Eur. Transp. Res. Rev.

(2016) 8: 18
DOI 10.1007/s12544-016-0204-x

ORIGINAL PAPER

How to make modal shift from road to rail possible

in the European transport market, as aspired to in the EU
Transport White Paper 2011
Dewan Md Zahurul Islam 1 & Stefano Ricci 2 & Bo-Lennart Nelldal 3

Received: 20 November 2015 / Accepted: 17 May 2016 / Published online: 7 June 2016
# The Author(s) 2016. This article is published with open access at SpringerLink.com

Abstract Results The authors find that the service quality can be
Introduction The total demand for freight transport in Europe improved by better planning, application of appropriate
has increased significantly in recent decades, but most of it has ICT-systems and adoption of an integrated supply chain
been handled by road transport. To fulfil the modal shift tar- approach. A more customer-orientated service can also be
gets set in the EU White Paper 2011, it will be necessary to achieved by further deregulation of rail. There is also an
double rail’s market share from today’s 18 %, by 2050. urgent need for a faster implementation of Rail Freight
Translating this into reality means rail will have to handle 3 Corridors (RFC). As well as liner trains, future rail freight
to 4 times the cargo volume it does today. With this in mind, services should be offering end-point trains, with semi/
the paper develops a vision of an efficient rail freight system in fully automated loading/unloading equipment in hub-ter-
2050. minals, as well as terminals at sidings to improve the avail-
Methodology To achieve the above objective, the research ability of intermodal operation.
applies literature survey and group discussion methodology Conclusion To offer a competitive price and reliable ser-
and applying a system approach. Keeping on board the EU vice, a reduction in operating costs will be vital by
Transport White Paper 2011 modal shift targets, as well as implementing a number of measures, including operation
future freight demand and customer requirements, the current of heavier and longer trains, wider loading gauge, higher
research attempts to answer the following three critical average speed, and better utilisation of wagon space and all
questions: assets. This will bring increased capacity, as well as better
timetable planning, signalling systems and infrastructure
& How can rail offer the quality of service that will attract improvements.
customers and fulfil the targets?
& How can rail offer its customers a price that is competitive Keywords Rail freight . Customer requirements .
with road? Improvements . Modal shift . White paper 2011 . 2050 .
& How can rail offer the capacity to meet the increased de- Europe
mand from modal shift?

This is part of Topical Collection on The Future of rail freight transport 1 Introduction
and logistics

Transport is an essential service sector, consisting mainly

* Dewan Md Zahurul Islam
dewan.islam@newcastle.ac.uk of road, rail, waterways and air, which facilitates mobility
and growth for regions and countries. The necessity for an
improved and integrated transport sector has been inten-
1
NewRail - Centre for Railway Research, Newcastle University, sified by the expansion of the European Union, due to the
Newcastle upon Tyne NE17RU, UK
fact that today’s European transport system originates
2
DICEA BSapienza^ Università di Roma, 00184 Rome, Italy from nationally focused systems, developed over many
3
KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 100 44 Stockholm, Sweden years, with different technical and operational abilities,
18 Page 2 of 14 Eur. Transp. Res. Rev. (2016) 8: 18

standards and service qualities. In recent years, in partic- identify customer needs and suggest ways to meet them.
ular since 1991, the European Commission (EC) has made Three critical questions for the rail sector are:
efforts to change this nationally focused and segmented
approach - particularly acute in the rail sector - into a & How can rail offer the quality of service that will attract
Europe-wide, integrated and interoperable transport sys- customers and fulfil the targets?
tem. Examples of such efforts in the rail sector take the & How can rail offer its customers a price that is competitive
form of Directives and Railway Reform Packages, includ- with road?
ing Directive 91/440/EEC that signalled an important & How can rail offer the capacity to meet the increased de-
turning point for rail liberalisation in Europe. Another mand from modal shift?
important milestone was the First Railway Package,
consisting of three Directives: The current research attempts to determine, from a techni-
cal and operational point of view, how to develop the rail
& Directive 2001/12/EU that is designed to clarify the for- freight system to fulfil the targets, from today and beyond
mal relationship between the state, the infrastructure man- the state-of-the-art.
ager and the railway undertakings (operators);
& Directive 2001/13/EU that sets out the conditions for 1.1 Objective
freight operators to be granted a licence to operate services
on the European rail network; and The current research evaluates the major trends in the
& Directive 2001/14/EU that introduces a defined policy for European rail freight system, forecasts future demand levels
capacity allocation and infrastructure charging [40]. and categories, and identifies customer needs along with sug-
gested ways to make the European rail freight system capable
Reform efforts were continued in the Second, Third and of meeting them, by 2050. The main objectives of this re-
Fourth Railway Packages, where the Directives were sub- search are to:
sequently revised to make the European rail freight (and
passenger) sector fit to meet the needs of operators and & Elaborate the state-of-the-art of the European rail freight
customers. Ultimately, the reform measures were aimed at system;
creating a market environment where rail freight operators & Briefly describe some scenarios for rail freight demand up
can gain access, compete and gain due market share, and to 2050, using extracts from forecasts and taking into ac-
contribute to a sustainable society [10, 11]. Towards this count the EU white paper;
aim, on 28 March 2011 the EC published its Transport & Analyse existing and expected future customer require-
White Paper BRoadmap to a Single European Transport ments for different goods types;
Area – Towards a competitive and resource efficient trans- & Identify measures that will make rail more cost effective,
port system^. but not to make socio-economic calculations;
In addition to competitiveness, another important EC pol- & Analyse progress beyond the state-of-the-art for vehicles,
icy objective is to achieve a long‐term, sustainable transport intermodal systems and operation principles and identify
system. To achieve this the EC has set the transport sector remaining gaps towards 2030/2050;
reduced emissions targets. The goals set for the rail mode & Provide an insight into an efficient rail freight system that
can be summarised as: can fulfil EU targets, by 2050.

