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Письмо о намерениях подтверждает готовность Партнера к распространению продукции, разработанной и произведенной --------------
------------линейка моторных масел для автомобилей и продукты для обслуживания автомобиля “---------------------”
------------линейка моторных масел для водно-моторной техники
------------линейка моторных масел для снегоходной техники
------------линейка моторных масел для коммерческих автомобилей грузовой и строительной техники
------------линейка моторных масел для сельскохозяйственной техники
(далее именуемой Продукция)
в
России (далее именуемой Территория)
Обе стороны согласились в случае достижения целей заменить настоящее Письмо о намерениях подробным дистрибьюторским соглашением по истечении трех лет.
Принимается во внимание, что некоторые виды Продукции могут быть включены в другие производственные линейки и, соответственно, распространяться на Территории несколькими дистрибьюторами. В таком случае Партнеру предлагается территориально ограничить свои действия по продаже указанной Продукции, заявленной в настоящем соглашении.
Следующие пункты являются основой для успешного сотрудничества:
1. Партнер покупает и продает от своего имени и за свой счет. Он устанавливает цены на Продукцию по своему усмотрению.
2. Партнер не имеет права использовать Продукцию --------------- в военных целях, напрямую в качестве оснащения или в целях последующей продажи.
3. Товарный знак --------------- охраняется --------------- и может быть использован только для Продукции, поставляемой ---------------. Партнер не имеет права осуществлять защиту товарного знака под своим именем.
В целях распространения Продукции Партнер обязуется использовать печатную продукцию и рекламные материалы с оригинальным логотипом ---------------,
CD руководство по использованию логотипа --------------- является обязательным,
4. Универмаги, супермаркеты и другие аналогичные торговые организации должны иметь письменное соглашение ---------------
5. Все цены --------------- заявлены в -------------------------- на условиях франко-завода CH -------------------, Switzerland, не облагаются пошлиной. --------------- оформляет необходимые для экспорта документы.
--------------- имеет право изменить цены в любое время, уведомив об этом письменно. Изменение цен вступает в силу через 30 дней после уведомления.
7. Условием оплаты --------------- является предоплата.
«Общие условия продажи и поставки» --------------- (Приложение 1) являются неотъемлемой частью настоящего Письма о намерениях.
8. Право собственности и риски относительно поставляемой Продукции переходят к Партнеру в момент действительного получения Продукции Партнером, его транспортной компанией или экспедитором.
9. Партнер считается единственным дистрибьютором Продукции --------------- в период срока действия Письма о намерениях до момента достижения ежегодного минимального объема продаж, заявленного в пункте 5.
10. Если условия настоящего Письма о намерениях удовлетворительны, и, по мнению обеих сторон, деловые отношения в условиях продажи могут иметь стратегическое значение, дистрибьюторское соглашение будет подписано на определенной Территории относительно определенной Продукции по прошествии 3 лет, что предусматривает продолжение длительного сотрудничества обеих компаний.
--------------- обязуется заключить первое соглашение по предложению Партнера. Если соглашение не было заключено в течение 6 месяцев с момента предложения, все правовые отношения между Партнером и --------------- прекращаются. Пока дистрибьюторское соглашение не заключено, условия Письма о намерениях остаются в силе.
11. Настоящее соглашение и все отношения между сторонами, вытекающие и связанные с оным, регулируются и интерпретируются в соответствии с эаконодательством Швейцарии за исключением Конвенции ООН о договорах международной купли-продажи товаров (Венская торговая конвенция) от 11 апреля 1980. Единственным местом исполнения для обеих сторон является -----------------------. Единственным местом рассмотрения всех споров, вытекающих из и связанных с настоящим соглашением является -----------------. --------------- вправе передать дело в компетентный суд по месту регистрации офисов Партнера.
Translation - English Letter of Intent
Declaration of Intent with respect to a future distribution agreement between
------------------LLC
------------------------
------------------------, Russia
This LETTER OF INTENT confirms the intention of the PARTNER to distribute the products developed and manufactured by -----------------
• --------------- line of motor oils for automobiles and the “---------------" car-care product line
• --------------- line of motorized watercraft motor oils
• --------------- line of motor oils for oversnow equipment
• --------------- line of motor oils for commercial vehicles, trucks and construction equipment
• --------------- line of motor oils for agricultural equipment
(hereinafter called the "Products")
in
Russia (hereinafter called the "Territory")
The two parties agree that, if the objectives are achieved, this LETTER OF INTENT will be replaced by a detailed distribution agreement after three years.
It is recognized that certain types of Products may also be included in other product lines and therefore will be distributed by multiple distributors within the territory. In such case, it is suggested the PARTNER limit his sales of the products listed to the territory specified in this agreement.
The following points shall serve as a basis for successful cooperation:
1. The PARTNER shall buy and sell in his own name and at his own expense. He is free to set the price of the Products as he sees fit.
2. The PARTNER is not entitled to use ------------‘s Products for the purposes of war, either directly as supplies or for the purpose of resale.
3. The "--------------" trademark is protected by --------------- and may only be used for Products supplied by --------------. The PARTNER is not entitled to protect this trademark under his own name.
For the purposes of distributing the Products, the PARTNER undertakes to use only printed matter and advertising materials bearing the original "-----------------" logo.
