{"id":361707,"date":"2026-02-04T00:00:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T14:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=69090"},"modified":"2026-02-04T00:00:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T14:00:07","slug":"railway-undertakings-want-to-plan-with-one-click","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=361707","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Railway undertakings want to plan with one click\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rail freight operators are under intense pressure. Economic headwinds, rising costs, and growing competition from road transport are forcing the sector to become more efficient. Yet one of the biggest structural challenges remains unresolved: resource planning.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>According to Frederic Pscheid, Head of Product at railcube<\/a>, the problem can be boiled down to two core issues: optimisation and synchronisation. \u201cRailway undertakings want to plan their resources with one click,\u201d Pscheid says. \u201cIdeally, the system does the work for them and keeps everything synchronised with the people outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

The complexity behind \u201cone-click planning\u201d<\/h2>\n

Resource planning in rail freight goes far beyond assigning a locomotive and a driver to a train. Ground staff, train drivers, wagon inspectors, and planners all need to know where they need to be, when they need to be there, and what comes next. That includes follow-up shifts, travel arrangements, hotel bookings, and rest times, all of which may change at short notice.<\/p>\n

In real-time operations, updates need to be immediate. In medium- and long-term planning, operators can tolerate slight delays, five or ten minutes, but accuracy remains critical. \u201cPeople want the information when it matters,\u201d Pscheid explains, \u201cand they want to know immediately if something changes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Optimisation adds another layer of complexity. Operators need to ensure the right people with the right qualifications are available, used efficiently, and ideally planned in round trips, much like locomotives. \u201cIn the best case, locomotives move continuously from A to B to C to D and back to A. That doesn\u2019t happen in reality, but planning should get as close as possible\u201d.<\/p>\n

From manpower to software, and the limits of legacy tools<\/h2>\n

Historically, large rail freight operators compensated for complexity with sheer manpower. \u201cAt DB Cargo, there were hundreds of people doing this job,\u201d Pscheid recalls. \u201cNobody can afford that anymore\u201d. As a result, IT systems have taken over tasks once handled manually. But many operators still rely on tools that were never designed for modern rail operations.<\/p>\n

Excel remains the biggest competitor, particularly among small and medium-sized companies. In some control rooms, planning sheets are still printed and updated by hand on a wall. \u201cThat\u2019s still the reality out there,\u201d Pscheid says. \u201cThe challenge is providing software that is lightweight and fast, but still covers all operational needs.\u201d<\/p>\n