Ten dead as commuter trains collide in Germany

German authorities were on Tuesday investigating how two commuter trains collided head-on, leaving at least ten dead and dozens injured, despite having been fitted with automatic braking systems to prevent accidents. 

PHOTO: EPA

FEB 10, 20166:33 AM

[BAD AIBLING, Germany] German authorities were on Tuesday investigating how two commuter trains collided head-on, leaving at least ten dead and dozens injured, despite having been fitted with automatic braking systems to prevent accidents.

Media reports said human error was to blame for the high-speed crash near the southern spa town of Bad Aibling, where one of the trains sliced into the other, ripping a hole in its side.

Rescuers were still searching for one missing person in the mangled wreckage in a wooded area, although police said there was now little hope of finding the victim alive.

Newspaper group RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschand (RND), citing sources close to the investigation, said a signalling station worker had manually disactivated the automatic signalling system to let the first train - which was running late - go past.

The second train then forged ahead on the same track in the opposite direction, before the first was able to split off where the line divides into two.

The Bild newspaper said manually disabling the signalling would have disactivated the automatic braking systems.

Regional police refused to comment when contacted by AFP. Two of the trains' black boxes have been recovered, while investigators are still looking for a third.

Police said 10 people had lost their lives in the crash just after 7.00am (0800 GMT), while 18 people were seriously hurt and 63 others suffered light injuries.

The two drivers and two conductors were among those killed, local broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk reported.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was "dismayed and saddened" by the accident.

"My sympathy goes out especially to the families of the nine people who have lost their lives," she said in a statement.

Blue, yellow and silver metal debris was strewn around the crash site next to a river in the state of Bavaria.

Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt had earlier said the rail track was fitted with an automatic braking system aimed at preventing such crashes, and that investigators were probing whether there had been "a technical problem or human error".

"One train was jammed into the other and the carriage of the second train was completely torn apart," he said.

The trains smashed into each other at high speed, and the drivers probably did not see each other until the last minute because the crash happened at a curve, said Dobrindt.

Police chief for the Upper Bavaria region, Robert Kopp, said the trains were carrying about 150 passengers, fewer than on a regular work day as many people were off for the region's winter holidays.

A passenger named as Patrick B. told local radio Rosenheim 24 that shortly after leaving the station of Kolbermoor, "the train suddenly braked, there was a loud noise and the light went out".

He said he "heard people shouting for help everywhere" and together with a young man, he opened the carriage door using the emergency system.

Some 700 firefighters, emergency services workers and police officers were deployed in the rescue operation, which was complicated because the forest crash site was difficult to access. Helicopters hoisted up the injured on stretchers.

"The accident is an enormous shock for us," said Bernd Rosenbusch, who heads the Bavarian rail company BOB that operates trains on the route.

"We will do everything to help travellers, their relatives and our employees." Christian Schreyer, chief executive of parent company Transdev, said: "We are deeply shocked and stunned that something like this could have happened. Our thoughts are with the victims and families of the victims."

After German rail was liberalised at the end of the 1990s, BOB became one of the train operators competing with state-run Deutsche Bahn.

Although it has lost its monopoly operating status, Deutsche Bahn still owns the rail network.

The accident is believed to be Germany's first fatal train crash since April 2012, when three people were killed and 13 injured in a collision between two regional trains in the western city of Offenbach.

The country's deadliest post-war accident happened in 1998, when a high-speed ICE train linking Munich and Hamburg derailed in the northern town of Eschede, killing 101 people and injuring 88.

AFP

    
 

FAA warns airlines of explosion risk in lithium batteries

The US Federal Aviation Administration warned airlines Tuesday of the danger of a catastrophic fire or explosion from lithium batteries being carried as freight. 

PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

FEB 10, 20166:51 AM

[WASHINGTON] The US Federal Aviation Administration warned airlines Tuesday of the danger of a catastrophic fire or explosion from lithium batteries being carried as freight.

The FAA said commercial passenger and cargo airlines should conduct safety risk assessments if they are handling or carrying lithium batteries as cargo.

"FAA battery fire testing has highlighted the potential risk of a catastrophic aircraft loss due to damage resulting from a lithium battery fire or explosion," the agency said.

"Current cargo fire suppression systems cannot effectively control a lithium battery fire." Scientists have long known about the problem of exploding lithium ion batteries, which are used in an increasingly wide range of rechargeable consumer products including cellphones, power tools, Tesla cars and the latest rage, hoverboards.

They are also increasingly used in industrial machinery and equipment. In 2013 the global fleet of Boeing 787s was grounded for a few months after a lithium ion battery caught fire on one plane and erupted in smoke on another.

Passenger airlines are already banned from carrying lithium metal batteries as cargo because of the fire risk, and a number of passenger airlines had already decided themselves not to carry lithium ion batteries as freight, the FAA said.

The agency said the risk assessment recommendation is for airlines which still carry lithium ion batteries, and to help others avoid inadvertently carrying them.