The CD guidance on use of ----------------‘s logo is binding.
4. Department stores, supermarkets and other similar commercial organizations must have --------------------'s written consent.
5. All ---------------'s prices announced in -------------------- as ex works shall not be subject to customs duty. ---------------- will draw up the paperwork necessary for export.
-------------- is entitled to change its prices at any time after giving prior notification in writing. The price change shall take effect 30 days after the notification.
7. ----------------'s condition for payment is advance payment.
----------------'s "General Terms of Sale and Delivery” (Appendix 1) are an integral part of this LETTER OF INTENT.
8. The risks and rewards of ownership with respect to the Products to be delivered shall pass to the PARTNER at the point in time when they are actually handed over to the PARTNER, to his transport company or his freight forwarder.
9. The PARTNER is considered to be the exclusive distributor for -------------‘s Products during the period of validity of this LETTER OF INTENT up until the yearly minimum sales volume stated under point 5 is achieved.
10. If the conditions of this LETTER OF INTENT are satisfactory, and if in the opinion of both partners to the agreement, the business relationship may be of strategic value under the conditions of sale, after three years have passed, a distribution agreement will be signed for the specified Territory and for the specified Products. This envisages that the two companies will continue their cooperation on a long-term basis.
-------------- undertakes to enter into the first agreement at the PARTNER’s suggestion. If no agreement has been entered into within six months following the proposal, all legal relationships between the PARTNER and ----------------------- shall cease. Until a distribution agreement has been concluded, the conditions of this LETTER OF INTENT shall continue in force.
11. This Agreement and all relationships between the parties arising out of or in connection therewith shall be governed and interpreted in accordance with Swiss law with the exception of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sales of Goods (Vienna Sales of Goods Convention) dated April 11, 1980. -------------- shall be the only place of performance for both parties is. ----------------- shall be the only legal venue for all disputes arising out of or in connection with this Agreement. ----------------- shall be entitled to file proceedings before the competent courts in the place where the PARTNER’s offices are registered.
German to English: John McCain's Bad Week General field: Other Detailed field: Government / Politics
Source text - German John McCain
Die Woche des Missvergnügens
Von Matthias Rüb, Washington (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)
Unvermögen, Engstirnigkeit und Häme werfen kein gutes Licht auf McCain
27. Juli 2008 Endlich Sonntag! Was für eine scheußliche Woche! Man müsste sie aus der Erinnerung streichen! Solche Gedanken dürften den designierten republikanischen Präsidentschaftskandidaten John McCain begleitet haben, als er nach Dutzenden von aufreibenden Wahlkampfterminen in der Nacht zum Samstag für ein wenig Erholung heim nach Arizona flog.
Es war keine gute Woche für John McCain, keine Frage. Barack Obama, sein Herausforderer von den Demokraten, hatte seine Reise nach Afghanistan, in den Nahen Osten und in drei europäische Hauptstädte penibel vorbereiten lassen - und dazu noch fast unheimlich viel Glück. McCain selbst hatte im heimischen Mittleren Westen blödes Pech. Dazu kamen Unvermögen, Engstirnigkeit und Häme, die auch kein gutes Licht auf den Kandidaten warfen.
McCain gibt weiter den „maverick“
Klar ist für McCain, es müssen wieder bessere Wochen kommen für ihn - oder wenigstens schlechtere für Obama. Denn McCain tut sich schwer damit, dem mit Hoffnung dealenden Obama eine eigene griffige Botschaft entgegenzusetzen. Da im Wahlvolk das Sehnen nach Veränderung groß ist, hat der Senator aus Arizona schon versucht, dem Konkurrenten dessen Slogan vom „change“ streitig zu machen, wenn auch mit wenig Erfolg.
McCain präsentiert sich deshalb weiter als „maverick“, als Einzelgänger aus Überzeugung: ein Konservativer, gewiss, der aber stets dann gegen die Parteilinie - und den unpopulären George W. Bush - anging, wenn der gesunde Menschenverstand oder seine Prinzipien ihm dies befahlen.
Zu Beginn seiner Woche des Missvergnügens musste McCain freilich erst einmal erleben, wie Obama ihm auf seinem ureigenen Territorium den Rang abzulaufen drohte. In einer fast unheimlichen Konvergenz der Meinungen sah sich der Demokrat plötzlich mit einer Forderung bestätigt, die er seit Jahr und Tag vertritt: Abzug der amerikanischen Truppen aus dem Irak binnen 16 Monaten nach seinem erhofften Amtsantritt im Januar 2009.
Obama entzückt derweil die Europäer - hier in London
In Amman, vom jordanischen König Abdullah wie ein Staatsgast behandelt, konnte Obama mit Fug und Recht von einem „wachsenden Konsens“ über seinen Zeitplan sprechen. Denn der irakische Ministerpräsident Nuri al Maliki und andere ranghohe Mitglieder der Regierung wünschen ebenfalls einen amerikanischen Truppenabzug bis etwa Sommer 2010 und halten dieses Ziel für realistisch. Und das sagten sie während Obamas Besuch in Bagdad auch - freilich mit der Einschränkung, die Sicherheitslage im Lande müsse es zulassen.
