Hupac back on the growth path

Chiasso, 9 Feb. 2011 – The transport volume of the intermodal operator Hupac grew last year by 13.7% and consequently almost reached the level of the record year 2008. A total of 690,251 road shipments were transported on rails. Transalpine transport via Switzerland is also catching up with a growth rate of 9.5%.

Last year, the Swiss intermodal operator Hupac transported a total of 690,251 road consignments on rails. This corresponds to an increase of 13.7% compared to 2009 and surpasses expectations by far. "Exchange of goods increased continually during the year," Hupac Director Bernhard Kunz stated. "Thanks to adaptation of our network to market conditions, we have been able to profit from the increase in traffic and strengthen the position of rail as an important transport means." Overall, the transport volume of Hupac is almost at the level of the record year 2008.

Traffic development of Shuttle Net (unaccompanied combined transport)
As was already the case last year, Hupac recorded its strongest growth in transalpine transport via Austria. Transport could be doubled thanks to expansion of the market segment Benelux-Italy and Scandinavia-Italy. A decisive factor in success was the clearance gauge of the Brenner axis, which permits transport of modern, high volume flat-bed trailers. The non-transalpine transport, which includes the transport axes Benelux-Austria/Hungary/Romania, Benelux-Poland/Russia and Belgium-France/Spain, also reached the pre-crisis volume (+12.4%). In transalpine transport through Switzerland, growth was hindered by infrastructure bottlenecks and quality problems. Although this segment, which represents approx. 60% of the core market of Hupac, had an increase of 9.5%, it is still below the level of 2008 by 7.6%.

Traffic development of Rolling Highway (Rola)
Recovery can also be reported in the area of the Rolling Highway. This supplementary offer provides a daily connection between Basel and Lugano and achieved a traffic increase of 11.9% in 2010, but which could not compensate for the decrease of the previous year. As of 1 Jan. 2011, Hupac transferred operation of the Rolling Highway to the intermodal operator RAlpin. As a result, the complete Rola offer of Switzerland is in the hands of one company, as required by the Federal Transport Office by 2018 in its call for bids for operating the Rolling Highway. Hupac will continue to handle sales and operations of the Rolling Highway for the order of RAlpin.

New connections
Hupac is continually adapting its network to market developments. In the 4-meter segment, the introduction or expansion of the connections Cologne Niehl Harbour <=> Novara, Antwerp <=> Verona and Rotterdam <=> Verona are to be mentioned. Various new transport orders were acquired between Baden-Württemberg and Italy thanks to the introduction of the shuttle trains Singen <=> Brescia and Singen <=> Busto. The connections Barcelona <=> Busto and Barcelona <=> Basel/Aarau are noteworthy in transport to and from Spain. These trains have been travelling on the normal track route to Barcelona since December, which eliminates the need of transhipment on the French-Spanish border. The offer has been streamlined on the axis Germany <=> Austria/Hungary/Romania and expanded to Bradu de Sus (Pitesti). The west harbours continue to represent a large volume potential. In May, Hupac introduced a new connection Antwerp <=> Ludwigshafen with further transport options to Busto and eastern Germany/Poland. The connection Rotterdam <=> Basel/Niederglatt with nine weekly departures was integrated into the Shuttle Net of Hupac in the middle of January 2011.

Critical framework conditions
Although the economic crisis seems to have been overcome for the most part, framework conditions in many areas remain critical. The substantial increase in value of the Swiss franc has a negative effect on revenue and forces Hupac to take additional measures on the costs side. "We see considerable improvement potential in the maintenance of our 5,000 railcars," according to Hans-Jörg Bertschi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hupac. The company's own workshop in Busto Arsizio is extremely significant in this respect. The challenges also include the reduction of operation subsidies stipulated in the new law on the shift of goods transport for 2011-2018. "Together with our rail partners, we are looking for ways to achieve the required productivity advances with even closer coordination of processes," Mr. Bertschi explained. The participations in SBB Cargo International and Crossrail acquired in 2010 provide good prerequisites for this. "We have a strategic interest in the stock of the functioning rail market on the Gotthard axis and in all of Europe. We are betting on close, constructive collaboration with all our rail partners and are convinced that open systems provide the best prerequisites for growth of combined transport."

Focus on infrastructure
Above all, the rail infrastructure must support the requirements of freight transport consistently. "To be able to stay competitive with roads, we must be able to drive longer, heavier and higher trains on time and reliably without border impediments into the centre of economic regions," according to Mr. Kunz. A central factor in this is rapid implementation of the "Piattaforma Luino" enlargements in Switzerland and Italy, which enable train lengths of 650 meters. Hupac is very pleased that there is now agreement about the necessity of a 4-meter corridor by the time of opening the Gotthard and Ceneri base tunnel. "However, financing of these infrastructure enlargements from the pool of operation subsidies would be like shooting yourself in the foot," Mr. Kunz warned. "These means serve to compensate for the high production costs on mountain routes via Switzerland and to maintain the competitiveness of combined transport."