photo: RAILTARGET/Hořínek Exclusively: "DAC Is Financially Expensive, the Benefits for Carriers Are Not Clear"
At the transport logistic fair in Munich, RAILTARGET had the opportunity to interview the director of METRANS Rail, Martin Hořínek. In the interview, he presented us with a new project of the METRANS Rail company and shared his opinion on the Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC).
How do you experience this fair, and what are your clients' reactions?
We are really happy that after a four-year break, we could reopen our stand at the fair in Munich and welcome our customers here. Despite the persistent rain, the atmosphere is excellent and the stand is full of visitors.
Are you presenting any new products within the METRANS Rail company at the fair?
We are happy to present our new ADRIA RAIL project. It is an investment in the Croatian carrier of the same name, which is, among other things, the owner of a beautiful container terminal near Belgrade in Inđija. So we now offer connections between Inđijija and the port of Rijeka, as well as between Inđijija and our terminal in Budapest.
One of the topics of the Munich trade fair is Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC). What is the current situation regarding DAC? Is there any news you could share with us?
I am known for my reserved approach to this new technology, which is financially very expensive, and the benefits for carriers and car owners are still not entirely clear. I speak not only for myself but also for the ŽESNAD.cz association when I say that we insist on a thorough business case analysis. It is necessary to determine the type and verify it in real operation. It is not enough just to test it at a landfill. Only then will we talk about when, how and who will rebuild it all. We are glad that in the current situation, even large companies like ÖBB already agree that a thorough analysis is really needed.
The last question concerns plans for the future, as the May series of events does not end with the Transport Logistic fair. It is no secret that ŽESNAD.cz organizes one of its regular conferences. Can you tell me anything about the main guests, for instance?
Our ŽESNAD.cz conference in Špindlerův Mlýn will be held again in May. The invitation has so far been accepted by the Minister of Transport of the Czech Republic, Martin Kupka, and by the Minister of Transport of the Slovak Republic, who will be replaced by his secretary in case of non-participation. We are already looking forward to the upcoming conference, and I think it will be a really worthy event.