& 30 % of road freight over 300 km should shift to other

modes, such as rail or waterborne transport, by 2030, and 1.2 Methodology
more than 50 % by 2050, facilitated by efficient, green
freight corridors. The current research applies a qualitative methodology to
& By 2050, a European high‐speed rail network should be elaborate the state-of-the-art of the European rail freight sys-
completed; the length of the existing high‐speed rail net- tem, to identify the future needs to 2050, and to suggest some
work should triple by 2030 and maintain a dense railway steps to meet those needs. Literature surveys are conducted,
network in all Member States. reviewing the current body of knowledge in the field, such as
& By 2050, the majority of medium‐distance passenger relevant scientific conference and journal papers, publicly
transport should be by rail [11]. available reports from both EC and national Government
funded projects, and working documents that have already
Bearing these targets in mind, an insight into the transport been published, are in the process of publication, or whose
sector is crucial - especially for rail - and the current research results are available to the researchers due to their involve-
attempt to identify current trends, quantify future demand, ment in other research.
Eur. Transp. Res. Rev. (2016) 8: 18 Page 3 of 14 18

To achieve a comprehensive scenario and to complement from the railway sector, but also for and from other modes and
the literature survey findings, the research also conducted two the industry as a whole.
group discussions. [26] suggests that a group discussion en-
courages cooperation among members to find a solution to a
dilemma. [6] used a small (2–3 participants) discussion group. 2 Rail freight trends in Europe
[26] warns that a large group discussion may form a barrier to
achieving consensus. Considering these suggestions and ap- 2.1 Freight transport volume 1970–2011
plications, the current research used two medium sized groups
of 5–6 participants, made up of the researchers’ peers in the The total transport demand for the EU15 (consisting of so-
academic, policy, technical and operational areas of the rail called ‘old’ members, before 1995) has been analysed from
freight sector. The group discussions were held on 21 January 1970 to 2011; for the EU12 (‘new’ members, since 1995) and
2014 in Rome, Italy and on 23 September 2014 in Berlin, EU27 (consisting of member countries, 2013) the date range is
Germany. The early findings of the research were presented 1995–2011. Total demand and rail market share have been
to the first group of six participants, followed by a brain calculated using the sum of rail, road and inland waterways.
storming session. The objectives were to obtain feedback on Between 1970 and 2007 total freight transport volume, in
the progress of the research so far, to identify any gaps, and to billion tonne-kilometres in the EU15, increased by an average
take direction on any missing data. The second group discus- of 2.5 % per year, then decreased until 2011. Most of the
sion, held in Berlin with five participants, evaluated the most increase volume has been transported by road, resulting in
important development trends, the long term (2050) and me- its significantly increased market share, from 52 % in 1970
dium term (2030) requirements, and what is still missing to to 78 % in 2007. Rail freight volume has been either constant
achieve the modal shift policy objectives. A specific objective or decreasing over the same period; overall rail market share
of the second group discussion was to gain consensus on decreased from 36 % in 1970 to 15 % in 1995, though it then
specific topics and sub-topics (see Table 1, at the end of this stabilised and has slightly increased in recent years.
paper) on the direction of the future rail freight system of 2030
and 2050, with the vision of ‘incremental’ (or intermediate) 2.2 Transport modes and their market shares
and ‘step’ change in the rail freight sector.
In the freight transport system, technical development has Road transport is available in all countries and totally dominates
been generally incremental; for example, the performance of short‐haul (in particular <100 km). A trucking service is also an
locomotives has improved gradually from steam. The tractive essential component of a rail and waterways door-to-door inter-
power of the locomotive has often determined the change modal service, for pickup at origin and delivery at destination.
needed for improved operation of trains and infrastructure The trucking industry carries a significant volume over very
and here a ‘step’ or ‘complete’ change in the system can be long distances and offers a competitive and reliable service.
argued for in the long term (e.g. 2050). For example, we can Analysis of the ‘EU Transports in figures - statistical pock-
see that the brake control should be changed from ‘pneumatic’ etbook 2014’ [13], shows that rail is available in most EU
to ‘fully electric’, rather than the intermediate change to ‘radio countries, but that its market share varies widely. The highest
controlled end-of-train (EOT)’. From the two group discus- transport volumes are in Germany and Poland, but rail’s mar-
sions, there was consensus that there is no ‘one correct answer ket share is highest in Switzerland and Austria. Inland water-
to every question’, because market development trends will ways - rivers and canals - are available and used in countries
evolve over time and crises (e.g. the ongoing economic reces- like Germany, France and the Netherlands, mostly for bulk
sion since 2008) will interrupt forecasted or expected transports, as well as feeder transport of containers to and from
development. big international ports, like Rotterdam and Antwerp.
An important aspect of this research was the necessity to
restructure the information collected from different sources to 2.3 Rail freight volume
make it compatible, comparable and consistent, Europe-wide.
Such necessity arises when there is a problem of selecting the Rail freight in EU27 decreased from 551 to 526 billion tonne-
most adequate and appropriate information collected from kilometres between 1970 and 1990, decreasing further to 404
varying sources, and in some cases contrasting findings, as in 2000, with the removal of the rail monopoly in EU12. The
well as information about ongoing developments on which next years saw an increase to 440 by 2008 but, despite con-
publications are not yet publicly available. The current re- tinued improvement in EU12, the onset of economic crisis
search recognises that, with a long term perspective such as brought an overall decrease in EU27, to 420 in 2011 [12]
2050, it is necessary to not only investigate what is on the (see Fig. 1). Most of the freight volume (59 % in tonnes)
market today, but also what may come onto the market from carried by the railways in 2012 was domestic (with 36 %
a world‐wide, best practice point of view - not only for and international and 6 % transit freight). The share of
18 Page 4 of 14 Eur. Transp. Res. Rev. (2016) 8: 18

