucracy.

According to Turkish customs regulations, containers, wagons, etc. must be temporarily cleared through customs on entering Turkey. If they are not exported again within three months, they pass into the hands of the Turkish state. This practice is contrary to the international G ATT agree­ ment, which does not provide for temporary customs clearance of import­ ed transport equipment.

Although Turkey did sign the agreement, the Turkish international law takes precedence over international law. For T C D D to apply the GATT agreement, it must have specific directions from the government. But this has so far not happened.

SOME BASIC ENGLISH TERMS

rail car — ж.д. вагон

stacked containers л — контейне­ ры, уложенные в штабель double stack cars — двухъярус­

ные вагоны, платформы (с погрузкой контейнеров в два яруса)

throughput л — пропускная спо­ собность; прирост; темпы роста

storage yard — складская пло­ щадка

yard л — завод; верфь; сортиро­ вочная площадка

inter-line rail yards — сортиро­ вочные станции для грузов прямого сообщения

track crossings — ж.д. переезды rail freighting entity—подразделе­ ние, назначающее тарифы

Rail Transport

за ж.д. перевозки; компа­ ния, занимающаяся грузо­ выми жд, перевозками

block train — маршрутный кон­ тейнерный поезд

customs clearance zone — зона та­ моженной очистки грузов

53

GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) - Гене­ ральное соглашение по тарифам и торговле

VOCABULARY

1. freight л — груз; фрахт (пла­ та за перевозку); грузовые перевозки

rail freight — ж д . грузовые перевозки

road freight — автомобиль­ ные грузовые перевозки sea freight — морские грузо­ вые перевозки

Sea freight is cheaper than rail freight.

2.rail л — железная дорога; рельс

railway л — железная доро­ га

It's safer to carry goods by rail than by road.

3.effort л — усилие co-operative efforts—совме­ стные усилия

I'll make every effort to help you.

4.traffic n — движение (транс­ порта); перевозки intermodal traffic — интер­ модальные (смешанные) перевозки

road traffic — автомобиль­ ные перевозки; дорожное движение

rail traffic — жд. перевозки Rail traffic is increasing.

5.own v — владеть, иметь в собственности

owner л — владелец, собст­ венник

ownership л — собствен­ ность

Now British rail is not owned by the state.

6.throughout prep — через, no всей плошади

RZ D co-operate with a lot of freight forwarders throughout Europe.

7.purpose л — цель

Syn. aim

on purpose — намеренно with the purpose of - с це­ лью...

He's done it on purpose.

It was done with the purpose of handling rail freight.

8.conventional^-обычный

9.wagon л 4 товарный вагон Dangerous goods are not

transported in conventional wagons.

10.schedule n — расписание, график