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photo: RAILTARGET/VPI Chairman Malte Lawrenz Warns Against Political Misguidance Based on the Road-Fixated 'Long-Term Traffic Forecast to 2051'
Speaking to the 185 representatives of the VPI wagon keepers' association in Dresden today, Chairman Malte Lawrenz called on politicians to stick to the priority given to rail as laid down in the coalition agreement. Lawrenz underlined the importance of prioritising the expansion and upgrading of rail routes for climate-friendly freight transport.
"The infrastructure we build today determines the modal mix of the future," Lawrenz stressed and called on German Transport Minister Volker Wissing to focus on modernising the rail system together with the industry. "We must make rapid progress on the topics of infrastructure expansion, digitalisation and automation to achieve the specified market share target of 25 per cent by 2030," Lawrenz warned. In this context, he regretted the signals coming from the 'Long-Term Traffic Forecast to 2051' recently published by the Ministry of Transport. "Those who speak of a 17 per cent market share in 2051 fail to recognise the industry potential and, at the same time, say goodbye to the will to shape transport policy," criticised Lawrenz.
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A VPI technical seminar is taking place in Dresden, attended by the top leaders of the European rail freight sector. Jörg Nowaczyk, Managing Director of…
New membership record and growing range of services
As a service-oriented association, the VPI and its subsidiary VERS are continuously expanding their service portfolio to ensure high-quality maintenance throughout Europe. Malte Lawrenz reported to the members about the steadily growing number of subscribers to the VPI European Maintenance Guide, the core of the association's services. In the meantime, 557 wagon keepers and workshops across Europe are currently using the maintenance recommendations. At the same time, the number of association members rose to a new high of 275 companies, which are present on the European market with a fleet of around 83,500 wagons.
Change in the VPI Advisory Board
In addition to the discharge of the chairman by the general meeting, the advisory board of the VPI had co-opted four new members into its body beforehand: Florian Schuhmacher (VTG) replaces Sven Wellbrock (VTG), Jörg Nowaczyk (GATX) succeeds Johann Feindert (GATX). Both want to become more involved in the umbrella organisation UIP in the future. Heinz Deckers (ORV) was elected to replace the retiring Ulrich Swertz (ORV). Jan-Hendrik Redmann (Shell) was replaced by Bianca Engelhardt (Shell).
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23rd TIV with a focus on intermodality
Following the general meeting, the association invites attendees to the 23rd Technical Information Meeting (TIV) on the following day. The update on developments in the industry, organised by the CPI Technical Commission, will focus on intermodal transport in the morning. The afternoon will focus on practical challenges in the areas of non-destructive testing (NDT), compact brakes and application of the AVV. In addition to technical presentations, the TIV will offer the 230 registered participants an expert discussion on both thematic blocks. This year, too, the TIV presented hands-on technology. A TreadAct Freight Compact Brake (CFCB) from Knorr SfS was also displayed. The second exhibit focusing on intermodal is a trestle for securing trailers on intermodal wagons from MAZ Maschinenbau GmbH.
Source: VPI