Meanwhile the Air Line Pilots Association International said the US needs to classify lithium ion batteries as "hazardous materials" to ensure more safety precautions are taken when they are being transported.

A study by the group noted two disastrous fires aboard aircraft, one in 2006 and another in 2010, that appeared linked to large cargoes of lithium batteries.

Under current regulations, "thousands of batteries could still be transported without a flight crew's knowledge of the potential risk," the group said on its website.

AFP

    
 

Oil sinks as IEA warns of falling prices; WTI below US$28

Oil prices sank again Tuesday as the International Energy Agency warned prices could fall further on a growing oversupply and weakening global demand growth. 

PHOTO: REUTERS

FEB 10, 20166:54 AM

[NEW YORK] Oil prices sank again Tuesday as the International Energy Agency warned prices could fall further on a growing oversupply and weakening global demand growth.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for March delivery dropped US$1.75 (5.9 per cent) to US$27.94 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In London, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in April, the European benchmark for crude oil, dived to US$30.32 a barrel, shedding US$2.53 (7.7 per cent) from Monday's settlement.

Both WTI and Brent had fallen more than three per cent on Monday.

The IEA, in its monthly report Tuesday, forecast the global oil surplus would be larger than previously expected in the first half of 2016.

It noted that Opec was responsible for the supply glut hitting the market, adding that Saudi Arabia, Iraq and sanctions-free Iran had "all turned up the taps" in January.

"With the market already awash in oil, it is very hard to see how oil prices can rise significantly in the short term," it said.

"In these conditions the short-term risk to the downside has increased." The IEA maintained its view that global demand growth "will ease back considerably" in 2016 to 1.2 million barrels a day from 1.6 million barrels a day in 2015.

Late last month, prices rallied briefly on speculation that Russia - the largest global oil producer - and the 13-nation Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries cartel could discuss coordinated output cutbacks.

But the IEA said that "the likelihood of coordinated cuts is very low." Matt Smith of ClipperData noted that the US Department of Energy's short-term outlook report, also released Tuesday, gave a similar picture of the market.

"So the combination of both these reports might be sending crude charging low into the US$20s again," he said.

WIT in January fell below US$28 a barrel for the first time since September 2003.

AFP

    
 

Amazon expands logistics reach in China

Amazon.com Inc is aggressively expanding its logistics operations in China as part of a broader effort to control the rising cost of shipping billions of packages. 

PHOTO: REUTERS

FEB 10, 20167:16 AM

[SAN FRANCISCO] Amazon.com Inc is aggressively expanding its logistics operations in China as part of a broader effort to control the rising cost of shipping billions of packages.

Its plans in China, outlined in filings there, include handling cargo and customs for goods headed to ports in Japan, Europe and the United States.

Some analysts say the move could help position Amazon to offer shipping services to other companies, eventually competing with the likes of United Parcel Service Inc and DHL Worldwide Express BV.

That would mirror the strategy of Amazon's cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services, which is now the company's fastest growing unit. The service was launched to serve Amazon's own retail operations but now hosts data for other companies.

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Seattle-based Amazon faces increasing pressure from Wall Street to drive down shipping costs, which rose 37 per cent in the most recent quarter compared to the same period a year ago.

A spokeswoman for Amazon declined comment.

The company revealed its China plans in documents filed with regulators there.

Amazon registered its Chinese subsidiary, Beijing Century Joyo Courier Service, as a freight forwarder - a type of broker that does not own ships but handles customs and other documentation - with China's transport ministry last year, allowing it to export cargo out of the country.

Amazon's Chinese subsidiary also made a similar application with the US Federal Maritime Commission in November.

Amazon also filed an application with the Shanghai Shipping Exchange to serve as a shipping broker for 12 trade routes, including Shanghai to Los Angeles and Shanghai to Hamburg, Germany.

"These are major gateway ports," said John Manners-Bell, who heads Transport Intelligence, a logistics analysis firm. "They appear to be laying the foundation for a large forwarding operation." In documents Beijing Century Joyo submitted to the exchange, the company said it plans to charge customers between US$530 and US$2,530 to transport a 40-foot dry van container from Shanghai to Hamburg. The rate is comparable to those charged by other forwarders, and the wide range gives it flexibility to adjust its prices based on volume.

Forwarders typically negotiate rates with shipping lines and pass them on to the owners of cargo.

Last November, Beijing Century Joyo updated its Beijing business registration. The company offers a suite of logistics services such as domestic delivery and handling the import and export of goods.

Brian Xue, vice president of operations for Amazon in China, signed the government filings. Xue, who joined Amazon in 2014, has emerged as a champion for its logistics build-out in China.

Analysts expect Amazon to use its new freight forwarder license to make it easier for Chinese merchants and manufacturers to transport their goods to major hubs where Amazon has warehouses that ship goods to customers.

Amazon would handle paperwork and select the shipping line that will transport the goods and make sure there are trucks on the other end to take shipments to its fulfillment facilities. Merchants will deal only with Amazon rather than multiple companies for trucking, warehousing and shipping.