Table 1 Currently used equipment, methods and common standard, with required future incremental and total system changes

Equipment Common standard Incremental changea System changea

Wagons
Running gear Different 50 % track-friendly All track-friendly
Brakes Cast brakes LL brakes Disc brakes
Brake control Pneumatic Radio controlled EOT Fully electronic
Couplers Screw couplers Automatic couplers on some trains Automatic couplers on all trains
Max Speed 100 km/h 120 km/h 120–160 km/h
Max Axle load 22.5 tonnes 25 tonnes 30 tonnes
Floor height lowest 1200 mm 1000 mm 800 mm
IT-system Way-side Some in wagons All radio controlled
Locomotives
Tractive effort kN 300 350 400
Axle load 20 tonnes 22.5 tonnes 25 tonnes
Propulsion Electric Some duo-locos All duo-locos
Fuel Diesel LNG/Diesel LNG/electric
Drivers Always drivers Some driverless All driverless
Trains
Train lengths in RFC 550–850 m 750–1050 m 1050–2000 m
Train weight 2 200 tonnes 4 400 tonnes 10 000 tonnes
Infrastructure
Rail Freight Corridors 18,000 km 25,000 km 50,000 km
Signalling systems Different ERTMS L2 in RFC ERTMS L3 in RFC
Standard rail weight UIC 60 kg/m 70 kg/m 70 kg/m
Speed standard freight 100 km/h 100–120 km/h 120 km/h
Speed fast freight 100 km/h 120–160 km/h 120–160 km/h
Traffic system
Wagonload Marshalling - feeder Marshalling - feeder Automatic marshalling
Some liner trains Liner trains - duo-loco
Trainload Remote controlled All remote controlled
Intermodal Endpoint-trains Endpoint-trains Endpoint-trains
Liner trains with stops at siding Liner trains fully automated loading
High Speed Freight National post trains International post and parcel trains International post and parcel train network
IT /monitoring systems
Some different Standardised Full control of all trains and consignments
a
Adapted to market needs on each product and line

international transport slightly decreased, and domestic trans- destination by feeder train transport. ‘Intermodal traffic’ refers
portation slightly increased, from 2004 to 2012 (see Fig. 2). to cargo in containers, swap‐bodies and trailers used for feeder
Rail freight operational models comprise different prod- transport, that are loaded on trains at terminals for long‐dis-
ucts: trainload, single wagon load and intermodal. These tance transportation. SWL volume has gradually decreased in
models have approximately 50 %, 25 % and 25 % respectively favour of trainload and intermodal [7, 18, 39]. In contrast, the
of the tonne‐kilometres in Europe. ‘Trainload’ refers to dedi- freight volume carried by intermodal train has increased,
cated trains operating for a specific company, or cargo type, mainly due to the higher flow of containers through maritime
e.g. ore, coal and timber trains. ‘Wagonload’ refers to conven- ports.
tional SWL (Single Wagon Load) from customers, transported
by a feeder rail freight operator to a nearest or suitable 2.4 Rail market share in different countries
marshalling yard or terminal for consolidation, from where
they are transported by long distance block or shuttle trains The overall decrease in rail’s market share has been heavily
to the destination terminal or marshalling yard, and then on to influenced by losses in the new member states (EU12), where
Eur. Transp. Res. Rev. (2016) 8: 18 Page 5 of 14 18

Fig. 1 Development of the total demand and split by mode (tonne-kilometres), for EU 15 and EU 12. Data source: ([12] with completing calculations for
some years)

it decreased rapidly and deeply from 51 to 23 % (in tonne- fortunes reversed, in recent decades. These are the top-
kilometres) between 1995 and 2009, following the abolition ranked countries in the Rail Liberalisation Index 2011 [14];
of the railways monopoly. Contrasting trends can be observed their success can be partly attributed to the reformed market
in the EU15, where rail’s market share has remained fairly environment - with new private companies entering the mar-
stable, at about 15 %, since 1995. In recent years, rail’s share ket and competing with the incumbent - as well as the pressure
of the market has increased slightly, in both EU12 and EU15. on the incumbent railways to be more efficient, through higher
To analyse further, specific countries have been arranged asset and human resource utilisation. In some countries
by EU15 or EU12 (see Fig. 3) and then by rail market share (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), truck‐fees may also have
from highest to lowest (see Figs. 4 and 5). For broader under- affected the modal split towards rail, but this development is
standing, non‐EU‐members Switzerland and Norway are also not dramatic. Overall, the latest situation in the rail freight
included. In some countries, rail has long enjoyed a high mar- sector in the EU15 may be indicative of a reversal of the
ket share: Switzerland 45‐50 % and Austria 30–40 %, of previous trend of a continuously decreasing market share.
which a significant volume can be attributed to transit traffic. By contrast, in some EU15 countries, rail’s share has de-
Sweden and Finland also have higher rail market shares, with creased during the same period. For example, in France it has
25–35 %. In Germany, rail’s share has increased from 19 % in decreased from a relatively high level of more than 20 %, to
1995, to 23 % in 2011. The UK, Denmark and the Netherlands 15 %. From a low level of approximately 10 %, rail share has
have also seen an increase in rail, but from a very low level. decreased even further, to less than 5 %, in Spain,
Significantly, in these high rail-share countries, rail lost market Luxembourg and Ireland - countries at the bottom end of the
share every year after the end of World War II, until rail’s Rail Liberalisation Index 2011 - suggesting that the decline
can be attributed at least in part to the lack of railway reform.
In recent years, rail’s market share in these countries has either
stabilised or slightly increased.
In the EU12 in 1995, rail held a very high share of the
freight transport market in several countries. For example,
in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, rail had 70‐95 %, which
had decreased to 55‐65 % by 2011. A similar fall has been
seen in Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, where
40‐50 % has decreased to 20‐30 %, by 2011. Interestingly,
in all these countries, rail market share seems to have
fluctuated or stabilised, over the last 5 years. In
Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary, rail’s market
share of between 35 and 60 % has declined to 20 % or
Fig. 2 Domestic, international and transit transport by rail; distribution of less, while in Turkey it has remained stable, at a low level
tonnage in EU27 of approximately 5 %.
18 Page 6 of 14 Eur. Transp. Res. Rev. (2016) 8: 18