Ausbruch eines zornigen alten Mannes
Selbst Präsident George W. Bush, ein entschiedener Gegner aller Zeitpläne für einen Abzug, will nun immerhin einen „Zeithorizont“ für einen Abzug nicht mehr ausschließen - sofern die Sicherheitslage dies zulasse, versteht sich. Zuletzt schwenkte gar McCain selbst ein und bezeichnete den 16-Monats-Vorschlag als einen „ziemlich guten Zeitplan“ - vorausgesetzt natürlich, die Sicherheitslage lasse dies zu.
All das schien ein schlagender Beleg für Obamas Argument, es komme in grundlegenden außen- und sicherheitspolitischen Fragen nicht in erster Linie auf die Erfahrung an, sondern auf die Treffsicherheit im Urteil. Überhaupt nahm sich gegen diese frohe Botschaft McCains Vorwurf, Obama habe die Bedeutung des Waffengangs im Irak nie verstanden und würde „lieber einen Krieg verlieren als einen Wahlkampf“, wie der Ausbruch eines zornigen alten Mannes aus.
Zwar ist beispielsweise das Argument McCains nicht leicht von der Hand zu weisen, ohne die von ihm entschieden befürwortete und von Obama strikt abgelehnte Truppenaufstockung im Irak von Februar 2007 an wäre die Sicherheitslage dort heute nicht so gut wie zuletzt kurz nach dem Einmarsch von März 2003 - was ja den Gedanken an Abzug erst ermöglicht. Aber in einer von Fernsehbildern des weltreisenden Kandidaten Obama wie trunkenen Woche fielen diese Argumente vorerst wenig ins Gewicht.
Wenig geglückt waren auch die Versuche McCains, dem Presserummel um den Weltenbummler Obama eigene Reisen ins amerikanische „Herzland“ entgegenzusetzen, zum Beispiel nach Ohio. Während Obama bei seiner politischen „Love Parade“ zu Berlin die rosarote Version des Endes der Geschichte in einer rundum versöhnten Welt besang, aß McCain eine deutsche Bratwurst. Ort des Geschehens: „Schmidt's Sausage Haus und Restaurant“ in dem Städtchen German Village nahe Columbus.
Kleingeistige Klagen
Thema des Gespräches mit ortsansässigen Geschäftsleuten war die prekäre Wirtschaftslage. „Ich würde auch gerne eine Rede in Deutschland halten“, sagte McCain nach der Veranstaltung im Format des politischen Einzelhandels, das ihm so viel mehr liegt als der von Obama bevorzugte Massenverkauf übers Fernsehen direkt ab Visionenfabrik. Aber, so fügte McCain hinzu: „Ich würde viel lieber als Präsident der Vereinigten Staaten reden statt nur als Präsidentschaftskandidat.“
Das wirkte ebenso kleingeistig wie die Klage über den Medienauftrieb bei Obamas erster nennenswerter Auslandsreise überhaupt: Kein anderer hatte Obama so sehr gedrängt, endlich zum ersten Mal Afghanistan zu besuchen und zum zweiten Besuch in den Irak zu reisen, wie McCain.
Schließlich kam für den 71 Jahre alten Senator, der in seiner militärischen und politischen Laufbahn freilich schon ganz andere Krisen gemeistert hat als eine missratene Woche, schieres Pech dazu. Den geplanten Hubschrauberflug zu einer Ölplattform im Golf von Mexiko musste McCain wegen des Hurrikans „Dolly“ absagen. Mit dem Besuch wollte er seine Forderung nach der Wiederaufnahme der seit 1982 vom Kongress wegen des Umweltschutzes verbotenen Ölbohrungen in amerikanischen Küstengewässern bekräftigen.
Vielleicht kriegt Obama doch noch Ärger
Möglicherweise hat McCain Glück, und Obama bekommt noch Ärger - wegen einer Station, die er bei seiner Reise ausließ: Ein für Freitag geplanter Besuch bei verwundeten Soldaten im amerikanischen Militärkrankenhaus Landstuhl wurde kurzfristig aus dem Programm gestrichen. Obamas Darstellung, der Besuch sei aus Rücksicht auf die Soldaten abgesagt worden, um diese nicht zu Wahlkampfzwecken zu missbrauchen, erscheint vorgeschoben. Vielmehr dürfte Team Obama auf den Besuch verzichtet haben, weil nach den Gepflogenheiten des Pentagons bei solchen Privatbesuchen von Politikern die mitreisende Presse nicht zugelassen ist - und es deshalb keine selbstorchestrierte Berichterstattung gibt. Aus McCains Wahlkampfstab hieß es, es sei „niemals unangemessen, die Männer und Frauen unserer Streitkräfte zu besuchen“.
Schlecht sind die Aussichten für McCain trotz allem keineswegs. Nach einer jüngsten Umfrage des Nachrichtensenders CNN liegt Obama in der Gunst potentieller Wähler mit 44 Prozent Zustimmung nur knapp vor McCain, der auf 41 Prozent kommt - obwohl die politischen und wirtschaftlichen Bedingungen geradezu nach einem Sieg des Oppositionskandidaten schreien. Die hohen Benzinpreise, der Einbruch auf dem Immobilienmarkt, letzthin die Angst vor der Inflation verursachen Krisenstimmung. Und dass das Ansehen der einzig verbliebenen Supermacht in fast aller Welt zumal wegen des Irak-Krieges schwer gelitten hat, lässt die meisten Amerikaner eben auch nicht kalt.
