The rail freight sector faces the challenge of providing the capacity for affordable and attractive services. The complexity of the European rail sector hampers the development of such services. Smart-Rail intends to define, implement and monitor new shipper-oriented rail freight concepts improving the competitive position of the rail sector through a Living Lab approach.
The establishment of “SHIFT2RAIL”, the European rail joint technology initiative, seeks focused research and innovation (R&I) and market-driven solutions. The Smart-Rail project is aligned with the objectives of SHIFT2RAIL and will ensure that the results can be used in further research and implementation in this programme.
The current European rail freight market is a complex system involving a great number of different public and private stakeholders who jointly manage the operation of running trains from A to B. The relations and requirements of customers/shippers and the rail sector are depicted in the following figure.
First and foremost, shippers require reliable service. A late or unexpected arrival of freight can cause damage (additional costs) within the logistical process. Other vital factors are lead time, flexibility, visibility and predictability. Lead time is especially important when transporting perishables or high value goods. A long lead time for such goods means a higher depreciation or higher working capital costs. Flexible rail services are responsive to changes in the operations of shippers or in other parts of the supply chain, such as a late arrival of a container because of a delayed ship. Shippers are in need of flexible services, both in terms of departure time and required capacity. In order to be more responsive to changes, shippers and LSPs require control of their assets. Therefore, better visibility and predictability of the supply chain are strongly needed. Shippers demand real-time information on the status of their shipment and immediate information in case of delays so that the rest of the supply chain can be reorganised (re-plan actions) accordingly.
Finally, in order to achieve more competitive total logistics/transport costs, shippers require an efficient and effective rail product, taking into account the requirements mentioned here. A good alignment with other modes of transport used in the supply chain is required and in some cases cooperation with other modes might be needed to optimise the reliability and flexibility of the overall railways product.
The objectives of Smart-Rail, all derived from the overarching goal of creating smart supply chain oriented rail freight services, are:
- to contribute to a mental shift of the rail sector toward a client oriented and supply chain focus;
- to develop working business models for cooperation of different stake-holders;
- to develop a methodology and architecture for exchange of data/information required for the optimisation process, between stake-holders, making use of existing initiatives where available;
- to establish three Continuous Improvement Tracks (CIT, a.k.a. “Living Labs”) that each focus on different aspects and markets and implement the developed tools, methodologies and concepts. The purpose of the CITs is to test and improve the innovative measures in a real life situation. Specific and more dedicated business models, information systems and new rail services are developed, tested and implemented.
