The efficiency of rail terminals is key in the transport chain. There are many ways to improve efficiency. One of them is automation. Leading terminals such as Wiencont in Austria and Duisport in Germany will share their best practices at the conference Improving Rail Terminal Efficiency, held on 28 March in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

The importance of terminal planning, simulation, process modelling and integration management for successful terminal automation is highlighted by HPC Hamburg Port Consulting, while a terminal designer from Kalmar shares his view on the right approach for different kind of terminals. But you should not look at the terminal alone; the market has certain demands, such as facilitation of longer trains, Rob Spierings will point out.

Time of arrival

Time of arrival remains a crucial factor for all parties involved. There are many initiatives underway to improve the accuracy of the estimated time of arrival (ETA), such as the ELETA project backed by the EU. Meanwhile, large port terminals aim to facilitate rail traffic management with new, digital solutions, such as the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp. All are represented at the conference.

However, it is equally important to discuss what happens on the ground. Although improvement is on the way, train delays still play a role in the rail freight sector. Who pays for these delays? The train operator? The terminal? This much-debated question will be discussed in a panel group consisting of high-level speakers from Hupac, Duisport and Wiencont.

Major players

Large players such as the Cabooter Group, responsible for the upcoming Greenport Venlo in the Netherlands and PKP Cargo, operating most of Poland’s terminals. Russian RZD Logistics will also share their experience on inland customs clearing. Meanwhile, Dutch consultant Rob Spierings will tell on setting up a network between Coevorden in the Netherlands and Bentheimer Eisenbahn in Germany.

Freight and Terminal Forum

The conference is part of the three-day fair called the Freight and Terminal Forum, which is the freight dedicated section of RailTech Europe 2019. This event is held on 26-28 March 2019. In addition to the conference, there will be more than twenty workshops. Visitors can sign up to gain knowledge about topics such as the Swiss modal shift policy, high-speed rail for freight, sanctions on Iran, or blockchain applications, to name a few.

All information is available on the website. Registration for visitors is still opened.