Some of the leaders of the intermodal industry gathered at the CT4EU Conference in Brussels with the motto ‘It’s time to combine’ to continue the discussion of creating a truly European sector. The main takeaways from the event, led by UIRR, are that challenges will likely remain and that only a cooperative effort with combined transport at the centre can contain the damage, especially in these times of crisis.
Let’s start with the challenges. One of the main points raised by various speakers was the role of road freight, which currently accounts for around three quarters of inland transport in the EU. The main competition between transport modes regards funds, not business, where “there are no sides”, according to Raluca Marian from the International Road Transport Union (IRU).
Different treatments?
Marian explained that road freight has been receiving significant financial support recently because fuel prices spiked and customers were not willing to bear the additional cost, similar to what happens in rail freight when track access charges (TAC) rise or trains need re-routing. The main difference, she highlighted, is that spikes in fuel prices are usually short-lived problems, which makes them easier to contain.
On the other hand, rail freight has to deal with constantly rising TAC and construction works that often last years, forcing expensive re-routings. And these costs are often covered by the operators themselves, as Bernt Juncker from TX Logistik pointed out. Despite acknowledging that railway renovations are necessary, Juncker underlined that re-routing a train can add thousands of euros to the transport cost, which customers do not plan to cover.
‘If not flexible, intermodal should be reliable’
Other speakers highlighted how road freight provides much more flexibility compared to intermodal services. With intermodal, customers have to think ahead a little more, Johan Gemels from Novandi argued. This might even be only one day in advance, but that still matters to them, he added.
If road transport will maintain an edge in terms of flexibility, intermodal should then at least be reliable, Jürgen Albersmann from Contargo stressed. But given the challenges mentioned above, even this objective requires some effort. Effort from intermodal companies and shippers, from EU institutions and national governments
‘Combined transport is a multiplier of capacity’
Spyros Kalpogiannis from Amazon symbolically represented the shippers, the customers of the transport sector. The parcel giant has embraced combined transport and intermodal services over the past few years. “Combined transport is a multiplier of capacity”, Kalpogiannis stated. However, there are still some obstacles on the path towards the modal shift, which should significantly help Amazon achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by 2040.
For example, more terminals and better infrastructure are both key aspects of moving goods on rail, especially for long journeys, which the company sets at over 500 kilometres. Another bottleneck is constituted by the lack of concrete and helpful European framework which should replace the national fragmentation currently affecting the sector. “Intermodality should be more than a green idea by 2030”, Kalpogiannis concluded.