Aber die amerikanischen Wähler haben noch immer einen amerikanischen Kandidaten zum neuen Oberbefehlshaber gewählt und keinen europäischen.
Translation - English John McCain – A Bad Week
by Matthias Rueb, Washington (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)
(Photo caption: Ineptitude, narrow-mindedness and spitefulness do not show McCain in a good light.)
27 July 2008. Finally it’s Sunday! What a horrible week! I’ve got to wipe it out of my memory. Similar thoughts were likely on the mind of John McCain, the designated republican presidential candidate, on Saturday night as he flew home to Arizona for a little recuperation following dozens of grueling campaign stops.
It was not a good week for John McCain, no question about it. Democratic challenger Barack Obama’s trip to Afghanistan, the Middle East and three European capitals had been meticulously planned, and Obama had had an inordinate amount of luck besides. McCain himself had had stupid bad luck in the U.S. mid-west. On top of that, his inability, narrow-mindedness and spitefulness did not cast McCain in a good light.
McCain Still Plays the “Maverick”
Clearly things have to get better again for McCain in the coming weeks – or at least worse for Obama – because McCain is having a hard time putting out his own catchy message to compete with Obama, who deals in hope. Since the longing for change is strong among the electorate, the senator from Arizona has already tried to dispute Obama’s “change” slogan, albeit with little success.
For that reason McCain continues to present himself as a “maverick”, a loner out of conviction: a conservative, certainly, but one who has repeatedly gone against the party line – and the unpopular George W. Bush – whenever his common sense or his principles dictated that he do so.
At the beginning of his unpleasant week, McCain had to watch while Obama threatened to outdo him on his very own territory. In an almost weird convergence of opinions, one of the demands that the democrat had been making for ages was suddenly confirmed: withdrawal of American troops from Iraq within 16 months after he hopefully takes office in January 2009.
(Photo caption: Meanwhile Obama delights the Europeans – Shown here in London.)
In Amman, where King Abdullah treated him like a visiting guest of the state, Obama was able to speak legitimately of the “growing consensus” on his timetable because the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nuri al Maliki, and other high-ranking members of his government, likewise want American troops out of Irak by possibly the summer of 2010 and consider this to be a realistic goal. And they said as much during Obama’s visit in Baghdad – admittedly with the condition that the security situation in the country will permit it.
Outburst of an Angry Old Man
Even President George W. Bush, a staunch opponent of any timetable for withdrawal, will now at least no longer discount a “time horizon” for a withdrawal – providing, of course, the security situation permits. Finally, even McCain himself gave in and described the 16-month proposal as a “pretty good timetable” – given, of course, the security situation allows for it.
All of that seemed to be striking, supporting evidence for Obama’s argument that not experience but sound judgement is the most important factor in fundamental questions of foreign affairs and national security. Indeed, McCain’s response to the good news, that Obama had never understood the significance of military action in Irak and would “rather lose a war than an election”, looked like the outburst of an angry old man.
McCain’s argument, to be sure, is not easily rejected out of hand. The security situation there has not been as good as it is today since just after the invasion in March 2003, and this is owing to the troop surge that began in February 2007, which McCain decisively supported, and which Obama flatly opposed, but which has for the first time made it possible to consider withdrawing. But in a week intoxicated by television images of the globetrotting candidate, Obama, these arguments were for the time being not of great consequence.
Neither was McCain very successful in attempting to oppose the press frenzy over Obama the globetrotter with his own travels into the American “heartland” of Ohio. While Obama was declaiming his rosy pink version of the end of history in a totally reconciled world at his politcal “love parade” in Berlin, McCain was eating a German bratwurst. The place of the events: Schmidt’s Sausage Haus and Restaurant in the small town of German Village near Columbus in Ohio.
Mean-spirited Complaining
The topic of conversation with local business leaders was the dicey economic situation. “I’d like to give a speech in Germany too”, said McCain following the event in the one-on-one political format that he is much more partial to than Obama’s preferred mass selling campaign over television live from the “vision factory”. But, as McCain added: “I would much rather speak as President of the United States than as just a presidential candidate.”
That came across just as mean-spirited as the complaint about the media interest in Obama’s first ever significant foreign trip: nobody had pressured Obama as hard as McCain to finally visit Afghanistan for the first time and to make his second trip to Iraq.
Finally, the 71 year old McCain, who in his military and political career has surely overcome much worse situations than a bad week, just had plain bad luck. He had to cancel his planned helicopter flight to an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico because of hurricane Dolly. He wanted to use the visit to strengthen his demand to resume drilling for oil in the waters off the American coast, which has been prohibited by Congress since 1982 to protect the environment.
