[Doug]

This may be an interesting development in model railway logos and liveries. The Royal Train is also going to be run by the new company.

Deutsche Bahn plans takeover of EWS and Transfesa
Following the takeover of the two companies, DB Logistics will have direct links to the transport and logistics markets in Western and Southern Europe and will thus strengthen the south-west corridor. The integration is intended to lead to a noticeable boost in rail's market share in Europe and raise product quality. DB Logistics, EWS and Transfesa complement each other ideally, especially in the rail logistics, automotive, industrial and bulk goods segments.

Read about it here.

 

[7113]

QUOTE (Doug @ 28 Jun 2007, 12:59) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This may be an interesting development in model railway logos and liveries. The Royal Train is also going to be run by the new company.

What an interesting development and one which I am sure will upset some. I look forward to seeing which livery DB elect to use on the locomotives and rolling stock in the UK and also on the Transfesa stock.

Personally I have visions of flowerpot red 66's (we would have to call them potting sheds I suppose!)

Regards

John

 

[60134]

Maybe DB will have a chance to beat up the UK government and Eurotunnel to get access charges through the drain reduced. However, I'm not holding my breath, Gordon has other fish to fry at the moment.....

60134

 

[goedel]

QUOTE (BRITHO @ 28 Jun 2007, 13:17) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>What an interesting development and one which I am sure will upset some. I look forward to seeing which livery DB elect to use on the locomotives and rolling stock in the UK and also on the Transfesa stock.
If Deutsche Bahn have any sense they'll keep the DB symbol off EWS stock, so that if it all goes belly up they won't lose so much face. It could be like BMW and Rover - with the Class 66 drivers planning to go on strike because of very poor driving conditions in the cab. (This would undoubtedly baffle an ICE driver!) At least transport of cargo by rail has been growing in the UK, and new economies of scale and ease of long distance transport that the EWS - DB - Transfesa connection provides should mean it's all good for business...especially expats who want their possessions shipped down to Alicante or wherever!

However I like the idea of potting sheds!!

Goedel

 

[Ravenser]

My worry - as I 've remarked elsewhere - is that DB seem to be talking about a lot of things but operations in the UK aren't obviously one of them. The "south-west corridor" of which some play is made in the press statement appears to run from Germany to Spain via France . Buying EWS as a stepping stone of the road from Germany to Spain doesn't quite make sense to me

As far as I understand , up until now DB have ensured any freight moving from Germany or points east does not get routed via the Tunnel , thus confining UK/Continental railfreight to France, Italy and Spain. If this were to change , and DB were to throw the weight of their presence in the German market into selling through rail services to the UK, including swapbody, with the EWS presence and network at this end to handle it/sell the return , and Railion as the "pipeline" from Frethun to the German border , there might be some mileage in things. It might well turn around some of EWS' most difficult and businesses (ie the Tunnel and Enterprise network), with a significant impact on the bottom line.

But it's not clear DB see this as the target market.

I don't see much mileage in branding yourself in the UK as Deutsche Bundesbahn. I'd have thought any name chamge/livery would be Railion

 

[neil_s_wood]

QUOTE If Deutsche Bahn have any sense they'll keep the DB symbol off EWS stock, so that if it all goes belly up they won't lose so much face. It could be like BMW and Rover - with the Class 66 drivers planning to go on strike because of very poor driving conditions in the cab.

Maybe they'll keep the EWS livery and use German locos. We may yet see a Taurus with EWS on the side

 

[goedel]

QUOTE (neil_s_wood @ 28 Jun 2007, 23:22) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>We may yet see a Taurus with EWS on the side

Sacrilege! That's like puting a Rover badge on a BMW!

Goedel

 

[Brian Considine]

QUOTE (goedel @ 29 Jun 2007, 01:10) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Sacrilege! That's like puting a Rover badge on a BMW!

Goedel

Damm - you beat me to it !

Anyway DB may not be aware that the trains here run on undergauge track or is that just in model form ?

 

[adecoaches26point4]

Hmm

Lets wait and see

Visions of DB br101 at London terminus

Wonderful

All the best,

David

 

[ozwarrior]

Maybe DB will fit traction tyres to the 66!

 

[neil_s_wood]

QUOTE (ozwarrior @ 2 Jul 2007, 18:45) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Maybe DB will fit traction tyres to the 66!

