Product & Service
20. 02. 2025
Two big players – Transporeon and ÖBB Rail Cargo Group (RCG) – are setting new standards in the European freight transport market with an innovative platform integration. The potential for a modal shift is huge.
This article was originally published in the GSV Yearbook.
The climate crisis and the European Green Deal clearly show that Europe's transport sector must become more sustainable. A modal shift, i.e. a shift in transport from road to rail, is essential for this. However, there are still barriers in the logistics industry that are making this change more difficult. RCG, the second largest railway logistics provider in Europe, and the transport management platform Transporeon, a Trimble company, have joined forces to overcome these hurdles and develop an integrated, multimodal solution that seamlessly combines rail and road transport for the first time.
Freight transport is facing major challenges today: the growing demand for transport is leading to high emissions and environmental pollution. According to the European Green Deal, Europe urgently needs to reduce emissions and promote modal shift. Around 12% of all CO2 emissions currently come from the transport sector – and the trend is rising. Shifting freight transport to the railways is the fastest and most direct way to combat CO2 emissions and climate pollution. Every tonne of freight transported by train is 30 times more climate-friendly than by truck. However, not every company has its own siding, which is why many still rely on trucks. The solution: multimodal logistics.
Multimodal logistics with the sustainable railway as the main leg.
Multimodal logistics, in which the main leg is carried out by rail and the first and last mile is flexibly carried out by road, offers an efficient and environmentally friendly alternative to pure road transport, as it combines the advantages of different modes of transport. This combination enables a smooth and environmentally friendly transport process. The railways take care of the energy-efficient main leg, while the flexibility of the truck takes care of the fine distribution. Until now, however, mass suitability has often failed because rail and road transport have been regarded as separate systems.
The truck collects the goods from the company site (first mile) and brings them to the train (main leg). The last stretch (last mile) is then on the road again.
This is exactly what the industry wants: integrated solutions. According to a study commissioned by ALICE with the support of Transporeon, shippers want seamless integration of rail and road transport. Above all, they criticise the lack of digital integration, transparency and real-time information in multimodal transport. What's more, many large companies that rely purely on road transport carry out between 500 and 1,000 consignments a day. Even if they want to shift transport to the railways, they would have to contact rail logistics providers separately and have customised solutions created manually. Given the high number of daily runs, this process is inefficient and hardly feasible in practice.
This is precisely where the partnership between the RCG and Transporeon comes in. Together, the two companies offer a unique solution in Europe that combines Transporeon's know-how in road transport with RCG's rail expertise. Thanks to the integration of rail transport on the Transporeon platform, accessing and handling multimodal logistics has become child's play: shifting from road to rail can be done at the click of a mouse.
Customers can book and track their shipments – such as these swap bodies – at any time on the Transporeon platform, ensuring full transparency around the clock.
Existing and new Transporeon customers now have the option of booking and tracking both road and – and this is new – rail transport in real time. Sensor-based data ensures maximum transparency and enables precise tracking of transports. The project is already a complete success: numerous well-known companies such as Nestlé and Vöslauer are already transporting their goods across Europe using multimodal transport.
With this innovative solution, the RCG and Transporeon are making a significant contribution to the goal of shifting more freight onto the railways and achieving Europe’s climate targets. According to estimates, the market for multimodal transport in Europe could double if the right conditions were created. And the foundation stone for this has now been laid.
Last year, the groundbreaking solution received two prestigious awards: the Austrian Logistics Award and the international Supply Chain Excellence Award.