Maybe Obama Will Become Annoyed Yet
It could be that McCain will get lucky and Obama will become annoyed because of one stop he left out of his trip: a visit with wounded soldiers in the American military hospital in Landstuhl that had been planned for Friday but was stricken from the program on short notice. Obama’s version - that the visit had been cancelled out of consideration for the soldiers so as not to misuse them for campaign purposes – seems insincere. It is more likely that the Obama team chose to forgo the visit because, according to Pentagon rules, the press corps is not usually allowed to accompany politicians on such private visits, and there would be no orchestrated reporting. McCain’s campaign headquarters released the statement that “it is never inappropriate to visit the men and women of our armed forces”.
In spite of everything, the outlook for McCain is not bad at all. According to one of the most recent polls by CNN News, Obama is favored by 44 percent of potential voters, only just ahead of McCain with 41 percent, even though the political and economic conditions are virtually screaming for a victory by the opposition candidate. High gas prices, the collapse in the housing market, and lately, fears of inflation, are causing a crisis mood. And that the reputation of the single remaining superpower has suffered greatly the world over, especially because of the Iraq war, does not leave most Americans indifferent either.
American voters, however, have always elected an American candidate as Commander-in-Chief, not a European.
Spanish to English: And if We Go Back to the Train?
Source text - Spanish ¿Y si volvemos al tren?
España ha menospreciado el transporte ferroviario en contra de la tendencia europea - Ahora, el precio del petróleo y el CO2 aconsejan recuperar un medio más limpio y barato - ¿Es demasiado tarde?
SANTIAGO CARCAR 28/07/2008
España no tiene petróleo, pero lo disimula bien. Funciona como si los carburantes no fueran un bien escaso y como si los precios del petróleo no se hubieran duplicado en el último año. Y funciona como si las carreteras y las autovías fueran la única forma de trasladar personas o mercancías de un punto a otro del país. Como si no se hubiera inventado el ferrocarril, como si la inversión en infraestructuras sólo luciera, social y políticamente, en forma de cintas de asfalto.
La falta de previsión hace de España el octavo importador mundial de crudo
En 1970, el 11% de las mercancías viajaba en vagones; en 2004, el 2,6%
Los andenes ya no llegan hasta los puertos ni a las zonas industriales
Las locomotoras españolas son más lentas que las europeas
Aparentemente, el Gobierno ha caído en la cuenta. El presidente del Gobierno, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, en el discurso pronunciado en junio ante el Consejo Económico y Social (CES), adelantó su propósito de remediar la situación. "En el sector del transporte", dijo Rodríguez Zapatero, "impulsaremos el transporte de mercancías por ferrocarril y, con este propósito, antes de tres meses regularemos la separación de la actividad de mercancías de Renfe Operadora, creando una sociedad independiente y liberalizando la prestación de servicios auxiliares al transporte ferroviario". El anuncio ha provocado reacciones airadas. El sindicato CC OO, por ejemplo, se opone a la separación jurídica del área de mercancías en Renfe y la considera un paso más en el desmantelamiento de la empresa pública. Pero ese es otro debate.
Lógicamente, simular que se tiene lo que realmente no se tiene, petróleo en este caso, tiene su precio. La factura petrolera, que este año, si el petróleo se mantiene en precios de 140 dólares el barril, puede rondar los 47.000 millones de euros, en torno al 4% de la riqueza producida en un año, crece a tal ritmo que empieza a parecer insostenible. De hecho, el transporte será, previsiblemente, uno de los sectores en los que se centrarán los nuevos planes de ahorro y eficiencia energética que el Ministerio de Industria quiere anunciar mañana.
Porque lo planeado hasta ahora (Plan de Ahorro y Eficiencia Energética 2007-2012) no es suficiente. Las importaciones de petróleo, unos 400 millones de barriles al año, convierten a España en el octavo importador mundial de crudo. Un dudoso puesto de honor en la clasificación de los menos previsores. Y los objetivos de ahorro, cuando la factura se ha encarecido en los últimos meses en 16.000 millones de euros, deben ser más ambiciosos.
Claro que ahorrar no es fácil. El 70% de las importaciones de petróleo se destina al transporte. Y de forma destacada al transporte de mercancías. Hasta tal punto, que el sector del transporte es el que más energía final consume en España, por delante de la industria. Según los expertos y el propio Instituto de Diversificación y Ahorro Energético (IDAE) este hecho supone una anomalía en el conjunto de la UE. Y es especialmente relevante porque el transporte origina más de un tercio aproximadamente de las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI), que además crecen de forma exponencial.
Aunque no es un fenómeno sólo de España, la cuestión del crecimiento del transporte, y de cómo se afronta, sí se nota más al sur de los Pirineos. Según un estudio de la Universidad alemana de Karlsruhe (año 2004), el volumen del transporte en Europa se ha más que duplicado desde el año 1970. Con un precio muy elevado. De acuerdo con el citado estudio, que valoraba la situación en una UE de 15 países, más Suiza y Noruega, el coste total que el conjunto de los modos de transporte suponían para los 17 países considerados era de una media del 7,3% del producto interior bruto (PIB). En el caso de España, el coste se disparaba en un 30% respecto de la media y rondaba el 10% (9,56% del PIB).
Las causas de tal peculiaridad española también se enumeraban en el estudio: una mezcla del mayor peso en el país del transporte por carretera frente al ferrocarril, junto a condiciones geográficas y de modelo poblacional con un gran núcleo centralizado en Madrid. Los menores costes, siempre de acuerdo con el estudio de la universidad alemana, se daban en Suiza, Alemania, Francia, Inglaterra y Holanda, países donde el peso del ferrocarril es mayor.
