VTG launches traigo

ON THE PLATFORM

RAIL • VTG HAS LAUNCHED ITS TRAIGO PLATFORM, WHICH TAKES DATA FROM WAGON OPERATIONS TO PROVIDE GREATER VISIBILITY AND ALLOWS USERS TO PLAN AHEAD

LEADING EUROPEAN RAILFREIGHT operator VTG has formally launched its traigo platform, which is intended to improve efficiency in rail transport to the benefit of operators, customers and the environment. The platform has been trialled since the start of the year and has been improved as a result of feedback from users, with new functionalities identified for further development.

“We are convinced that only digitalised rail services will retain their place in the global trade flows of the future,” says Dr Heiko Fischer, CEO of VTG AG. “Rail freight has suffered a chronic lack of the digital innovations that have long been standard issue for other modes of transport. But thanks to traigo, our industry can now provide services much more transparently and efficiently. That will make it more attractive to existing customers, as well as capturing the enthusiasm of new companies in the forwarding industry. There really is no other way to reach the political goal of raising rail’s share of the modal split to at least 25 per cent.”

The traigo platform serves as the interface to modern fleet management, making a broad spectrum of digital applications available to drive smart rail freight transportation. The new traigo tools include mileage predictions based on deployment patterns, plus a function that flags wagons that have been standing idle for long periods. Together, these two services will enable platform users to manage their fleets more efficiently. Transparency about rolling stock

availability is provided by displaying the time currently (and historically) spent in repair shops.

COMING SOON Since testing began at the start of the year, the functional scope has grown continuously. Existing tools have been expanded and new applications developed, with attention paid to feedback from front-line traigo users. In close collaboration with customers, the specific needs of rail freight practitioners were implemented and further ideas for the platform were mapped out in the course of the six-month test period.

“We are very grateful for the successful test phase and all the feedback provided,” says Dr Niko Davids, Chief Digital Officer at VTG. “What we need to do now is ramp up the digital service portfolio and model other wagon owners’ fleets on the platform, too. For this reason, we are inviting every partner in the industry – forwarding agents, operators, railway companies, other wagon owners, whoever – to also link their systems to traigo and, by developing digital applications, to play a part in making rail freight more attractive. One thing is for sure: we must work together if we want to genuinely transform a system as complex as rail freight.”

Concrete plans are already in place to enrich traigo with more and more digital tools. One example is a feature that displays the maintenance status for certain wagon components. The data needed for this purpose will be collected from a variety of on-wagon and on-track sensors and fed into the system. Other services – such as customer-driven digital maintenance management – are likewise in the pipeline. Besides read access to all kinds of contractual data, it should in future also be possible to conclude wagon hire contracts online on traigo. Going forward, a digital corollary to the existing portfolio of analogue services will thus take shape – an instrumental step in making rail freight more potent and competitive. www.vtg.com

TRAIGO IS MORE THAN JUST A TRACKING PLATFORM

- IT IS DESIGNED TO GROW AND HELP THE RAIL

FREIGHT INDUSTRY AS A WHOLE BECOME MORE