Gopet Romania: Intermodal is already here and working for decarbonization 02/12/24
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Dan Suciu, Intermodal Manager, Gopet Romania: Intermodal is already here and working for decarbonization
Although the share of intermodal transport is not close to ideal, with road remaining the favorite way to transport goods in Europe, in 2024 there is an acceleration in the pace at which end customers include the intermodal component in the transport mix.
On the one hand, says Dan Suciu, Intermodal Manager at Gopet Romania, this is a result of the market maturing by understanding how intermodal transport can truly support stability both through costs and load capacity.
Regarding capacity stability, it is important to mention the potential of intermodal to cover peak/seasonal periods, as well as periods of imbalance between export and import, by loading a higher tonnage.
"But the major accelerating factor remains the new ESG legislation that places a strong emphasis on decarbonization. All actors involved in European value chains will already submit the first mandatory non-financial reports in 2026, so we see a lot of "action" towards defining viable strategies, with clearly defined metrics and execution deadlines, especially given that generic strategies can be considered greenwashing. Last but not least, access to financing is becoming not only easier, but also with more advantageous conditions for those who go in this direction," says Dan Suciu.
An important aspect he points out is that the reports take into account not only carbon emissions, but the entire environmental impact – GHG emissions (calculated as CO2 equivalent), including the oxygen consumed during combustion and the main air pollutants – nitrogen oxide, non-methane hydrocarbons, sulfur dioxide, and suspended particles. Thus, the most sustainable transport service at present is the combined one: road over short distances with alternative fuels and rail – high-tonnage trains at the maximum allowed length over long distances, using electric locomotives.
This not only reduces the CO2 footprint, as in the case of door-to-door road transport using alternative fuels, but also avoids road congestion and greenhouse gas emissions that come from the decomposition of parts and tires of trucks and trailers used over long distances.
New connections with Western Europe
Gopet Romania continues to develop its range of intermodal transport services. Thus, starting in October, in addition to the classic routes between Curtici and Genk (Belgium) and Duisburg (Germany), the company initiated a partnership with CFL multimodal for the service connecting the Curtici terminal to Bettembourg (Luxembourg) . The main advantage offered by this partnership, emphasizes Dan Suciu, is the possibility of having 24/7 services, which brings increased flexibility.
Gopet can respond much better to possible delays caused by natural disasters. " After visiting this terminal, we were pleasantly surprised by the infrastructure, given the professionalism and openness we encountered. We have access to a 33 ha terminal, with state-of-the-art equipment, secure parking lots, equipped with all the facilities for drivers, a maintenance workshop for locomotives and wagons, cross-dock warehouses, HVO fuel station.
All of this supports us to effectively expand the coverage area of intermodal services from/to France. Moreover, using the high-speed trains between Bettembourg and Le Boulou, we have direct train connections between Romania and Spain. Also on this new setup, we have started implementing HVO trucks for semi-trailer traction at terminals in Western Europe. We intend to implement this solution for trucks in Romania as well, but we are waiting for the finalization of the HVO legislation to be able to make concrete plans,” explained Dan Suciu.
Development directions
Railway infrastructure works and extreme weather events negatively disrupted intermodal transport in 2024, which translated into lower performance and higher costs. In this context, Gopet Romania had to identify alternative solutions in order not to affect customer operations, meaning rerouting by road. Thus, the logistics operator used a significant part of its own intermodal trailer fleet – almost 50%, to secure deliveries and collections.
As the disruptive factors disappear, Gopet will return to using the intermodal fleet 100% on trains and will also continue investing in new mega XL semi-trailers. "Obviously, we will also look for funding sources to support this effort. Another direction of work is also supporting our road transport partners to invest in HVO ready trucks.
"We also plan to create new intermodal routes, but these are at the project stage. We are waiting for the 2025-2026 railway construction plan on the main intermodal corridors – Germany, Hungary and Austria, but also on those in Romania," says the Intermodal Manager of Gopet Romania.
In terms of "greening" freight transport, the intermodal transport solution is already present on the market and has a sufficient degree of maturity.
Moreover, it is an area of the industry where technological advancement is present, through new types of equipment. Therefore, it seems more feasible now to already start the transition to net zero through intermodal and to build or bring new components around it, such as electric trucks, which will probably become the "norm/standard" on the market, but in a still uncertain time horizon.
I believe that sustainability in freight transport is in its infancy, but with a rapid pace of development. Although it seems like a race to limit emissions, I believe that in the coming years we will see a calibration of processes and working methods, and this will actually lead to economic efficiency and performance. Dan Suciu, Intermodal Manager Gopet Romania.
Measuring CO2 emissions
The calculation of CO2 emissions is becoming increasingly important, in the context of new European regulations, and the use of precise calculation methods and tools is imperative. Both Gopet Romania, the railway operators with which the company works, and some of its clients use the EcoTransIT World tool to measure GHG emissions (calculated as CO2 equivalent).
The generated reports have a high level of accuracy and comply with the European standard EN 16258:2012. The calculation formula used by EcoTransIT World includes the weight of the cargo, the distance traveled by road and rail, the pollution rate of the truck, and the energy consumption of the locomotive.
The platform offers comparisons for the same route covered by combined road-rail transport, as well as by road. In addition, to support customers with their own reporting, Gopet Romania provides them with the rail transport documents of the semi-trailers contracted by them.