El estudio alemán ponía ya entonces el dedo en una llaga que no ha hecho sino agravarse en España en los últimos años por el olvido del ferrocarril frente a otros modos de transporte y, en especial, frente a la carretera. Algunos datos ilustran ese olvido. En 1970, el ferrocarril tenía una cuota de mercado en el transporte de mercancías del 11,8% frente al 59% de la carretera. En 2004, las cifras habían cambiado. El ferrocarril había perdido cuota, hasta el 2,6%, mientras la carretera había aumentado la suya hasta el 86,1%. En 2002, sólo Grecia superaba a España en la escasa utilización del ferrocarril como medio de transporte de mercancías.
La pérdida progresiva del mercado del tren frente a la carretera, que ahora se intenta paliar, se explica por un conjunto de circunstancias. Entre ellas, la focalización de las inversiones hacia la alta velocidad y el dinamismo del sector del transporte por carretera, que en los últimos años se ha revelado eficiente, flexible y con precios bajos. Aunque las bases del boom del transporte por carretera hayan sido también la competencia feroz y la subcontratación brutal. Según las estadísticas del Ministerio de Fomento, por las carreteras circulan 5,1 millones de camiones y furgonetas y 61.000 autobuses. De ellos, 573.000 -los únicos que precisan licencia- están habilitados para transportar mercancías por encima de 3,5 toneladas.
Si a los precios atractivos del transporte por camión se une, además, un acceso deficiente del ferrocarril a los puertos -en un país en el que más del 50% de las importaciones llegan por vía marítima- y a las instalaciones industriales, se comprende la agonía del ferrocarril. Puertos fundamentales (los más importantes son Barcelona, Valencia y Algeciras) que en algún momento de la historia tenían vías de ferrocarril hasta los muelles son hoy puro asfalto. Una cuestión difícil de solucionar.
España tiene, además, problemas añadidos. Los trenes de mercancías en Europa -sin llegar a las dimensiones de los de Estados Unidos- son pesados (de 1.000 a 2.000 toneladas), largos (hasta más de 700 metros), lentos (18 kilómetros-hora de media) e impuntuales. En España, con cuotas de mercado ínfimas, los trenes se enfrentan al problema de dimensiones de andenes y apartaderos (cortos) y a velocidades ínfimas, de en torno a 12 kilómetros por hora de media. La pesadilla de cualquier encargado de logística.
Es cierto que se intenta poner remedio y que el futuro pasa por la mejora del transporte ferroviario. Pero queda mucho por hacer. El Plan Estratégico de Infraestructuras (PEIT) 2005-2020 apuesta por el ferrocarril. De los 241.400 millones de euros de inversión prevista, el 50% aproximadamente se destina al desarrollo del ferrocarril y "sólo" el 27% a la carretera. Aunque dentro del plan hay un cambio importante. Si hasta 2004 la inversión ferroviaria estaba centrada en la alta velocidad, ahora se tiene en cuenta también el transporte de mercancías.
La red ferroviaria española cuenta con 13.700 kilómetros de vías, de los cuales, unos 1.600 kilómetros son de altas prestaciones. Ahora se trata de aprovechar más las vías convencionales para transportar mercancías y abrir también la posibilidad de usar las líneas de altas prestaciones para trasladar productos de un punto a otro.
"El ferrocarril ha demostrado su gran capacidad para transferir viajeros y mercancías de un modo de transporte a otro", asegura el gerente de Medio Ambiente de Renfe, Santos Núñez. El ejemplo es la línea de alta velocidad Madrid-Barcelona, que registra una alta ocupación y ha "robado" clientes al puente aéreo. "La línea", asegura Núñez, "ahorrará al año unas emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero de 200.000 toneladas". El equivalente a las emisiones de una ciudad como Zaragoza.
El secretario de la Federación de Transportes de UGT, Miguel Ángel Cillero, también ha mostrado públicamente la apuesta del sindicato por el ferrocarril. "En la red convencional van quedando surcos vacíos por la alta velocidad que se pueden aprovechar con un buen mantenimiento", señaló en un acto celebrado en Andalucía hace unos meses. Se trata, dijo, de potenciar el transporte de mercancías por tren, lo que también "puede servir para reducir el impacto medioambiental del sector productivo que tiene el mayor consumo energético y emite más gases de efecto invernadero en el país".
Y es que el ferrocarril, en un momento de carestía del petróleo y de preocupación por el medio ambiente, es un modo de transporte comparativamente limpio. El sector ferroviario es menos contaminante porq ue utiliza para su funcionamiento un 72% electricidad y sólo el 28% de diésel. El 90% de la energía que consume la destina a la tracción de los trenes y está en condiciones de hacer esfuerzos adicionales. Por ejemplo, Renfe, que consume al año dos teravatios-hora de electricidad y alrededor de 100 millones de litros de gasóleo, se ha comprometido a reducir el consumo energético en un 9,1% para el año 2009. El objetivo es el mismo que el Plan de Ahorro y Eficiencia en vigor establece para el conjunto del sector del transporte, pero tres años antes.
