Intermodal transport moves new cargo types 04/09/24
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Intermodal transport moves new categories of cargo thanks to innovation
Author: Łukasz Kuś
In strategic documents defining the directions of development of transport in Europe, it was assumed that the volume of cargo transported by rail would increase. However, structural changes in the European economy mean that more and more bulk goods are being transported, which were traditionally the main cargo transported by rail. In order to increase the amount of transported goods, the railway must reach for new types of cargo, and this can be made possible by innovative solutions introduced in combined transport.
Transport is the only sector of the European Union economy whose greenhouse gas emissions have not decreased over the last decade, which is due to the constantly growing traffic of passenger cars and trucks. As a result, in 2015, the transport sector became the largest source of GHG emissions in Europe and in this respect overtook the processing industry. In particular, freight transport within the European Union is dominated by high-emission road transport. One of the most effective methods of reducing emissions in this sector is modal shift, i.e. transferring cargo from roads to sustainable rail transport. For this reason, the EU document "Green Deal Strategy in Polish Transport 8 Sustainable and Smart Mobility - Putting European Transport on the Tracks of the Future" assumes that rail freight transport is to increase by 50% by 2030 and double by 205.
However, the implementation of this plan requires the elimination of certain technological and organizational barriers that have blocked the development of freight rail in the last decade. Traditional freight transport carried out by wagons designed for the transport of specific types of cargo such as coal, petroleum products or steel is playing an increasingly smaller role due to the transformation of the European economy. The railway has responded to this challenge by developing the intermodal transport sector, thanks to which it has been possible to transfer cargo from roads to rail transport on many sections in recent decades. This mainly concerns container transport between sea ports and the hinterland, as well as on the east-west route. It has also been possible to develop and implement intermodal trailer transport, which has become an alternative to long-distance road transport. Despite the development of the network of intermodal services, there are still categories of cargo that were transported almost exclusively by road, and combined transport did not have the capacity to transport them. Thanks to technological innovations, these limitations to modal change can be eliminated.
Refrigerated containers on wagons
One of the areas where new opportunities for combined transport are emerging is the transport of goods at controlled temperatures. Currently, refrigerated units are mainly transported within Europe by road, due to the lack of power supply for refrigerated units on rail wagons. VTG, which is one of the largest lessees of freight wagons in Europe, has implemented a solution to this problem in cooperation with SWS Power Solutions, an Austrian supplier of technology for the railways. The SWS Powerbox system is a power generator that can power refrigerated containers, tank containers, swap bodies and refrigerated trailers. This generator, using a hydraulic pump, converts the kinetic energy of the wagon wheels into electric current, which charges the battery and powers the transport refrigerated unit. During longer stops at the station, the device can be powered by a Type 2 plug. The SWS Powerbox can be mounted on 80- and 90-foot container platforms and double-pocket wagons. Because this solution does not require the use of a diesel engine, it is an ecological and energy-saving technology, thanks to which combined transport can be used on a large scale to transport food products, cosmetics, or medicines.
— With the SWS PowerBox, we provide environmentally friendly power supplies for wagons that operate independently of the locomotive or other wagons. This enables the transport of temperature-controlled goods by rail in containers or swap bodies — comments VTG.
Transport of bulk cargo in containers
A major advantage of intermodal transport is its flexibility, which is demonstrated by the ease of changing the transport route and the possibility of choosing different means of transport. This feature is particularly important when there is a problem of bottlenecks in rail transport. This happened, for example, after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when possibilities of transporting grain from that country by land were sought. At that time, the barrier turned out to be the capacity of grain terminals on the border and the small number of grain wagons in Europe. This, in turn, inspired logisticians to look for possibilities of transporting bulk products in containers, which can be reloaded at any intermodal terminal and transported by an extensive fleet of flat wagons and trucks.
The Innofreight Solutions company from Austria has developed a modular system for fast cargo transport in special containers, which have been optimized to maintain maximum cargo volume while enabling transshipment at terminals. The Austrians received financial support from EU funds to develop and implement this technology. XXL C45 containers are 2.9 by 2.9 and 6.05 m empty and weigh 2.9 t. They are therefore slightly larger and heavier than ISO 20-foot units, but they can be transported on typical flat wagons. Forklifts are used for loading and unloading. An interesting feature is the possibility of pouring the goods out of the container by tilting it using a trolley. This significantly simplifies unloading, as it does not require the use of special bags for transporting bulk cargo. These containers have reinforced walls, thanks to which loading is also done by pouring the goods directly into the unit. This significantly simplifies logistics processes, shortens time and reduces the need for labor. These containers can be used to transport various bulk goods such as wood chips, biomass, coal, aggregates, grain, metal ores and recycling materials.
Another solution for combined bulk cargo transport was developed by Container from Slovenia, which recently presented 10-, 13- and 20-foot open-top units for the transport of low- and medium-density bulk materials (<1.5t/cubic meter) such as gypsum or wood chips. These containers also allow for 180-degree rotary unloading. These 13-foot units were delivered to VTG. Hamburger Rail Service, in turn, took delivery of 30-foot open-top containers delivered by Turkrail.
Cars in containers
Innovative solutions allow for the use of combined transport to a greater extent to provide transport for the automotive industry. Although containers are already used to transport cars - such solutions were used, for example, by German manufacturers of premium cars, who sent cars by train to China, at a time when there was congestion in seaports - this is still a niche solution. Metrans, one of the largest intermodal transport operators in cooperation with SSC Railtec from Austria and Containerintroduced technology, which can increase the possibilities of intermodal transport in the field of car transport. This is a special 20-foot container, in which two vehicles can be transported, one above the other, similarly to classic car transport wagons. Thanks to this, the platform wagon can take twice as many cars. The capacity of such a train is slightly smaller than a train with wagons - flatbed trailers. The advantage, however, is greater flexibility: the container wagon can transport both cars and any other cargo, and the unloading and loading of transported vehicles can take place at any terminal.