Maybe then it will have the pulling power of a Taurus

 

[Tugmaster]

Interesting read but I wonder if there might be possibility that DB might introduce its red livery on the EWS Fleet instead? I hope the Class 60's will have a future with EWS regardless of whom owns them in the future

.

 

[60134]

It raises another interesting question - when were German locos last ordered by a UK company? Now, ignoring the Western Region hydraulic co-operation with Maybach and the like and odd narrow gauge locos, it has to be over a hundred years ago when UK builders were short of capacity and firms like Borsig were supplying railways such as the SE&CR.....

60134

 

[goedel]

QUOTE (60134 @ 5 Jul 2007, 11:30) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>It raises another interesting question - when were German locos last ordered by a UK company? Now, ignoring the Western Region hydraulic co-operation with Maybach and the like and odd narrow gauge locos, it has to be over a hundred years ago when UK builders were short of capacity and firms like Borsig were supplying railways such as the SE&CR.....

60134
It is not so surprising today. The UK hasn't even been properly electrified so what is the point in buying a state-of-the-art Taurus if there is nowhere to run it? The private companies that battle to undercut each other in grabbing the daft franchises and squeeze commuters like grapes for juice are hardly going to even remotely consider any kind of revolutionary upgrade. We're on the way to third-world public transport - the rest of Europe looks on in amazement no doubt at how far we have fallen...on the continent quality public transport across the whole of a country is taken as a given minimum standard for civilisation.

I certainly don't think that we should be proud of not having anything German under the circumstances!

Goedel

 

[7113]

Look how long it took to get rid of slam door stock. (with the exceptions of the steam special stock)

Regards

John

 

[5696Arethusa]

QUOTE (BRITHO @ 5 Jul 2007, 16:46) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Look how long it took to get rid of slam door stock. (with the exceptions of the steam special stock)

Regards

John

The slam door stock is still in front line service and will be for some years yet if you count the mk3 coaches.

 

[odiaz]

Hi to all. Here the spanish opinion...............

Transfesa is an big company with a lot of experience in the iterchanche of material within Sapin and the rest of Europe. Like many knows, the wide of the spanish railway an the rest of europe is different. The UIC wide at the moment is only for the AVE lines and the Valles line of the private comany FGC ( Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya / Catalonian Generalitat Railways ).

The railway freigh is infravalued in this country. I think the road freight is more profitable for the governmetn and the adif/renfe staff. We are in the privatization era......... I will see the red Railion trains in spain. I will see the spanish, renfe and adif staff seeing how the railway freifght lines are profitables. We don´t need a lot of High Velocity lines. We only needs a profitable and a high quality freight and passenger lines.

Sorry about the way to expres to me. They are many ideas and a little complicated to express them in english.

Best Regards from Spain
Oscar

 

[goedel]

QUOTE (odiaz @ 7 Jul 2007, 17:27) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Hi to all. Here the spanish opinion...............
Welcome to the forum Oscar! Your contributions are very valuable as we have few members with much evident knowledge about Transfesa. The gauge difference is an interesting challenge for the 'borderless Europe' promoters who are keen to open the whole of Europe to international rail freight and passenger services - very necessary in the near future if we are to be able to reduce carbon emissions from trucks, cars and planes...

Goedel

 

[odiaz]

This comment is a personal opinion and apreciation in reference a freight railway traffic. the passenger one is an other world............ <no comment

The big problem of the spnish railway is the distance between rails. A lot of years ago, one mind tought that with our orography, we needed a different wide of rail, The problem? Spain and Portugal are gethos of the "normal" european railway. We need to change the boggies in the frontier or waste a special time to change the goods freigth of one administration to other. I hope that DB in control of transfesa, demostrate that the freight transport has future in spain. Its a big treak for us.

Sorry, but i'm full of rage about the bad administration of our railwais. Only exist the high speed. the resto of lines are secondaries.

Best regards from Spain, country of the bulls and the castanets
Oscar

 

[Doug]

I asked my wife who has travelled to Madrid by train, apparently they change the wheel spacing (gauge) on the coaches without the passengers getting off on the border of France and Spain. She wasn't sure exactly what they did underneath - if it was a change of gauge or a change of bogie, but very interesting all the same.