Fig. 3 Development of modal split (tonne-kilometres) in EU15 and EU12. Data source: [12]

3 Forecasts of future rail freight demand in the EU 3.2 Future freight transport demand per mode
up to 2050
Most forecasts show small differences and changes in modal
3.1 Total demand for freight transport market shares, in their business‐as‐usual scenarios. The find-
ings of the three forecasts are elaborated below.
A number of forecasts have been conducted for freight trans- The D‐RAIL study [9] forecasted future rail freight de-
port in Europe, with different scope and objectives and with mand assuming three different scenarios: 1) Reference sce-
different perspectives (e.g. Primes, TREMOVE, iTREN, nario - with no change to the infrastructure, policies and
TRANS‐visions, TOSCA, D-RAIL, and SPECTRUM). The other trends of the current rail system; 2) White Paper High
findings of more recent forecasts are analysed and presented scenario - modal shift of 50 % by 2050; and 3) White Paper
here, e.g. [9, 17, 20, 22, 32, 35]. Most of these forecasts in- Low scenario - modal shift of 30 % by 2030). The study
clude road, rail and inland waterway, but some also include shows, in the Reference and Low scenarios, a total growth
maritime transport. Despite the ongoing European economic of 65 % and 99 % respectively, between 2010 and 2050.
recession since 2008, the forecasts are made assuming eco- The growth for the High scenario is more than double
nomic growth in the long term. Another important assumption (216 %) the Reference scenario. The countries that show
used in these forecasts is the EC Transport White Paper target the highest relative growth are in the EU15, with Germany
for modal shift, with the recognition of current recession in the and Italy maintaining the highest positions. In the EU12
data analysis. This research has analysed these forecasting group, the higher flows originate from Poland, the
studies, using the TRANS‐TOOLS modelling tool, with a Czech Republic and Romania, representing 60 % of the
long‐term time horizon (e.g. up to 2030 and/or 2050). total EU12 demand [19].

Fig. 4 Left: Development of rail freight market share (tonne-kilometres) in EU15 countries (plus Switzerland) with high or increasing market share.
Right: Development of rail freight market share (tonne-kilometres) in EU12 countries with high market share. Data source: [12]
Eur. Transp. Res. Rev. (2016) 8: 18 Page 7 of 14 18

Fig. 5 Left: Development of rail freight market share (tonne-kilometres) in EU15 countries (plus Norway) with decreasing rail market share. Right:
Development of rail freight market share (tonne-kilometres) in EU12 countries with low or decreasing rail market share. Data source: [12]

The transport demand analysis in the SPECTRUM study The TOSCA forecast has been elaborated with a Bbest
included LDHV (Low Density High Value) goods, which in- practice rail^ scenario [29] with influences from the US and
clude agriculture, foodstuffs, metal, chemicals and other prod- Switzerland. This leads to an increased market share for rail -
ucts. The majority of these goods are transported by truck and from 19 to 45 % in the rail-truck market - and an increased
the study argues that it from road that the shift to rail will have average rail transport distance from 304 to 499 km (see
to take place [22, 32]. The SPECTRUM study analysed the Fig. 6). This is 3.6 times the 2010 level and 2.5 times the
potential market for LDHV goods, currently transported by ‘business as usual’ scenario, which is a challenge for capacity.
road over distances of 200+ km, which has the potential to By achieving this freight volume, rail can reduce EU transport
move to rail transport. It further noted the most important GHG emissions over land by some 20–30 %, compared with a
countries/regions, and a pattern of specific industries, for ex- ‘business as usual’ scenario.
ample a concentration of metal products in Italy’s automotive
industry and of agricultural products in France, the EU’s lead-
ing agricultural power (with around one third of its agricultur- 4 Customer requirements for future rail services
al land). LDHV goods transported by road totalled 3.9 million
tonnes in 2009 and are forecasted to grow by 53 % by 2030, 4.1 Customer requirements versus current rail freight
reaching a volume of 5.9 million tonnes. The transport by road service structure
of metal products and other types of products is expected to
have the highest increase. The total volume of rail freight The freight transport market has changed, from large quanti-
transport in EU27 and Switzerland is estimated to increase ties of bulk being transported by block trains, to smaller, more
from 1.1 billion tonnes in 2009, to 1.5 billion tonnes of frequent shipments with a higher value and a faster and more
LDHV cargo in 2030. The study expected that, with the struc- reliable delivery requirement. The development of the single
tural changes in the economy and demography, the transport European market, regularly extended to new member states
of bulk commodities would decrease in future. joining the EU, has boosted another type of customer demand
With base year 2010, the TOSCA study [35] - without for pan-European freight traffic.
taking into account the EU Transport White Paper 2011 The European rail freight industry, developed on a domes-
targets - forecasts that the total freight transport demand, tic focus with powerful incumbent railway undertakings, has
in tonne‐km, will increase by 50 % by 2050. The market not yet developed the necessary collaborative or integrated
shares will be rather stable, with 81 % for road in 2010 approach needed for the kind of total pan-European transport
and 82 % in 2050 and 19 % for rail in 2010 and 18 % in chain widely practiced by maritime shipping lines, for exam-
2050. Thus the forecasted freight volume by road will ple. There are various reasons for this, including the fact that
grow slightly faster than rail; this shift in favour of road the multiple actors in multimodal transport chains have, at
- the reverse of EC Transport White Paper policy - is times, opposing interests. This, coupled with the high level
probably a consequence of different economic develop- of entry barriers faced by private new entrants, has failed to
ment for various sectors and commodities and the actual generate the development of industrialised, pan‐European ser-
mix for different modes. vices to respond to market needs. Moreover, no modern
18 Page 8 of 14 Eur. Transp. Res. Rev. (2016) 8: 18

