Freight: be it land or sea, all agree on green

Growing ecological constraints

Sea freight has seen its volume quadruple since the beginning of the 1990s. This is the sector which has benefited the most from the globalisation of trade and its dynamics: the emergence of South-East Asia as a “workshop of the world”, the strong demographic rise in developing countries, the urbanisation of populations and the increase in their consumption rates... Trends which are not expected to be reversed before 2080 amid a possible future global demographic decline. But this context of growth is now marked by increasing ecological constraints such as the depletion of fossil fuel reserves and the objective of reducing greenhouse gases. The ambitions are now clear and quantified, whether at the end of COP 28 in Dubai or in the portfolio of incentive measures decided with the European Green Deal2. Furthermore, beyond the question of the energy sources used, efforts must also focus on optimising traffic and saving on movement, ultimately moving towards more intelligent and less expensive transportation. It is also one of the major challenges needing to be met by rail freight.

Optimised rail freight

Exempt from energy constraints up to now, thanks to a French fleet that is 90% electrified, 77% for Europe overall, the eco-transition for rail is being thought of in terms of optimising resources through the “digital” or “intelligent” train.

This is not about the widespread use of autonomous, driver-less trains, but rather the use and sharing of information in real time. Thus, IoT (Internet of Things) sensors are increasingly being used to monitor the status of trains, railways and related infrastructure in real time. Data analysis helps detect potential failures and plan maintenance. The goal is to reduce unplanned downtime, improve safety and anticipate related operations. As part of its “Smart Train” project, Mercitalia, the freight subsidiary of Italian rail transport, has just announced the equipping of 180 additional wagons with diagnostic sensors. These sensors, which incorporate the latest communications technologies, are designed to collect a multitude of data during use, facilitating real-time monitoring of train parameters, helping enable predictive maintenance. This system will automate various operational processes and optimise rail-related activities, thereby improving overall performance. “It’s the topic of the moment,” summarises Christophe Lemaire, digital manager for the Rail Logistics Europe group, which has aggregated all SNCF freight and rail logistics activities since 2020. “With GPS installed in trains, we can do many things: detect that the wagon is moving, check that it is where it should be according to its schedule. If we see that it is stationary in Marseilles when it should be approaching Dijon, what do we do with this information which is potentially important for the client? If the client has this information, they will eventually be able to reorganise themselves in response, taking account of the change in circumstances.” Knowledge of flows in real time is all the more crucial as rail freight is a complex exercise on a European scale. Freight trains are largely made up of what we call single wagons. Also called a “subdivision train”, this system makes it possible to group goods from different customers and from different origins and bring them together on the same train until the next yard where the wagons will be disassembled and reassembled to form other trains. “On a long European journey, there can be four, five, ten successive sorting operations. However, as with a passenger train, if you miss the first connection, then everything becomes complicated. Hence the need to have as much information as possible to be able to adapt if needed.”

Another requirement: sharing information between partners. With a sector that has been open to competition since 2006, European freight operators are trying to gain market share while simultaneously working together. “If we have a train that has to go from Perpignan to Hamburg, there is a good chance that DB Cargo, the freight subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, will take care of the transport once the German border is crossed. It is a competitor but also a subcontractor who also needs reliable information to be able to share it in turn. We must collaborate and share as much data as possible,” continues Christophe Lemaire.

A need for massive investments

The European Green Deal has set the target of 30% rail freight for goods transport by 2030. In France, it has stagnated for several years at around 10%, well behind countries like Austria, Switzerland and Sweden. The objective therefore seems ambitious, especially since the French network is saturated according to Christophe Lemaire: “With everyone going on vacation, the lines are packed during the day and then at night the tracks are unusable because of maintenance works.” A major asset to the decarbonisation of transport, the sector today needs massive investment. “If we want to develop the Lyon bypass, it’s an investment of 10 billion,” takes Christophe Lemaire as an example.

These are colossal needs which will also have to take on the modal shift from road to rail with the establishment of heavy freight rail routes requiring either the support for heavy goods trailers on long distance trains (over 600 kilometres) or for crossing sea or mountain ranges. France and Italy, for example, have launched a joint consultation for the establishment of an Alpine freight rail route in 2025. To encourage this option, the national rail freight development strategy provides for a 15% incentive for shippers who commit to a modal shift via energy saving certificates. While the system is not recent — it dates from 2007 — the French government decided to extend it to freight rail routes in November 2022, in order to compensate for the difference in costs between rail and road.

Slowly does it

While costs remain the critical factor, the question of time also arises. In a sector where delivery times are at the heart of the problem, some have decided to do things “slower to do better”. The Skipper Group company, based in Drôme, presents itself as the inventor of slow logistics, a concept which places humans at the heart of the delivery chain. Originating from the Covid crisis and its consequences, the philosophy mixes cutting-edge technology and simple ideas. For example, delivery shuttles are equipped with a double floor which makes it possible to load twice as many pallets and therefore produce less CO₂. Skipper Group also offers a “last mile” travelled by cargo bike or maritime barge. In their mission statement, the leaders remain well aware that slow freight cannot meet all needs, such as the delivery of urgent products such as medicines. Such a vision echoes that of Alex Caizergues, convinced that the wind-powered version of slow freight can equally make a contribution to eco-logistics. “Some coffee routes are already operated by mixed propulsion with a part of it being windpowered. This is certainly relevant for non-perishable goods. Beyond the simple environmental benefits, it would be quite exciting to know that the chocolate we are nibbling or the whiskey we are sipping was transported by sail.”