Opportunities and challenges in rail freight transport
The Logistics Competence Center (LKZ) Prien has been working on sustainable logistics solutions for decades. In our joint workshop in April 2022, experts from the LKZ gave us some insights into the topic of value chains in rail logistics. Here are our four most important insights that we took away from the workshop.
Less CO2 by rail
Freight trains are lower in emissions than trucks. According to calculations by the German Federal Environment Agency, the savings in CO2 emissions are around 80%. So if all freight traffic were to be shifted to rail, a decisive step would be taken toward achieving the goals agreed in the European Green Deal. However, since not every industrial park has a rail connection, freight transport by rail alone is not feasible.
2. plus point combined transport
One option for freight transport that optimally combines the strengths of road and rail is combined transport. Here, loading units such as containers or semi-trailers are largely transported by rail or ship. The truck is only used on the shortest possible route - for the pre-carriage and onward carriage.
In order to promote combined transport, there are numerous exemptions for LWK in the pre- and on-carriage, such as an increase in the permissible total weight to 44 tons and exemption from the weekend and holiday driving ban. From an economic point of view, combined transport is usually worthwhile from a distance of 300 km.
3. craneability is crucial
In addition to transhipment facilities at the terminals, standardized loading units are a prerequisite for smooth operations in combined transport. However, 90% of the semi-trailers used in Europe are not suitable for combined transport because they cannot be loaded onto the train by crane.
To eliminate this problem, the LKZ Prien has developed the NiKRASA transshipment system. This innovative system makes it possible to make non-craneable semitrailers craneable and thus shift more goods onto the railways.
4. digitization as a challenge
As there are more players involved in combined transport (such as terminal operators, freight forwarders and rail transport companies), there is an increased organizational effort. In addition, there are fixed routes and strict time windows that must be adhered to in order to ensure smooth operations.
This is complicated by the fact that there are usually no interlinked databases and platforms. Moreover, some processes are still controlled by analog. In some cases, direct transport is preferred to combined transport simply because of the organizational effort involved.
Conclusion
Overall, we have recognized that there is immense potential in rail freight transport, but we still see a lot of catching up to do in the area of digitization. As experts in digitization, we can make a contribution here to shifting even more goods to rail in the future.