The license also would allow Amazon to cut shipping costs by bundling products from small and medium-sized companies to fill up containers, analysts said.

Amazon rival Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has been asserting greater control over its logistics network in China, spending billions on buying stakes in package delivery companies and launching a logistics arm that has been investing in warehouses.

Amazon directly imported about 10,000 20-foot containers into the US last year and received an additional 20,000 containers from merchants as part of the company's Fulfillment by Amazon programme, according to an analysis by Ocean Audit Inc, a freight auditing consultancy.

The program allows merchants to store their products in Amazon warehouses and makes them eligible for Prime, which promises consumers two-day shipping for US$99-a-year for goods from merchants who sign up for the program.

Some 90 per cent of the shipments originated in China, according to Ocean Audit.

It's not clear how many merchants have signed up to use Amazon's freight services. Amazon China announced a new, cross-border logistics service to cater to Chinese merchants last October, and ocean freight appears to be part of its offering.

But freight forwarders already handling Amazon's suppliers stand to lose business. Amazon could dictate that merchants use its forwarding service, said Cliff Sullivan, chairman of the Hong Kong Association of Freight Forwarding and Logistics. "We may get cut out," he said.

Amazon tried to tamp down concerns about its ambitions in the logistics industry on a recent earnings call, saying it did not plan to "replace" carriers like UPS but to handle more of its own deliveries at peak times.

But for the first time, the company noted in a recent filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it views companies that provide "fulfillment and logistics services for themselves or third parties" as competitors.

The retailer operates more than 120 fulfillment centers worldwide that hold millions of products supplied by third party merchants and Amazon's own vendors and where warehouse workers pick and pack items for shipment.

Amazon rolled out thousands of its own trailers and launched an Uber-like delivery service last year to handle the so-called last mile of delivery, taking packages from distribution centers to customers' homes.

"At the very least, Amazon will begin handling their own freight," said Zvi Schreiber, the chief executive of Freightos, a start-up that provides an online marketplace linking forwarders and logistics vendors. "The next stage would be to offer the service to third party clients."

Some in the industry warn companies like Amazon against straying from their original business model. "They're moving into something that could be potentially very treacherous," said Andreas Krueger, head of ocean freight for DHL Global Forwarding in the Americas, speaking generally about new entrants into the logistics industry.

DHL Global Forwarding, one of the biggest players in air and ocean freight, handles customized logistics programs. "The worst that would happen is we get another competitor in our midst, but I'm not concerned," he said. "We've been in the business since 1815."

REUTERS

    
 

Disneyland Paris visitor numbers down since attacks

Disneyland Paris has seen visitor numbers fall by eight per cent since deadly attacks in the French capital last November in which 130 people died, the Euro Disney company announced Tuesday. 

PHOTO: EPA

FEB 10, 20166:29 AM

[PARIS] Disneyland Paris has seen visitor numbers fall by eight per cent since deadly attacks in the French capital last November in which 130 people died, the Euro Disney company announced Tuesday.

"Primarily due to the November events in Paris," Euro Disney saw its first quarter (from October-January) revenues fall to 337.6 million euros (S$532.4 million), from 341.5 million euros for the same period in the previous accounting year, the company said - a drop of 1.1 per cent.

"We experienced strong demand leading up to the November 13th events in Paris, following which we experienced booking cancellations," said Euro Disney president Tom Wolber.

The Disney resort figures were also hit "by our decision to close the theme parks for four days," during a period of national mourning in France.

"Despite the softened tourism environment, we remain confident in our long term strategy and we are encouraged by the resilience of the French market in particular," Wolber added in the company report.

Disneyland Paris is the most visited theme park in Europe, with 14.8 million visitors in 2015, according to Euro Disney's annual report.

The closure from November 14-17 was a first for the attraction which opened in 1992.

This decision helped create an overall drop of 8 per cent in visitors to the two joint theme parks, Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios.

The loss in footfall was made up for in part by a four per cent rise in the average spend per visitor.

The biggest stayaways, apart from French visitors, were tourists from Britain and the Netherlands, though numbers were slightly up from Spain.

The hotels serving the entertainment resort in Marne-la-Vallee, east of Paris, saw a corresponding 0.9 point fall in room occupation rates, though spending per room rose two per cent.

Last year, Euro Disney sliced its net losses by 10 per cent to 84.2 million euros on turnover of 1.37 billion euros.

Euro Disney has been seeking to restructure the business for years.

In January 2015, shareholders approved a recapitalisation plan to raise one billion euros to revive the struggling theme park burdened by huge debt as well as falling visitor numbers.

The shareholders voted in favour of a series of measures including 420 million euros of fresh funds from the US parent group, The Walt Disney Company.

On November 18, five days after the Paris attacks, Riyadh-based Kingdom Holding Co, owned by a Saudi prince, announced an injection of 49.2 million euros into Euro Disney.

AFP