Como, según se supone, se avecinan tiempos mejores para el transporte de mercancías por ferrocarril, Renfe parece decidida a prepararse. La compañía ha invertido 237 millones de euros en 100 nuevas locomotoras eléctricas que permitirán dar un salto cualitativo muy importante en fiabilidad y capacidad de tracción. Las primeras unidades estarán listas después del verano. Paralelamente, continúa el proceso de transformación de las 28 últimas locomotoras diésel de un total de 91 que permitirá aumentar sus prestaciones. En cuanto a recursos de carga, Renfe ha decidido aumentar la inversión en nuevos vagones hasta alcanzar 72 millones de euros. A los 288 que ya se encuentran en proceso de fabricación (100 porta-automóviles, 78 tolvas, 60 vagones cisterna y 50 vagones plataforma) se sumarán aproximadamente otros 200 vagones cuyas características está terminando de configurar la compañía.
Industria, como coordinador de la media docena de ministerios que deben proponer medidas de ahorro efectivas, no lo tiene fácil. Para lograr ahorros significativos en el sector del transporte se precisan medidas regulatorias, medidas de gestión y mejora de las infraestructuras. Un reto.
Translation - English Reporting
And if We Go Back to the Train?
(ELPAIS.com, Society)
SANTIAGO CARCAR 28/07/2008
Going against the European trend, Spain has scorned rail transport in favor of its highways. Now, however, the price of gasoline and CO2 make it advisable to go back to a cleaner and cheaper means of transportation – But is it too late?
Spain has no oil, but does a good job pretending it does. It rolls on as if fuels were not scarce commodities and as if the price of gasoline had not doubled in the last year. It continues as if the highways and freeways were the only means of moving people and goods from one point to another in the country; as if the railroad had never been invented; and as if investment in infrastructure were socially and politically meaningful only if in the form of asphalt strips.
Lack of foresight has turned Spain into the eighth largest importer of crude oil in the world. In 1970, 11% of her goods were shipped by train; in 2004 only 2.6%. Tracks no longer reach ports or industrial zones. Spanish locomotives are slower than European ones.
Apparently the government has realized this. In a speech he gave in June (2008) before the Economic and Social Council (ESC), President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero put forward his proposal to remedy the situation. “In the transportation sector,” he said, “we will give impetus to transporting goods by rail, and with this intention, within three months we will make official the separation of freight hauling activities from Renfe (the Spanish national railroad) transforming it into an independent enterprise and liberalizing the provision of auxiliary services to it.” Rodriguez Zapatero’s announcement provoked furious reactions. The Spanish trade union Comisiones Obreras (CC OO), for example, opposes the legal separation of the freight division from Renfe and considers it to be one more step in the dismantling of the public enterprise. But that is a different debate.
Naturally, to pretend that one has what one in fact does not, in this case oil, has its price. Spain’s oil bill is growing at such a rate that it is beginning to look unsustainable This year, if the price of oil remains at $140 a barrel, the bill could be around 47 billion Euros, or about 4% of all the wealth produced (in Spain) in one year. In fact, transportation will be, foreseeably, one of the sectors around which the new conservation and efficiency plans, which the Ministry of Industry wants to announce tomorrow, will be centered.
Because up to now, what has been planned (the 2007-2012 Energy Conservation and Efficiency Plan) is not enough. Oil imports, some 400 million barrels a year, make Spain the eighth largest importer of crude oil in the world, a dubious place of honor in the category of those with the least foresight. The planned conservation goals should be even more ambitious at a time when Spain’s oil bill has increased during the last months to 16 billion Euros.
Of course conserving is not easy when 70% of Spanish oil imports are destined for transportation. Such a large share of the oil goes to the transportation of goods that it has come to the point that the transportation sector consumes more refined fuel than any other in Spain, even more than industry. According to experts and the Institute for Diversification and Energy Savings (IDES), this is an anomaly within the EU. And it is especially relevant because transportation is the source of more than one third of all greenhouse gas emissions, which, moreover, are increasing exponentially.
Although this is not just a Spanish phenomenon, the problem of the growth in transportation, and how to deal with it, is more noticeable south of the Pyrenees. According to a study done by the University of Karlsruhe in Germany in 2004, the volume of transport in Europe had already more than doubled since 1970, and at a very high cost. According to the study, which evaluated the situation in an EU consisting of 15 countries, plus Switzerland and Norway, the total cost of all the means of transport for the 17 countries considered, amounted, on average, to 7.3% of their gross national product (GNP). In the case of Spain, the cost shot up 30% above the average to about 10% (exactly 9.56%) of the Spanish GNP.
The study also enumerated the causes for such a Spanish anomaly: the greatest share of transport by road instead of by rail combined with the geographic conditions and a large part of the population centralized in Madrid. The least costs, still according to the German university study, were in Switzerland, Germany, France, England and Holland, countries were the proportion of rail transport is greater.
The German study touched what was a sore spot already in 2004 that has only worsened in Spain during recent years: the shunning of the railroads in favor of other means of transportation, especially the highways. Some data highlight this problem. In 1970, the railroads had an 11.8% share of the market in transportation of goods, as opposed to 59% for the highways. By 2004 the numbers had changed. The share of the railroads had decreased to 2.6%, while that of the highways had increased to 86.1%. In 2002 only Greece made less use of its railroads than Spain as a means of moving its goods.