Fig. 6 Mode shift according to the EU white paper (analysing data from TOSCA forecasts with TransTools). Source: [29]

studies of this market have been conducted to evaluate its the whole network [1, 15]. These represent the key elements
evolution, anticipate the needed revolution, or suggest new that contribute to managing transport networks efficiently.
business models suitable to face the challenges due to, among
other things, the protectionist attitude of the incumbents to-
wards their market share. The bundling of the various catego- 4.3 Rail freight customer requirements
ries of traffic (bulk, containers), the creation of efficient nodes
to de-bottleneck by optimising the use of existing infrastruc- Through interviewing shippers and operators, the
ture, the development of fully interoperable Trans‐European SPECTRUM study [22] identified the following shippers’ re-
Rail Freight Corridors with a powerful governance platform, quirements (in order of importance):
and coordination with national infrastructure managers, are all
progressing too slowly. Overcoming the patchwork of nation- & Reliability of service: Rail transit time (origin to destina-
al safety rules, through powerful action by the European tion, not just terminal to terminal) has to be competitive
Railway Agency (ERA), is progressively arriving at an urgent with road. However, consistently and unfailingly reliable
need to increase the pace. All of these elements have hindered transport (i.e. arriving at the agreed time, in full) is for many
the introduction of pan-European rail services. shippers even more important than the transit time itself.
& Costs of door‐to‐door delivery: Rail transport is often, but
not always, more expensive than road transport, especially
4.2 The nodes-and- links concept for door-to-door rail for relatively short distances and for door-to-door service.
freight service Low operational costs can be achieved by combining rail
volumes on a corridor and by intensive use of the rolling
The maritime shipping industry has, for many years, applied stock and traction assets and thus can offer competitive (to
the ‘hub-and-spoke’ or ‘nodes-and-links’ concept, integrating road) freight pricing.
multiple actors in one transport chain to achieve cost- and & Service availability: Service availability at both origin and
time-effective services. The concept is still at an early stage destination is very important. Although rail is not able to
of development and application in the rail freight sector. The compete with road transport in terms of flexibility, which
nodes-and-links concept encompasses various types of termi- is an important key to ‘service availability’, the frequency
nals, connecting each other as well as cargo origins and des- of a service in a day or week can complement this aspect.
tinations, such as hubs, marshalling yards, freight villages, sea & Safety and security: Reducing the chance of losses, theft
ports, dry ports, intermodal, conventional and multimodal ter- and damage. This is especially important for the transport
minals, and industrial and logistics zones [16, 38]. The nodes of high value goods. In general, rail freight transport has a
have to be close to a production and/or large consumption area competitive advantage over road transport with regard to
and at corridor crossing points [21]. They have to: transform safety (less chance of shifting in wagons) and security
the traditional transit function over normal working hours into (less chance of theft).
value‐added, round the clock transit, by quick transfer be- & Environmentally friendly transport service: Many cus-
tween modes and/or train to train; achieve a high fill coeffi- tomers increasingly want environmentally friendly trans-
cient of trains or last mile transport; have a high degree of port service but are unwilling to pay more for it.
reliability for the end customer; and the ability to find the best Considering this as an increasing trend, rail has an advan-
connection to reach the end terminal through integration into tage over other modes to offer sustainable service.
Eur. Transp. Res. Rev. (2016) 8: 18 Page 9 of 14 18

