Intermodal transport chains: making transport carbon neutral and digital

Climate change and the measures being taken to mitigate it are also increasing the pressure on the transport industry to make its transport chains as emission-free as possible. In this context, combined transport and intermodal transport chains with a strong focus on rail freight are touted as one of the best ways to achieve this goal.

But how do goods get onto the railways and how can more efficient and environmentally friendly intermodal transport chains be created?

Rail freight – the challenge of the first and last mile

Some companies have their own rail connection, either for historical reasons or because of the high volume of goods they transport, such as tank wagons for mineral oil or bulk goods such as coal and ore, which are common in today’s manufacturing industry. For these companies, direct shipment and receipt of goods by rail can be mapped. For the vast majority of shippers and receivers, however, this is not possible, either because a private siding is not economically viable (e.g. the volume of traffic does not justify it) or because it is physically impossible to build a siding.

For all these shippers, delivery and collection is often only possible by truck. Often the entire journey to the final destination is by road, either because of a lack of knowledge about how to organise and run an efficient intermodal transport chain, or because of the more favourable economic conditions offered by end-to-end truck transport. In the age of diesel trucks, however, this is the exact opposite of emission-free transport.

Intermodal transport chains: combining road and rail for sustainable freight transport

The solution to reducing greenhouse gases lies in combining different modes of transport. This is primarily the combined use of road and rail for transport, known as intermodal transport. A classic intermodal transport chain is where containers are delivered from overseas by ocean-going vessel, transported further by rail and then delivered to the recipient by truck.

When road and rail are combined, the first and last stages of the journey (the so-called first and last mile), i.e. the collection and delivery of the goods, are often carried out by road, while the main part of the journey is carried out by rail, which is more environmentally friendly because it is more energy efficient. To do this, the goods are transported by truck on cranable loading units (such as swap bodies or containers) from the point of dispatch to a transhipment terminal. There, the goods are loaded onto a train and transported as close as possible to the destination. From there, the final leg of the journey to the consignee is again by truck. In theory, this could also be done with other loading units, such as semi-trailers. However, most of these are not cranable, which means they cannot be lifted and loaded onto the train. In recent years, however, many alternative technical solutions have been developed that allow these trailers to be loaded onto a train.

The possibilities of physically moving more goods by rail are therefore increasing because of intermodal transport chains. But how big is the potential of intermodal transport chains and are digital tools helping to promote them?

Huge potential for intermodal chains: 70% of transport by road

If transport performance in Germany is measured in terms of tonnage and distance travelled (tonne-kilometres), then, according to the Pro-Rail Alliance, only just under 20% of transport performance is carried out by rail, while more than 70% is carried out by road. This shows the huge potential for rail freight, which is more environmentally friendly, to play a greater role in supply chains than is currently the case. To achieve this, shippers need to be encouraged to use rail as much as possible, and forwarders need to be motivated to offer more rail transport.

One example of an already successful model for intermodal transport chains is the so-called port-hinterland traffic. In this case, containers with similar destinations are loaded from the ocean-going vessel onto trains at the port of destination and then transported directly by rail to the final destination, provided the recipient has a rail connection. Alternatively, the goods are delivered to the consignee by road on the final leg of the journey.

Accelerating the shift from road to rail with digital solutions

How can more goods be transported by rail? There are a number of levers that can be used to integrate rail freight more effectively into the transport chain. These include the more competitive prices of the intermodal transport chain compared to road transport alone, or the greater capacity available on rail. But greater market transparency and the simplest possible transport handling also help to achieve this goal. While the first two solutions mainly require political and infrastructure operators, digital solutions play an important role in market transparency and simplified transport processing.

Market transparency, which shows which road and rail operators are available and which of them offer a seamless transport chain, is very difficult to achieve because there are so many companies in the market. However, more and more companies are developing platforms that map these transport chains with their providers and make them bookable for the shipper or forwarder. This makes it easier for shippers to find providers and for forwarders to search for additional transport companies to develop the best possible offer for their customers.

Intermodal transport chains: making transport carbon neutral and digital for easier transport processing

Easy transport processing also helps to bring more goods onto the railways.In addition to placing orders, easy transport processing includes services such as document management (e.g. for the provision of shipping documents), support with customs clearance or tracking and tracing.It also includes taking out transport insurance and handling claims in a transparent manner, as well as settling transport costs.

To leverage the latter two levers, it is advisable to integrate platform solutions into the shipper’s and forwarder’s own IT systems.This helps to reduce the administrative burden and to create the most seamless information chain possible, so that all parties involved in the transport are informed quickly and can react to events as easily as possible. One example is the connection of a forwarder’s transport management system to a transport platform in order to be able to offer the shipper’s orders or available freight capacity directly on the transport platform.The transfer of freight data to the service provider’s own billing system also minimises administrative work and thus increases competitiveness.

Sustainability through intermodal transport chains requires digital solutions

What is clear is that the pressure for sustainable transport will increase. This could be because shippers want to reduce their carbon footprint on their own initiative in order to be able to compete with other providers, or because politicians create the right framework, for example by increasing the price of CO2 certificates. The latter in turn makes fossil fuel transport more expensive and thus increases the attractiveness of intermodal transport chains. In particular, the combination of ongoing digitalisation and new players with digital solutions in the transport market is putting additional pressure on traditional transport service providers. They have to open up to the new opportunities and participate in the market for intermodal transport chains, either as a provider or as a customer. The digital solutions described are available to all market players. The question is, who will be fast enough to embrace the digital transformation of the transport sector in time to create better offers and services in the area of intermodal transport chains, taking into account environmental and economic aspects?