Overloading the rail network?: Coal trains pose problems for the railways

Overload of the rail network?
Coal trains pose problems for the railways

The federal government relies on coal-fired power plants to counteract the energy crisis. But the reactivation of the systems poses problems for logisticians. Industry representatives fear that coal transports by rail could affect passenger transport in the future.

In order to save gas, politics and business are again relying more heavily on coal for electricity production – but there are doubts as to whether the transport capacities for supplying reactivated coal-fired power plants by rail are sufficient. For example, the Essen-based power producer Steag alone needs around 26 coal trains, each with around 2800 tons, for the market operation of its four blocks on the Saar with a total of around 1800 megawatts of output per week, as the company announced on request. “Without priority for coal transport by rail, it will probably not be possible to procure sufficient capacity.”

Deutsche Bahn boss Richard Lutz emphasized that the company’s need for coal deliveries is currently being examined in detail. Bottlenecks could therefore not only exist on the already full network, but also on freight wagons specially equipped for transporting coal. “We don’t have the freight wagons that we and our competitors need in store at the moment,” emphasized Lutz. Concerted action by everyone involved is needed to ensure that there are no energy shortages.

The latest energy security package from Economics Minister Robert Habeck aims to ensure transport capacities for fuel supply by rail. According to the paper, it is planned that, as a first step, the conditions of use of the rail network will be adjusted in the short term in order to prioritize the transport of mineral oil and coal when free train paths are allocated.

Only in the event that this is not sufficient should priority be given to traffic at the level of capacity allocation by ordinance. Slots that have already been allocated for energy transport would then also be made available – which, in case of doubt, could also mean priority for coal trains over passenger trains. From the point of view of experts, however, it is still not foreseeable whether such a regulation will be necessary at all.

Association calls for “reliable minimum term”

The Pro-Rail Alliance nevertheless warned of further overloading of the rail network. “Priority for coal transport is an additional challenge for the already heavily frequented parts of the rail network,” said Dirk Flege, Managing Director of the association. “When it comes to the difficult question of which transports may have to give way, we expect the industry to be closely involved,” emphasized Flege.

Peter Westenberger, General Manager of the European Railways Network (NEE), also criticized that this had not happened to a sufficient extent so far. Deutsche Bahn’s competitors in freight transport are skeptical as to whether priority treatment of coal transports by rail could be implemented quickly. “At least until mid-December 2022, priority would affect existing train path contracts,” said Westenberger.

For the power plant operators themselves, there is a particular need for planning and legal certainty on the part of politics, according to Christian Seyfert, general manager of the Association of Industrial Energy and Power Industries (VIK). “A reliable minimum running time for the affected systems creates the necessary planning horizon and would also simplify the calculation and planning of the transports.”

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