For many customers, the most important need is a reliable wagon, which is a 26 m long wagon with two bogies that
transport service that results in reduced inventories and related can load two 40 feet containers or three swap-bodies (or com-
costs. Considering the current and future commodity types to binations of unit loads including High cubes) on an 80 ft load-
transport, customer needs can be summarised in a few points: ing area. It implies better loading factors of trains, 10 % more
TEU per length on fewer axles, and thus lower energy con-
& Competitive cost for a reliable service (that can be mea- sumption, less maintenance and lower cost per transported
sured by on-time arrival and departure of the service just‐ unit (VEL wagon 2012). Other measures are short‐coupled
in‐time); wagons with draw‐bars, or automatic couplers without
& Easy access (measured by time taken by trucks, rail and buffers.
waterways transport in terminals to pick up and deliver);
& Accurate information provision (for example, frequency 5.2 Axle load and freight train speed
of service, estimated time of arrival ETA versus actual
arrival time); The axle load of a wagon is the total wagon weight (empty
& The adaptability of the service, at short notice, to the var- wagon weight + load on the wagon) resting on the axle.
iations in volume that can occur quite suddenly (measured Higher axle load means fewer requirements of wagons, which
by time taken). is good from the operator and customer point of view. Axle
load is therefore an important design factor in the engineering
of railways, designed to tolerate a maximum weight‐per‐axle
(axle load). If it exceeds the maximum rated axle load, it will
5 Technical needs for an improved rail freight system cause more damage to the track so, for infrastructure man-
agers, a lower or safer axle load limit is desirable. In this
5.1 System capacity, utilisation and improvement regard [23] remind us that: ‘the negative impacts of increased
axle loads occur primarily in the areas of track and bridge
Railway rolling stock comprises all vehicles including loco- maintenance and renewal, and freight car maintenance’.
motives, coaches, and wagons that move on a railway system. The SUSTRAIL study (2014) puts a high priority on the
From a freight train operator’s point of view, we can consider improvement of the rail system as a whole and emphasises an
two aspects: train capacity and wagon capacity. The train ca- increase in axle load limits (to 22.5 t / 25 t), depending on
pacity is dependent, among other things, on the length of the different operational scenarios [34]. Some infrastructures,
train, as well as loading capacity (i.e. how much cargo can be usually ore lines, are designed and maintained for even higher
carried). The capacity of a train can be broken down into two axle loads than those suggested above. For example, heavy
parts: volume (cubic) and mass (tonnage) loading capacity [2]. haul transport with axle loads up to 30 t is well developed in
The cubic and tonnage capacity per train, together with higher Sweden, although for specific circumstances that may not be
average speed (may mean lower requirement of rolling stock copied to other railways in general. Advances in rail vehicle
for a certain amount of transport needs) drive both efficiency bogie and general rail vehicle dynamics, through better sus-
and higher capacity utilisation, since high fixed capital or pension characteristics, are expected to reduce direct damage
‘personnel’ costs per train contribute significantly to reducing to track and allow increasingly high axle loads. An increase of
the operational cost of a service. For the railway system as a axle load on existing lines can be costly but, if this is done
whole, the loading capacity per train, multiplied by train fre- systematically at renewal of the lines, the marginal cost will
quency, determines the overall system transportation capacity often be small.
[4]. Moreover, the loading capacity per train can be linked to Studies such as [9, 27] report that railways in the USA have
axle load. The loading capacity per wagon is dependent on the significantly higher axle loads than in Europe. Standard Bfree
number of axles, axle load, wagon tare mass, as well as the interchange^ axle loading in the USA (and in North America
volume (cubic) and density (tonnage) of the cargo. The load- in general) is 33 tonnes (36 tonnes) on 914 mm (36^) diameter
ing capacity per train can be limited by its useful volume, for wheels. [23] suggest that to improve productivity ‘there has
example in the case of low‐density voluminous commodities, been a constant pressure in the marketplace to increase train
or by its load (mass) limit, for example in the case of high‐ weight and axle loads in order to reduce operating costs and
density heavy commodities. increase capacity’ in the USA. They report that: ‘The capacity
The utilisation of capacity is as important as the system of the average freight car has risen by about 80 % since 1960
capacity itself. For example, to reduce the operational cost and reached 92 tonnes’. This higher axle load, combined with
and to offer a competitive price to customers, the utilisation longer trains, results in a significantly higher level of rail load-
of wagons and trains must be improved, both by advance and ing capacity (12,000+ tonnes per train). The example portrays
proper planning and by improving the technical aspects. One that capacity on the North American railways has generally
example of technically improved utilisation is the VEL developed to meet a need. The question can be asked: how
18 Page 10 of 14 Eur. Transp. Res. Rev. (2016) 8: 18

