German infrastructure manager DB InfraGO has set up a low-water coordinator service to counter the impact of climate change on critical European freight corridors. Its creation comes amid growing concerns that historically-low water levels on the Rhine could lead to major disruptions for shippers.
The role of the low-water coordinator service will be to provide proactive planning for the management of capacity in the event of possible sudden shifts in freight volumes from river to rail. Compounding the situation is the closure of the line between Troisdorf and Wiesbaden – a major corridor for freight trains – until the end of the year, to allow extensive track modernisation work to be carried out.
The service is seen as vital to finding and assigning diversionary capacity along alternative routings such as the left-bank of the Rhine or its tributaries such as the Mosel via Koblenz. Communication interfaces between inland waterway transport networks, ports and rail operators are being established to prevent systemic bottlenecking when barge shipping services fail.
High demand for coal transport
Meanwhile, DB Cargo said it was already providing support to industries affected by the low water levels and in constant dialogue with customers to seek pragmatic solutions. However, it did not elaborate on the extent to which it had been able to meet requests for additional capacity other than to underline that it operates 1,500 trains daily.
The situation on the Rhine and its tributaries has led to high demand for coal transport by rail, DB Cargo noted. Together with other companies in the sector across Europe, it is organising additional capacity and also coordinating potential stockpiling plans with energy suppliers and collaborating in their implementation.
‘Isolated cases of supply constraints’
Turning to shippers, German chemicals giant BASF’s industrial complex in Ludwigshafen is located directly on the Rhine and freight moving in and out of the site is evenly spread between rail, river and road modes. The company played down the impact of the persistently low-water levels on its operations.
“We continue to monitor developments very closely and proactively implement any measures that may become necessary,” the company told RailFreight.com. “So far, inland waterway transportation has been largely maintained through the use of a greater number of low-water vessels. We are making every effort to support the supply of key raw materials by using alternative modes of transport such as trucks and rail. In isolated cases, the continuation of the current weather conditions has led to supply constraints.”
‘Alternative transport options remain constrained’
Switzerland-based Kuehne+Nagel has warned that a combination of record-low Rhine levels, restricted rail capacity and limited road alternatives increased the pressure on overland freight networks across Central Europe. “The overlap of rail works and low-water conditions means that lost inland shipping capacity cannot be offset quickly through additional rail services”, the forwarder noted earlier this week.
Intermodal operators are navigating the situation with multiple solutions, including operating additional barges, expanding direct trucking solutions and increasing alternative rail and feeder connections to support transport operations, it explained. “However, alternative transport options remain constrained,” Kuehne + Nagel added.