BTT provides the links ports need

A ROLE FOR RAIL

RAIL • HOW DOES RAIL COMPLEMENT PORT ACTIVITIES? AND WHAT DO CHEMICAL CUSTOMERS WANT FROM IT? FLEXIBILITY, RELIABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS ARE ON OFFER

THE PORT OF Tarragona’s annual Med Hub Day was held in virtual form this past November. One of the port’s main elements in its ambition to become a hub for chemical logistics in the western Mediterranean is greater use of rail to connect it with other nodes in Europe, hampered only by the absence – to date – of a seamless connection with the Euro-gauge rail network.

But why is rail important? What can it bring to the port-based logistics network? To answer such questions, Patrick Hore, head of the sales and operations centre for chemicals at DB Cargo BTT, had been asked to give his perspective. For a start, he said, rail offers reliability, regularity, connectivity and the ability to scale up. It is ideal for hub-to-hub and cluster-to-cluster movements but that requires similar facilities at either end of the transport chain.

“But it doesn’t have to be like that,” Hore said. Speciality chemicals generally come in smaller parcels and consignees may well lack their own rail facility. In such a scenario, the last mile needs to be a road connection from the terminal to the customer. That is changing, though, with the European single wagon load network allowing movements of, say, a single tank container from hub to hub.

Rail has some obvious advantages, particularly in terms of its environmental impact, Hore said. DB Cargo currently uses 61 per cent renewables in its electricity supply and is aiming to increase that to 80 per cent by 2030. In the move towards a circular economy, rail can be part of the answer, he said, offering flexible and sustainable transport.

FIT IN WITH THE WORLD In the modern world, rail also has to fit with its customers’ digital strategies. Rail operators can empower their connected customers and this is an area where DB Cargo is doing plenty of work. It is currently undertaking some trials using Blockchain technology.

Hore was questioned about the position of rail in an intermodal logistics operation and, in particular, its competitive position compared to inland waterway transport. This has become more acute during recent low water issues on the Rhine system, which have caused delays in inland waterway traffic. How does rail compete with barges?

The two modes are complementary, Hore said. Low water issues are unlikely to go away and rail has to stand ready to take cargo off the rivers. That means that rail operators need to be involved in planning with their customers and to have sufficient track capacity available. “Customers need an ‘always on’ option,” Hore said, though the big issue is likely to be the provision of rolling stock.

Solutions to that need to come from rail operators, not the authorities, was Hore’s point. Indeed, DB Cargo is now looking at developing inland port hubs where cargo can move off inland barges and onto rail wagons at points where low water can become an issue.

Clearly, planning and visibility – as well as vision – will be critical to generating the level of confidence in rail as a flexible option that will be needed if Tarragona is to leverage its other obvious benefits and really make the move to hub status for the chemical industry. That is up to rail operators to deliver. btt.dbcargo.com

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