relevant this is for European rail freight transport? Building axle load [3]. A loading gauge can be defined as the maximum
such high capacity is costly and, given the trend in freight height and width of railway vehicles and their loads, to ensure
movement, is only necessary in Europe on a few, specialised safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures. A
routes e.g. the Iron Ore Line, known as ‘Malmbanan’, which larger loading gauge is as important as a higher axle
is capable of transporting 32.5 tonnes axle-load between load/weight per metre and the greatest effect is often obtained
Narvik, in Norway and Kiruna, in Sweden. by combining the two [33]. In Sweden, a very generous load-
Currently the maximum freight train speed is 100 km/h but, ing profile (C) is already being introduced, over most of the
in Europe, freight trains are generally operated at a much network. In contrast, British railways have some of the worst
lower average speed than inter-urban passenger trains. Many loading gauge restrictions in Europe, although some routes
modern wagons and locomotives are designed for 120 km/h, (e.g. Southampton port to West midlands, via Reading) have
but this speed is achieved only for some special trains. A improved significantly in recent years [30]. It is very impor-
higher speed will mean higher energy consumption but at tant to make the loading gauge rectangular, by removing the
the same time shorter transport time will improve the asset bevelled corners, which is sometimes simpler and important
utilisation per unit of time. From a system perspective, more from a market perspective [3] (see Fig. 7). For trailer transpor-
freight trains can be operated in between fast passenger trains, tation, it is very important to have a high but not so wide
in the day time. The speed of normal freight trains was in- loading gauge. [3] suggests that the loading gauge P/C 450
creased from 80 to 100 km/h, on many European networks, (4.83 × 2,60 m) is ideal, because it makes it possible to trans-
about twenty years ago. Considering this, the TEN-T regula- port both 4.5 m high trailers on pocket wagons and 4.0 m high
tions have set a target of achieving freight train speeds of trailers on low, flat cars with a height of 0.83 metres.
100 km/h on all European railways by 2030 [8]. The Europe Extending loading gauge is generally costly, especially the
wide incremental increase of speed can be conducted most height at tunnels or bridges, yet in Sweden the width of the
economically if and when appropriate infrastructure and loading gauge on many lines has been extended at small cost.
rolling stock are adopted.
5.5 Train length and locomotive options for traction
5.3 Acceleration and braking
Much of today’s European freight train system has inherited
The normal braking system of freight trains is based on de- an old standard 3–4 MW electric locomotive that can haul
pression of a single brake pipe and its slow propagation to- trains of approximately 1500 gross tonnes and a train length
wards the end of the train, successively putting all distributors of 650–750 metres. However, modern locomotives have a
into service when they detect the pressure drop. For that rea- tractive power of 5–6 MW, capable of hauling 2000‐2500
son, the last wagons are still busy running while the first tonne trains of up to 1050 m in length. The length of freight
wagons are trying to stop, creating longitudinal compression trains on European railways varies significantly from country
forces that increase the risk of derailment. The time taken to to country and, on some railways, 850 m long trains are run-
brake a freight train is therefore quite long compared to a ning. Moreover, in 2014 experiments were conducted with
passenger train. At the same time as releasing the brakes, it 2 × 750 m = 1500 m long trains, with radio‐controlled locomo-
is necessary to refill the brake pipe, until nominal pressure for tives in the middle of the train set [31, 36]. However, the TEN-
each wagon to release the brakes is reached. The time to re- T Regulation suggests a 740 m long train with 22.5 tonnes
lease the brakes is also quite extended. An improved braking axle load, on European core networks, by 2030 [8]. To operate
system is therefore vital from a freight operator and infrastruc- longer trains, the extension of tracks at sidings, crossing sta-
ture manager point of view, though a more drastic remedy tions and terminals is needed. This is costly - but often less
would be to abolish this braking system and change to a high costly than building more double tracks, or new lines.
performance system that includes electro‐pneumatic brakes, Regarding energy supply source, a locomotive can be die-
regenerative brakes and disc brakes [24, 33]. The operation sel, electric, or combined. There are significant differences in
of a higher speed freight train would imply the ability to ex- the energy efficiency - and thus operational cost and emissions
ploit train paths of passenger train quality, in terms of accel- - of the rail freight system. Electric locomotives are the best
eration, braking and line speed, and minimising the impact on choice from an environmental and economic point of view,
following trains. although questions remain as to how the electricity is pro-
duced, as electricity generated from a coal‐fired power plant
5.4 Loading gauge will have produced substantial emissions compared to a hy-
dropower plant with very low or no emissions. The energy
High cubic and tonnage capacity per wagon are important efficiency of an electric locomotive can be improved by
aspects of freight train efficiency and capacity which can be optimising its operational efficiency. The energy supply to
limited by, among other things, permissible loading gauge and the rolling stock can be improved by electrification of existing
Eur. Transp. Res. Rev. (2016) 8: 18 Page 11 of 14 18

Fig. 7 Possibilities to load more Overhead contact wire

freight on existing wagons [5] Load width Load width
210 cm 315 cm

+50% +125%

Maximum total
height 483 cm
above top of rail Packaged Packaged Packaged
lumber lumber lumber

Wagon

G2 P/C 450 Extended

3,15x4,65 2,60x4,83 3,15x4,83

diesel‐operated railway lines, as well as by a low greenhouse railway line (see Fig. 8), for easier loading of wagons. This
gas (GHG) producing production source. Approximately type of transhipment, classified as a small terminal, will allow
55 % of the European rail network is electrified and 85 % of train operators to stop at comparatively shorter intervals to
freight traffic is handled by electric traction. Electric locomo- pick up or deliver a smaller number of containers, or swap
tives are often used for long distance transport between bodies. The operation of such terminals also requires fewer
marshalling yards, but diesel locomotives are used to distrib- staff, while allowing faster pick up of cargo from origin and
ute the wagons to customers, because their tracks are often delivery to destination. Moreover, there is no need for a diesel
non-electrified. Duo-locomotives are now available on the engine to shunt the wagons into the terminal, and little or no
market which have both electric and diesel traction. This al- need for track to store (waiting) wagons.
lows train operators to run a service with one locomotive A small-scale intermodal freight train system has been im-
instead of two, reducing investment and capital costs and plemented in Switzerland. Innovatrain - a liner train with stops
making operations more responsive, for example by shunting at many terminals over short distances - is a push‐pull train
wagons on non-electrified sidings along the line. In the long capable of operating in either direction [21]. It can either run
term perspective, duo-locomotives can be profitable even if on the electrical main track, at speeds up to 120 km/h, or drive
they are a little bit more expensive than ordinary locos. into a private railway siding by using its diesel power. For
horizontal transhipment, the ContainerMover system is used,
5.6 Improved transhipment between the train and the truck. The device is mounted on the
truck, which makes transhipment possible at every terminal,
The efficiency and effectiveness of rail freight services is or small terminal/ siding. Another system for horizontal trans-
largely dependent on the efficiency and effectiveness of ter- fer of unit loads is the CarConTrain (CCT), consisting of a
minals, marshalling yards along the transport chain, and feed- wagon that travels parallel with the track, equipped with arms
er transports. Transhipment in terminals is traditionally per- for transferring freight horizontally [28]. The system can
formed vertically, using a variety of equipment, such as transfer unit loads fitted with corner castings from 2.5 to 3.6
Transtainer (gantry crane), Reach Stacker, Straddle carrier, metres wide and 3 to 12 metres long. Since it can be fully
or Fork lift. With this type of equipment, a container is lifted automated, it could be used in unmanned terminals and ware-
from a train and moved to a stack yard, either for storage, or houses. The train can be unloaded regardless of whether the
loading onto a truck, etc. Comparatively speaking, this verti- truck is available and can arrive at any time, since no person-
cal transhipment is costly, time consuming and incurs a higher nel are required. The terminal cost can be reduced and thus the
risk of loss/damage to cargo. Moreover, 80 % of European cost of the overall transport chain.
trailers cannot be lifted, restricting market share. Shuttle freight trains - by their nature direct - generally run
Modal transfer points need methods and technologies that between hubs where multiple wagons are consolidated or
cost less and are less time consuming. Along these lines, the unbundled for different destination terminals [25]. The shuttle
[33] study suggests horizontal transfer of the cargo unit, using trains generally run with scheduled path allocations. The rail
comparatively cheaper transhipment equipment and taking up terminals may be linked with services such as marshalling
less space - and therefore cost - for trucks and trains. The cargo yards, for consolidating SWLs. Thus, an efficient and effec-
truck can be placed parallel to, and virtually next to, the tive operation of marshalling yards is at the heart of the future
18 Page 12 of 14 Eur. Transp. Res. Rev. (2016) 8: 18

