{"id":365119,"date":"2026-02-09T19:08:46","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T09:08:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=69210"},"modified":"2026-02-09T19:08:46","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T09:08:46","slug":"2026-the-year-of-execution-for-combined-transport-and-why-terminals-will-decide-the-outcome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=365119","title":{"rendered":"2026: The year of execution for combined transport \u2013 and why terminals will decide the outcome"},"content":{"rendered":"

In European combined transport, it is tempting to debate strategy in broad strokes, modal shift targets, corridor ambitions, and long-term interoperability. But 2026 will reward a different mindset. It is the year when multiple timelines collide: corridor delivery pressure intensifies, digital freight requirements move from \u201cfuture-ready\u201d to \u201cinspection-ready,\u201d and the market\u2019s tolerance for unreliability shrinks. In other words: 2026 is the execution year.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>As strategic objectives increasingly translate into operational obligations, performance is no longer defined at the level of concepts or corridors, but in day-to-day execution. The effectiveness of combined transport is not only determined by strategic target frameworks, but primarily at the operational interfaces: where trains arrive and are handled, where terminal processes are connected with pre- and post-haulage, where capacities are reallocated at short notice.<\/p>\n

That is why intermodal terminals \u2013and the systems orchestrating them, including Terminal Operating Systems (TOS) \u2013 become central to the combined transport story in 2026. The goal is not to \u201cdigitise\u201d or \u201coptimise\u201d in the abstract, but to operationalise resilience, throughput, and compliance while the network is under pressure.<\/p>\n

\"Sarah
Sarah Berger, Sales Manager at INFORM GmbH and author of this article. Image: \u00a9 INFORM GmbH<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Execution 1 \u2013 TEN-T: Corridors will be judged by node performance<\/h2>\n

The Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) is the EU\u2019s binding framework defining priority transport corridors and key nodes (ports, terminals, urban nodes) with standards and staged delivery timelines. TEN-T is now entering the phase where corridor upgrades translate into real operational disruption like works, re-routings, constrained train paths, and tighter handover requirements. In 2026, that volatility will be felt most at the nodes such as intermodal terminals.<\/p>\n

In combined transport, that variability concentrates at terminals. Node performance becomes the limiting factor: if access and reception capacity, operational windows, lifting throughput, and controls do not hold under peaks, corridor punctuality cannot recover downstream.<\/p>\n

The TOS is the mechanism that turns node complexity into executable decisions. It provides a single operational picture across rail interfaces, yard processes, gate flows, and external actors, and it supports consistent prioritisation and resource allocation when original schedules are no longer reliable. With predictive elements, the same system shifts from reacting to disruptions to preparing for them, improving stability and recovery time.<\/p>\n