PARTNERSHIP LEVERAGES DIGITALISATION TO BOOST RAIL FREIGHT TRANSPORT

A new foundation partnership has been announced by 19 rail freight companies to accelerate the growth of digitalisation and data sharing across the sector.

Under the leadership of the Rotterdam Port Authority, this new foundation will be promoted over the next two years and comprise diverse parties involved in the rail sector, namely, Contargo, CTT Rotterdam, Danser, DB Cargo Nederland, DistriRail, European Gateway Services, Haeger & Schmidt Logistics, KombiRail Europe, LTE, Neska Intermodal, Optimodal, Portshuttle, Rail Force One, Raillogix, Rotterdam Rail Feeding, RTB Cargo, and Trimodal Europe. Hutchison Ports ECT Rotterdam and the Rotterdam World Gateway Terminal are also included in the project. 

In a prepared statement, Matthijs van Doorn, Commercial Director, Port of Rotterdam Authority explained: “Due to our sustainability objectives, the Port of Rotterdam Authority, together with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and the logistic parties, will focus on strong rail transport growth in the next few years,” he said.

Iwan van der Wolf, Managing Director, Portbase, the provider of the Port Community System, highlighted the benefits of digitalisation to rail activities. “The exchange of information between the chain parties is digitised further, allowing the possibility of reporting trains to the terminal plus information will be available about the composition of the train.” 

Van Doorn added that the transparency and insights that arise from greater use and application of digitisation processes can help contribute to improved predictability of rail freight transport as a product, which in turn means it is possible to optimise the use of the rail network, trains and employees as growth in rail freight traffic occurs.

With over 400 weekly rail services starting and ending at the Port of Rotterdam, the port authority is targeting movement of 50 per cent more freight on Dutch railroads within 10 years. This is the equivalent of cargo on the network rising from 40 million tonnes to over 60 million tonnes.