Chemical Transport: When Everything has to be Perfect

Chemical transport is one of the biggest challenges faced by the logistics sector. This is primarily on account of the materials. In the best case, chemicals are sensitive, in the worst case they are highly explosive – so it is absolutely essential that meticulous planning and the highest quality and safety standards are in place for every consignment. We spoke to Segment Manager Viktoria Pokorny and Key Account Manager Anika von der Heiden to find out more about their high standards and how they endeavour to meet them at all times.

Many people find chemistry difficult to understand. Most people probably think back to their school days, when they used to copy out long chemical compounds. Simply put, how is chemistry relevant to me?

Viktoria: Chemistry is a fundamental part of almost every industry. The basic products can be found in the building materials, automotive and textile sectors. Chemistry is everywhere, or as we like to say, all of life is chemistry.

What exactly does that mean?

Viktoria: Consider methanol, which is used to produce formaldehyde, an important basic material for many resins. Or caustic soda, which is used to produce pulp and cellulose fibres in the textile industry. Styrene, for its part, makes it possible to produce insulating materials such as polystyrene boards. A good two thirds of the materials we transport are liquid goods, while the remaining third is solid. A lot of it has to be transported with the utmost care. Our customers are very particular about this.

In what way?

Anika: The importance placed on the purity and quality of materials in the transport of chemicals is clearly illustrated by access to the wagon market. Although we also hire out equipment, 99 % of our customers provide their own. This ensures right from the outset that only one and the same material is transported by the tank wagons and special equipment. This is extremely important, since even a few drops can contaminate a product and render it worthless, and we don't want to risk that under any circumstances.

Could you describe chemical products as the mimosa of transport goods?

Anika: (laughs) They are certainly very sensitive and require very careful handling. Because of this, we are bound by certain restrictions and adhere meticulously to our RID (Regulations concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail). Some transport jobs even have to be temperature-controlled. We use insulated tank wagons to ensure that the goods do not deviate from the specified temperature range. Sometimes tank wagons are not allowed to stand for too long because the product will heat up in the sun and become unusable. This is checked regularly using sensors on the wagons.

That sounds like a lot of things to take into account...

Anika: Like our customers, we have internalised the knowledge for handling chemical substances. This starts with the initial enquiry and continues right through to putting the trains together. We work with special substances and therefore often need a special approach. All employees who have contact with hazardous goods are therefore required to undergo regular training. Single wagonload transport is also very important for us. This is in part due to the fact that highly toxic, flammable substances, such as chlorine, may only occur in production plants to a limited extent. We do not want to and are not allowed to travel to the plant with a block train.

Rail freight transport places the highest priority on safety, but the hazardous goods you transport make the issue even more important for you. What do you do and what do you have to think about on behalf of your customers?

Viktoria: We provide complete documentation for every transport. Consequently, the relevant dangerous goods documents are always required and must be attached to each wagon. International UN numbers mean that the contents can be recognised at a glance. In addition to providing appropriate training, our wagon technicians also carry out meticulous checks when transporting chemicals. For example, we cannot risk a dome cover not closing properly and hazardous goods escaping, even if it is only a few drops.

Do you also take this expertise in handling hazardous goods beyond pure rail transport?

Viktoria: Yes, we do. Krems is the most important chemical site in Lower Austria. We operate a hazardous goods warehouse there for our customers and offer value-added services such as repackaging goods, labelling and more. Our focus in doing so is naturally on rail transport, but we also offer truck transport, for example. This makes us a full-service logistics provider for the chemicals sector.

Let's talk about Europe and your flow of goods. How is the market doing, where do the goods come from, and where do you deliver them?

Viktoria: The onset of the energy crisis triggered a change in the chemical industry. Since 2022, fewer chemical products have been produced in Europe as a result of persistently high energy costs. Many companies have outsourced production to countries with lower energy prices. Other companies import goods from countries where production is simply cheaper and the issue of emissions does not play as big a role as it does in Europe. This also changed the flow of goods. Since 2023, we have been importing significantly more via the ports. We expect this situation to persist until Europe's economy recovers. For us, this means that the flow of goods via the ports has become very important and, as a result, so have our transfer train solutions.

Which ports are you referring to?

Anika: The ARA ports (Antwerp, Rotterdam and Amsterdam) are particularly important for us. The port of Antwerp is one of the top three chemical clusters in the world, and is the leading chemical hub in Europe. Our hub in Rheinkamp near Duisburg allows us to offer our customers transport solutions that enable them to transport individual wagons from Antwerp directly to Austria without any intermediate stops. In future, we will also be able to reach our customers in Germany, who are mainly located in the Rhine-Ruhr region, via a new TransFER line to offer them local solutions.

Have you benefited from the fact that the RCG now also has a railway undertaking in the Netherlands?

Anika: Absolutely. The greatest benefit is that we are now operating under our own traction and are less reliant on cooperation partners. It is always easier to get in touch with your own colleagues, and our customers appreciate holistic solutions. This also boosts our two main connections in this region, the high-frequency TransFER Linz–Duisburg–Wels and the previously mentioned TransFER from Antwerp to Austria. This allows our customers to run single wagons while benefiting from the advantages of large, regular transfer solutions with predictable turnaround times and predefined timetables.

Viktoria: Our customers appreciate the fact that we can offer them an all-inclusive carefree package. The fact that, in addition to our expertise in the transport of hazardous goods, we also have extensive market coverage gives customers another reason to work with us.

Do you have any examples of customers that you remember particularly well?

Viktoria: I fondly remember a 100,000-ton salt transport operation that we transferred from truck to rail for one of our major Austrian chemical customers. It involved 22 truck journeys a day from Koper to Austria. We have been providing wagon material for ten years and have really delivered in terms of sustainability.

Anika: I remember a situation that seemed pretty hopeless for a long time. We were transporting sulphur dioxide in a tank wagon for a transport to Duisburg and, like our customer, were caught on the wrong side of a short-term construction site. Nothing short of a production standstill was imminent. We were in contact with them every minute until late in the evening. This allowed us to give our locomotive driver the go-ahead as soon as the construction site was cleared. I still remember how happy our customer was. They really appreciated the fact that we were so flexible and didn't just shut down the computer at 5pm and go home or get off the locomotive. We said we would do it together, and that's exactly what we did.

The chemicals sector at a glance

• Organization of Europe-wide end-to-end logistics solutions
• National and international transports (block trains, groups of wagons, single wagonloads)
• Chemical technical safety advice
• Hazardous materials warehouses for different classes of hazardous materials, including value added services such as repackaging, labeling, picking, and customs management
• 4 m. tons of total volume (110,000 wagons) annually

Are you interested in a chemical transport? You can contact us directly here.