Tag Archive for: railway intermodality

Rail as key strategic freight transport

Railway is key part of the Spanish and European commitment to decarbonise the freight transport sector. Initiatives such as ‘ecoincentivos’, digitalisation, and automation, or “usage per load volume” are some of the challenges and characteristics that have been identified to help include rail as strategic freight transport.

Spain has the most kilometres of high-speed rail (3,402) in the European Union, and is the second country in the world (only surpassed by China). Nevertheless, despite these impressive numbers, beyond the road infrastructure equipment there are still several services linked to this transport that need to be developed, including the developments of digitalisation and the lack of equipment for its use. 

Within the area of freight transport (discounting passenger traffic), the commitment to multimodal supply chains could be the key to achieving the ambitious objectives of the European Union toward environmental goals; especially by making use of an existing and easily applicable means of transport such as rail. 

 

SURCO Operations II, que será en Madrid del 23 al 31 de enero 2023.

SURCO Operations II, que será en Madrid del 23 al 31 de enero 2023.

 

According to the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER), transport accounts for 31% of energy consumption of land transport in the European Union. Rail, for its part, is seven times more efficient than road transport. In terms of emissions, rail accounts for 0.4% of all transport. If only freight transport were to be taken into account, the railway would play a fundamental role to reach a sustainable system and meet the global objectives set, since the train emits 80% less CO2 than its equivalent by road, according to sources from El Economista. In addition to reducing emissions, it reduces external costs by up to 50%: a train replaces 40 lorries and thus helps decongest roads, reduce accidents and lowers noise. It also consumes six times less energy and is eight times better in terms of air pollution.

 

Within freight transport, commitment to using multimodal supply chains could be the key to achieving global objectives, especially by making use of an existing and easily applicable means of transport such as rail.

According to Xavier Flores, the General Secretary of Infrastructures of the Spanish Government, one of the challenges towards achieving the expansion of this system is the fact that only between 4% and 5% of the total freight is moved by rail in Spain. 

 

The most efficient freight transport 

The following factors can be attributed to the efficiency of rail transport:  

  1. Low resistance: thanks to the wheel tread, the elastic deformation of the wheel-rail contact is comparatively low, as both elements are made of steel.  
  1. Optimal aerodynamic drag: In long trains, the friction depends mainly on the cross-section of the vehicle, not the length. This results in minimal energy consumption. 
  1. High-capacity transport: especially when the train reaches European standards of 740 m in length, and by boosting the electrification of railway lines, rail transport becomes a much more sustainable and competitive mode of transport than road for medium and long distances.  

Key for decarbonizing the transport sector 

There are several agreements that have created a roadmap for transport to reduce emissions: the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement and the Green Deal in Europe are just some of them.  

In 2011, the European Commission’s White Paper set a target of shifting 30% of road freight transport over 300 km to rail or inland waterways by 2030. Since then, European governments, institutions and companies have been working to reach agreements to tackle climate change. Combined or multimodal transport has been presented as the most economically and environmentally sustainable option solution for achieving this goal.  

‘Ecoincentivos’: a commitment to the environment 

To get on board the decarbonisation train and encourage the use of rail for freight transport, the Spanish Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (Mitma) promoted the ‘eco-incentives’ programme. This was designed to last for the upcoming three years within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. 

This initiative has encountered some setbacks, as it is only applicable for those companies that have or will see a minimum growth of 8% in the volume of cargo transported. During the first half of the year this figure was being reached by almost all rail companies in the sector. Nevertheless, starting from June 2022, there was a radical turn downwards experienced by the dependence on such sectors as: chemical, aluminium, metallurgical or automotive, industries which in turn have also seen a fall in their activities, according to sources from the newspaper Transporte XXI. 

Because of this, the Ministry of Transport is considering reformulating its aid plan in view of the decrease in activity suffered by railway companies in the second half of the year. However, the unused part of the total allocated budget for the current year (20 million) will not be lost, but will be rolled over to 2023. 

