RailPort Arad invests in the future of intermodal transport 10/12/21

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Source: https://www.intermodal-logistics.ro/railport-arad-investeste-in-viitorul-transportului-intermodal

 

RailPort Arad invests in the future of intermodal transport

Intermodal and combined freight transport are alternatives to road transport with low environmental impact. However, intermodal terminals, the binder of the combined transport ecosystem, are not always the most environmentally friendly.

Until recently, diesel-powered equipment: cranes, terminal tractors, container handling equipment, was the norm in the landscape of an intermodal terminal. They were also sources of greenhouse gas emissions and noise pollution.

RailPort Arad, the largest intermodal land terminal in Romania , is preparing for the next stage of its development and is investing in new technologies. They are needed not only to support the growing number of routes and freight flows, but also to meet the demands of a green future with a low carbon footprint.

"Although we do not plan to build another terminal in Romania, in the next period investments are planned for the expansion of RailPort Arad. This would be practically the third stage of expansion, since the company was founded in 2006. We have three development directions for the terminal: from the physical, digital and sustainability point of view, ” explains Istvan Wagner, General Manager of RailPort Arad.

The first major investment is the purchase of the fourth wheeled portal crane, which will be delivered in February-March 2022. The oldest of the portal cranes in the Curtici terminal has been in operation since 2008 and needed to be replaced. with a modern, more efficient one.

A second investment in digitization is to complete the yard management system. "The existing one is very good, but we lack the electronic entrance and exit gates on both the railway and the road side. Next year we intend to make this investment in updating the system, which will lead to faster operations within the terminal. "

Also, the railway lines in the terminal will be extended from 650 m to the European standard of 740 m with the locomotive included. "The railway corridor allows the operation of 740 m trains and we already receive quite a few trains in the terminal over 700 m. The extension of the lines will eliminate train breaking operations, which will increase the performance in the terminal and reduce costs. With the completion of this investment, we will make a big leap forward, "said Istvan Wagner.

Sustainability is also an important item on RailPort Arad's investment agenda in the next period. The first step in this direction, says Istvan Wagner, is to replace diesel terminal equipment with hybrid or electric ones. Initially, the terminal tractors will be replaced, although they comply with the Euro 6 pollution regulations . “

A hub between Turkey and Western Europe

One of the successes of 2020 for RailPort Arad was the realization of the connection project between Halkali, Turkey and Curtici, Romania. "A year ago we managed to achieve one of our great goals, to become a hub between Western Europe and Turkey. This project is carried out jointly by the partners of our company, Trade Trans Group and Rail Cargo Group. We now have two pairs of trains running weekly between Halkali and Arad, and by the end of this year we will have another train on this route. Given the forecasts of the railway operator and the shipping companies involved in this project, in the first quarter of 2022 it is very likely that we will have the fourth weekly train between Turkey and Romania. " The service connects Istanbul to destinations in Central and Western Europe via Curtici.

Another novelty is the connection with Dresden, a semi-trailer train service inaugurated in September 2021. The new connection, says Istvan Wagner, encompasses on the one hand a flow of goods between Curtici and Rostock, Germany, but which was diverted to Dresden as a result of the change of production locations in Germany, and in addition managed to bring additional traffic to the terminal. "Volumes have increased even now instead of one pair of trains a week between Curtici and Rostock, we have two pairs of trains between Curtici and Dresden."

32 pairs of trains operated weekly

32 pairs of trains arrive and depart weekly at the Curtici terminal. On three routes - Curtici - Genk, Curtici - Cologne and Curtici - Halkali there are open trains, where any shipping company or importer / manufacturer can make reservations within the limits of places, the demand for this type of train being higher.

There are daily departures from Cologne from the Arad terminal, and 8 pairs of trains a week often run to Genk.

On the other routes from Curtici there are complete company trains: Duisburg (3 pairs of trains per week), Lambach (3 pairs of trains per week), Herne (5 pairs of trains per week), Bremenhaven (1 train per week, sometimes even 2).

"For 2022 we are in talks for a project that means a connection, with two trains a week with a port in Northern Europe - Rotterdam, Antwerp or Hamburg. These volumes came to Constanta or to Adriatic ports, but now there is a shortage of smaller capacity ships used to serve these ports. The ships have been redirected to the USA and are large customers in Europe who are considering unloading cargo for Romania in ports in Northern Europe. It is a project we are working on and it has all the chances to materialize. However, this will be a temporary link until the blockages in the supply chains are resolved, ” explains Istvan Wagner.

Containers versus semi-trailers

Both containers and semi-trailers have been handled on the Arad terminal, in recent years, their share in RailPort Arad traffic increasing. "Containers have been predominant in our traffic for a long time. In 2019 we had an equally significant number of container lifts and semi-trailers, and since then the trend has been in favor of semi-trailers. Today we have 60% semi-trailers handled in the terminal and 40% containers, ” explains Istvan Wagner.

This trend has created technical challenges not only for the terminal but also for railway operators, as some semi-trailers, especially the older ones, cannot be loaded and unloaded from the train with cranes. Therefore, the terminal has chosen to use the NIKRASA system, which makes it possible to tranship semi-trailers that cannot be lifted by crane. The system is used to operate the Curtici-Cologne train. Although the procedure has some limitations, in the sense that loading and unloading times are longer and the risk of damage to semi-trailers is higher, this contributes to greening traffic.

"The system is a small contribution to the environment. By using this system, we manage to get a truck off the European roads every 12 hours, ” explains the general manager of RailPort Arad, adding that soon the balance will tilt again in favor of the containers. "In the 3-5 year horizon, I expect this trend to reverse."

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