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Deutsche Bahn Schenker has resurrected its ‘Trans-Siberian' rail experiment, according to Transport Intelligence . About two weeks ago, a container train from Chongqing in China arrived in Duisburg in Germany, covering the distance in 16 days, says TI quoting a statement from the German company. The service was called a “test train”; essentially, a pilot project designed to attract business for the service. Calling the service ‘Trans-Siberian', however, may not be correct as the route taken passed through Kazakhstan. This is a shorter distance than that through Siberia but it also crosses more national borders and is potentially exposed to greater delays caused by Customs checking. By introducing the trains, Deutsche Bahn highlights the ability of the service to access locations that would normally require movement through the congested port cities of the Eastern Chinese sea-board. This, combined with the faster transit-time which, as Deustche Bahn emphasises, is half the time taken for a Europe to China container service, is clearly the unique selling point. Deustche Bahn did not, however, disclose the price of the service.
Shipbreaking jobs from Bangladesh
Are Indian and Pakistani buyers snapping up ships for demolition as Bangladesh reopens shipbreaking? So it seems. Reports have it that Indian and Pakistan shipbreakers “can now sit back smugly as they have acquired and beached several vessels prior to reopening of the market in Bangladesh”. Some cash buyers are believed to have succeeded in having redirected some vessels as the waiting period at Bangladesh was long thanks to the ban on demolition in that country. All this is set for a change now. The judicial and government officials in Bangladesh recently signed an order that will enable Chittagong breakers to get back into business after about nearly a year. This is not surprising. Besides providing jobs to lakhs of unskilled people, Bangladesh shipbreaking industry also meets an estimated 80 per cent of the country's steel demand. The ban also entailed a huge revenue loss for the government.
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