Furthermore, in accordance with the proposals set out in the “Safe, Sustainable and Connected Mobility Strategy” 2030 of the Mitma (Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda of Spain), called “Intermodal and Smart Logistics Chains”, the Mercancías 30 initiative was announced and will be launched, aiming to promote rail freight transport as the backbone of multimodal logistics chains. From the dual perspective of the post-COVID19 economic recovery and the achievement of the objectives of decarbonisation and sustainability of transport. This programme will allocate around 8.8 billion euros for the development of rail freight, both for infrastructure (6.8 billion euros) and equipment (2 billion euros). All actions are to be carried out before 2030.  

The long road towards digitisation  

The road to rail digitisation is a long one, with outdated systems and obsolete technology being among the main challenges to optimisation. According to McKinsey’s report titled ‘Digitizing Europe’s railways: A call to action‘ (2020), despite its robustness, Europe’s railways have outdated systems that are increasingly difficult to maintain. Some major European railways have several types of interlockings, some of which are more than a century old and use very obsolete technology. 

According to a PierNext article – an initiative of the Port Authority of Barcelona – to become the transport mode of the decarbonised Europe, railway must meet five digital axes: 

  1. Digitalising and interconnecting infrastructures 

  1. Automation as the basis for its operations and infrastructures 

  1. Processing and exploiting data 

  1. Run everything in the Cloud 

  1. Safety and security as top priorities  

The European rail sector can continue to promote technology systems. Digitalisation is key to this, especially when looking to become the central freight transport system in Europe and Spain.  The challenge is significant, as the window of opportunity is narrow, and regardless of their interests or wills, the whole industry must be willing to collaborate to drive change. 

The potential gains in cost and capacity efficiency, as well as the benefits of reduced CO2 emissions, are considerable, both within and outside Spain and Europe. To achieve this, operators, governments and companies must cooperate and act to promote the use of rail and co-modality as the most economically and environmentally sustainable response to today’s global challenges. 

 

Look out for our upcoming courses: SURCO Madrid 2023 – Escola Europea – Intermodal Transport

Participants del curso SURCO Aragón, octubre 2022

Aragon commits to intermodality in rail transport through SURCO

The SURCO Aragón training, promoted by the Escola Europea and ALIA – Clúster Logístico de Aragón, focused on collaborative dynamics and the optimisation of national and international railway operations.

The SURCO – Simple Use of Railway Connections – courses delve into intermodal rail operations within ports and rail terminals, focusing on rail’s characteristics and advantages. In this edition of the course, held from 26 September to 4 October 2022 between Zaragoza, Barcelona and Perpignan, professionals from different parts of the Aragonese and Barcelona region came together to share the fundamental elements of rail logistics and apply them to reality through visits to operators and through the resolution of a practical case study. The training was organised and created in alliance with ALIA – the logistics cluster based in Zaragoza – and with the support of companies such as ViiA, the Zaragoza Maritime Terminal, the Port of Barcelona, Renfe, SLISA, Aragón Plataforma Logística, ADIF and the terminals of Ambrogio, Morrot and APM Terminals.

The training complies with the aims set by the European Union to increase the use of rail motorways and rail traffic in general as an incentive to promote sustainable mobility in the region. It is in this context that knowledge of the different aspects surrounding rail freight transport is not only beneficial for students and professionals but indispensable for companies involved in freight transport. This is where the offer of training courses that focus on local and international aspects, as SURCO Aragón did, take on special significance.

In this edition, 23 professionals from different freight transport companies, freight forwarders and import and export companies from Aragon, alongside others interested in the use of rail transport, were able to understand and subsequently apply the different elements necessary to offer efficient solutions by the inclusion of rail in the multimodal chain.

Theoretical classes focused on the management of railway systems, the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), the impact of rail transport on the environment, procurement and international rail transport, and cost analysis of rail transport chains.

To apply the theoretical concepts, the course incorporated several visits to the railway infrastructures on the border between Spain and France: ViiA’s Le Boulou railway lorry terminal, the Zaragoza Maritime Terminal, the PLAZA intermodal terminal (ADIF), the Ambrogio intermodal terminal, the Morrot railway terminal, the ADIF traffic control centre in Zaragoza and the APM Terminals container terminal.