The progressive loss of the railroad’s share of the transport market to the highways, for which relief is now being sought, can be explained by a combination of circumstances. Among these is the focus of investments into the high speed and dynamism of the highway transportation sector, which in recent years has shown itself to be efficient, flexible and cheap. Underlying this “boom”, however, were fierce competition and brutal sub-contracting practices. According to statistics of the Ministry of Public Works and the Economy, there are 5.1 million trucks and vans and 61,000 buses on Spanish roads today. Of these, 573,000 – the only ones that require licensing – are outfitted to transport goods in excess of 3.5 tons.
One can understand the agony of the rail transport system when one considers that besides the attractive prices of shipping by truck, railroads no longer have adequate access to ports – in a country where more than half of her imports arrive by sea – or to industrial installations. The country’s major ports (Barcelona, Valencia and Algeciras), which at one time all had railroads right up to the docks, are today solid asphalt. This is a problem that is difficult to solve.
Spain has, moreover, other problems. European freight trains, although still smaller than those of the United States, are heavy (from 1,000 to 2,000 tons), long (over 700 meters), slow (18 kilometers per hour) and do not run on time. In Spain, with a negligible share of the market, trains face the problems of track gauge, sort sidings and very slow speeds of about 12 kilometers per hour average: a nightmare for any logistician.
It is true that Spain is attempting to remedy the situation and that the future depends upon the improvement of rail transport. But there remains much to be done. The Strategic Infrastructure Plan for 2005-2020 is betting on the railroad. Of the 241.4 billion Euros the plan envisions being invested, about 50% is destined for development of railroads, while “only” 27% will go to highways. However, there is an important change in the plan. If by 2004 investment in the railroad had become concentrated on high speed trains, now it also takes into account freight transport.
The Spanish railroad system consists of 13,700 kilometers of track, of which some 1,600 kilometers are dedicated to high speed passenger service. Now it is a matter of taking greater advantage of conventional tracks for transporting freight and also opening up the possibility of using the high speed lines to move products from point to point.
“The railroad has demonstrated its great capacity for attracting passengers and goods from one mode of transportation to another,” Santos Núñez, the Director for Environment of Renfe, assures us. One example is the Madrid-Barcelona high speed line, which enjoys a high rate of usage and has “stolen” passengers from the Madrid-Barcelona air shuttle. “The line,” says Núñez, “will save 200,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year.” This is the equivalent of the emissions of a city the size of Zaragoza.
The Secretary of the Socialist Trade Union’s (UGT’s) Federation of Transport, Miguel Angel Cillero, has also publicly demonstrated how the union is betting on the railroad. “Because of the high velocity train, there are a lot of empty conventional line track beds left over that could be taken advantage of with good maintenance,” he indicated during a ceremony held in Andalucía three months ago. It’s a matter of promoting the transportation of goods by train, he said, which can also “serve to reduce the environmental impact of the manufacturing sector, which consumes the most energy and emits the most greenhouse gases in the country.”
And at a time of high oil prices and concern about the environment, the railroad is a comparatively clean mode of transportation. The rail sector contaminates less because 72% of the energy it needs to function comes from electricity, while only 28% comes from diesel. Ninety percent of the energy it consumes goes to powering the trains and it is capable of making additional savings. For example, Renfe, which consumes two terawatt hours of electricity per year and around 100 million liters of diesel oil, has committed itself to reducing the amount of energy it consumes by 9.1% in 2009. This is the same goal the current conservation and efficiency plan has set for the entire transportation sector, only three years sooner.
Since, as it is presumed, better times are in the offing for transportation of goods by rail, it appears that Renfe has decided to prepare for them. The company has invested 237 million Euros in 100 new electric locomotives, which will allow for a very significant qualitative jump in reliability and haulage capacity. The first units will be ready in the fall. At the same time, Renfe will continue the conversion of the last 28 out of a total of 91 diesel locomotives, which will allow it to increase its services. With respect to load capacity, Renfe has decided to increase investment in new railcars to 72 million Euros.
To the 288 already being manufactured (100 automobile carriers, 78 hopper cars, 60 tank cars and 50 flatcars) another approximately 200 railcars are going to be added, the specifications for which the company is about to finalize.
The Ministry of Industry does not have an easy task as coordinator for half dozen ministries that are supposed to propose efficient means of conservation. To achieve significant savings in the transport sector, regulatory and managerial measures are required, as well as improvements to the infrastructure. A Challenge.
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Years of experience: 47. Registered at ProZ.com: Dec 2008.
I am retired, married, and live in Reno, Nevada (USA). All the years of my higher education and several years of my career were spent learning, teaching or translating foreign languages. For 16 years during the period from 1976 to 2008 I translated for the U.S. Government from Russian, German, Spanish and Georgian into English. I remain fascinated by the translation process that I find to be akin to playing music, programming computers or solving puzzles, and as an experienced translator and native speaker of English, I take pride in coming up with just the right equivalents in English to express the meaning contained in the foreign language source. Experienced customers of translators know that the best English language renderings are produced by experienced translators who are native speakers of English.
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