loading/unloading of containers, resulting in a short stoppage

Loading/unloading side for trucks
time (aspiring to 20–30 min) in terminals. The terminals can
be compact, as there is little or no need for storage tracks.
Container stacking yard
Most trailers currently in use are not designed to be lifted onto
a railway wagon, so solutions must be found to roll trailers on
Fig. 8 Typical trackside low-cost loading/unloading facility. Source:
(SPECTRUM [32, 33]) and off; this will considerably widen the market opportunity.
To increase the capacity of the rail system, the current study
SWL and other types of freight service in Europe. Instead of a recommends the following measures, in ascending order of
conventional hub and spoke system, we can consider a system cost:
of liner trains - a similar concept to liner shipping - where the
trains run on a main route and wagons are picked up and 1. More efficient timetable planning: e.g. double track - bun-
dropped at stations along the way. dling of trains with the same average speed in the timeta-
ble channels and daytime operation of faster freight trains.
2. Use of trains and vehicles with higher capacity: higher
utilisation of existing trains, longer trains, higher and
6 Summary and conclusion wider gauge, higher axle load and metre load.
3. Differentiation of track access charges to avoid
Achieving modal shift from road to rail will rely on a mixture overloaded links.
of both customer and market related requirements and the 4. Better signalling systems, such as ERTMS, with shorter
necessary associated improvements to the EU’s rail systems. block lengths.
Much of today’s freight rail system is based on an old standard 5. Adaptation of Rail Freight Corridors for longer and heavi-
3–4 MW locomotive, which means trains of 1500 gross er freight trains. Longer and heavier trains will make it
tonnes and a length of 650–750 metres. However, modern possible to roughly double the capacity.
locomotives have a tractive power of 5–6 MW, capable of 6. Investment in high speed rail to increase capacity for
hauling 2000–2500 tonne trains, of up to 1000 m in length. freight trains and regional trains on both the conventional
In Europe, train lengths up to 850 m are already in operation network and on dedicated freight railways (see Fig. 9).
and experiments have been made with 2 × 750 m = 1500 m
long trains. With a higher axle load, the operation of heavier A general problem is that investments in rolling stock often
trains can be achieved. Duo-locomotives have been intro- are done by operators from a business perspective and invest-
duced, equipped with both normal electric traction and diesel ments in infrastructure often are done by the state from a
traction, which can shunt wagons at a marshalling yard, or in socio-economic perspective. That means that there is a need
an un-electrified siding. Operators thus need only one loco for co-ordination to optimize the system.
instead of two, also making it possible to introduce liner trains An estimation of the effects of a modal shift to rail trans-
that can stop along the line and change wagons. port, by applying the world’s ‘best practice’, shows a reduc-
Concerning wagons, the question is whether development tion in EU land transport GHG emissions of 20–30 %,
will be incremental or if it is possible to make a system change
(see Table 1). An incremental change means successively
higher axle loads, wider gauge, higher payload, better and
more silent brakes and some electronic equipment. A system
change will include electro-pneumatic brakes, disc brakes
(from cast brakes) and full electronic control (from pneumatic)
of wagons and load, and automatic central couplers (from
screw couplers). Automatic couplers are the most critical com-
ponent, not only to make shunting and marshalling safer and
cheaper, but also because this will make it easier to operate
longer trains. However, to introduce automatic couples it must
be supported by a thorough cost-benefit analysis.
For an intermodal service, the terminal cost and time are
critical. If terminals are located on an electrified side track,
where the train can drive straight in and out, liner trains can
be used without switching to a diesel engine. This process
speeds up by adopting a horizontal transfer technology that Fig. 9 Capacity gains for different freight train measures in tonnes per
can function under overhead contact wires and facilitate faster train taken line capacity into account. Source: [37]
Eur. Transp. Res. Rev. (2016) 8: 18 Page 13 of 14 18

compared with a ‘business as usual’ scenario. The rail system Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://
can thus substantially contribute to the EU target to reduce
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use,
GHG emissions in the transport sector by 60 %, compared distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appro-
to 1990 levels. To enable such a mode shift there is a need priate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the
for strong development of the rail system. Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
The authors contend that service quality can be improved
by better planning, the application of appropriate ICT-systems
(e.g. ERTMS, web-based tracking and tracing system, incor- References
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