In addition to the visits and classes, participants worked on a practical case study in groups, which allowed them to put into practice everything they had learned.

For more information about the course, you can head to: SURCO Aragon 2022 – Escola Europea – Intermodal Transport.

Icon for the SURCO Operations course

Rail takes centre stage in the Escola’s first in-person SURCO course of 2022

With the European Year of the Rail coming to an end in December 2021, the Escola’s team continued the momentum and began the new year with an edition of the SURCO Operations II course in national and international railway operations.

SURCO–Simple Use of Railway COnnections – courses take an in-depth look at intermodal rail operations within ports and rail terminals, focusing on the characteristics and benefits of this type of transport. Railway corridors are continuing to grow with the European Commission spending more resources on the development of interoperable and efficient railway motorways that connect all the countries of the economic block (and beyond). Knowledge of the different aspects that surround freight transport along this mode can be extremely beneficial to today’s students and professionals. This is where the SURCO courses come in handy.

Designed for professionals from freight transport companies, freight forwarders and import and export companies, as well as others interested in the use of rail transport, the course carries out an analysis of the different elements necessary to offer efficient intermodal transport solutions. On this occasion, companies such as ViiA, Terminal Maritima de Zaragoza, BASF, LPF Perthus, Renfe, Adif and Puertos del Estado have collaborated with the Escola’s team in the organisation and promotion of the course.

The group of 18 participants came from a myriad of companies, which included public administrations (such as the Port Authorities of Cartagena, Barcelona and Tarragona) and private companies such as rail operators, freight forwarders and import/export companies  (including Raminatrans, BioIbérica SAU, Medway and Move Intermodal, among others). Initially scheduled to take place in person, the course had to take a more hybrid format due to the deteriorating situation of the ongoing global health crisis. The theoretical classes focused on management of railway systems, European TEN-T, the impact of rail transport on the environment, contracts and international rail transport, and the costs analysis of railway transport chains. The course included several visits to discover the various railway infrastructures on the border between Spain and France (Port Bou terminal, LFP (transborder tunnel of Pertús) and the intermodal terminal Ambrogio), as well as a case study that made the participants put everything they had learnt into practice. The format of the training impressed all of the participants and offered an all-encompassing vision of freight transport by rail.

Participants of the SURCO Operations II 2022

This past week the Escola also organised the first course of 2022– an ad hoc training on Maritime Logistics in hybrid format for 39 students of the Universidad del Pacifico in Peru. The Certification in Maritime Logistics took place over 4 days in Barcelona and included practical workshops on a Ro-Pax vessel of Grimaldi Lines as well as visits to the Port of Barcelona and its terminals.

For more information about the Escola, you can head to the website https://escolaeuropea.eu/training/our-courses/#surco .

 

Icon for the SURCO Operations course

The Escola Europea to kick off 2022 with a course in railway intermodality

Between the 24th to the 28th of January 2022, the Escola will bring back the in-person railway intermodality courses with the newest edition of the SURCO Operations II course. The course offers advanced training in intermodal logistics and international and national railway freight transport.

The training is directed at professionals linked to companies involved with freight transport, shippers and/or port authorities.

The course analyses the different elements required for the provision of rail services and gives the necessary training and information to those who manage logistics chains in which the railroad is seen as a cost-effective alternative for services, cost or time. It also promotes the use of rail transport by exploring its characteristics.

The lecturers of the course are provided by relevant companies in the railway transport sector:   Viia, TMZ Zaragoza, Port de Barcelona, BASF, LFP Perthus, Puertos del Estado, Renfe and Adif. Taking place over 5 days, the course will combine both theoretical lectures on the state of the art of European railways with practical visits to terminals in Barcelona, Zaragoza, and Perpignan (France).

This SURCO course marks a shift back to the Escola’s signature experiential courses following the drastic changes that took place in 2020 and 2021 to help mitigate the effects of the global health crisis.

For more information, you can head to the programme website: https://escolaeuropea.eu/calendar/surco-operations-ii-2022/.

Tag Archive for: railway intermodality

Nothing Found

Sorry, no posts matched your criteria