Tag: railfreight|sustainability|transport

Sustainable manufacturer Ball Beverage Packaging EMEA has reduced its inbound supply chain carbon emissions by 82% following a partnership with global supply chain company Woodland Group. The carbon reductions took place between March 2021 and September 2022.

Woodland Group initiated a new rail route for Ball within the transport chain at its Doncaster facility which resulted in 4.35x less emissions across 1,442 FEU’s (forty-foot equivalent containers). This equates to 886 tonnes of carbon less than if all the containers travelled by road.

The initiative also meant the freight trucking system ran more efficiently, leading to less demurrage penalties for the late collection of containers and goods compared to the previous year.

Woodland Group also reduced the cost and energy consumption by 70% by installing motion sensing and lux-level detection LED lighting at the Doncaster site.

Both companies identified precisely where reductions could be achieved through a carbon calculator tool.

Actively seeking to reduce emissions

Forged in February 2021, the partnership aims to pioneer carbon-conscious supply chain projects and to encourage the development of solutions that will drive down emissions right across the fulfilment value chain.

Jack Harrison, Logistics Development Manager for Ball Beverage Packaging EMEA commented: “We are actively finding ways to reduce our carbon footprint by moving to intermodal solutions and alternative fuels across EMEA.

“This is a great step forward to ensure our supply chain offers a competitive advantage to our customer base by offering a smarter and greener supply chain. This is credit to our partnership with Woodland Group and we look forward to future initiatives that can deliver even greater value.”

Luke Fermor, Head of Fulfilment for Woodland Group, added: “Having the opportunity to work closely with Ball Beverage Packaging on driving carbon conscious initiatives through the supply chain has been a vital component to our partnership. Achieving 82% reduction on emissions on inland freight so far as a result is credit to our collective teams’ commitment, innovative thinking, and collaborative approach, and we’re excited to build on this further.

“Working with clients like Ball is a real pleasure and seeing shared vision and sustainability objectives create tangible change is incredibly encouraging for us and our industry’s future. Together we are already looking at new objectives for future development of carbon-conscious solutions that create opportunity and deliver sustainable supply chains.”

XPO Logistics has introduced an innovative road-rail freight solution to reduce emissions for Wavin, one of the world’s top manufacturers of plastic pipe systems for residential and non-residential use. XPO has partnered with Wavin since 2018, managing the transport of products from plants in Wiltshire and South Yorkshire to destinations throughout the UK.

XPO successfully trialled the road-rail combination in June and implemented the full solution in September through a rail service agreement with Malcolm Logistics. XPO transports Wavin products by road from a production site in Chippenham, Wiltshire, to Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT), near Crick, where they are transported by rail to Grangemouth Rail Terminal in Scotland. From there, the XPO fleet and drivers are deployed to complete the final deliveries.

It is envisaged that the service will be used five days per week, with up to six multimodal rail containers transported daily. The road-rail combination will significantly lower annual C02 emissions by an estimated 58% and reduce NOx by18.8 tonnes yearly, with the full benefits realised once all the rail freight containers are in place. The solution is managed by XPO’s technology platform, which integrates all of the company’s transport services for Wavin, including dedicated truckload, less-than-truckload and a bespoke parcel delivery service.

Andrew Crosby, global director – indirect procurement, Wavin, said: “XPO’s road-rail solution is another example of our partner’s proactive approach to innovation. Our collaboration with XPO is delivering measurable improvements in on-time performance and cost reduction, and now we are further reducing the emissions of our operations on pace with our sustainability goals.”

Dan Myers, managing director – UK and Ireland, XPO Logistics, said: “Both Wavin and XPO understand the importance of taking responsibility to drive innovation and step changes in environmental performance. With our latest initiative, we are achieving these two critical goals together. As partners, we will continue to deliver for Wavin’s customers and the environment.”

Eurotunnel Le Shuttle Freight, recently revealed as the most convenient and least emissive way to transport trucks between the UK and Europe, has launched a new online emissions calculator to enable logistics companies to calculate their CO2 savings.

The ability to create a bespoke calculation comes at a time when there is growing pressure on logistics and haulage companies to reduce their environmental impact. With a truck travelling on a Shuttle emitting 12 times less greenhouse gases than travel by ferry, Eurotunnel Le Shuttle Freight is eager to help its clients further reduce environmental impact per load.

Once determined, each company will be able to publish their results on a tailored certificate which will declare how many tonnes of CO2 customers emit and, most importantly, save by using its services and benefitting from the short strait crossing, across a set time period of up to a year. One benefit is that companies can flexibly calculate their CO2 usage for specific loads via an online calculator, allowing them to demonstrate their commitment when tendering for new business or renewing contracts. Not only is Eurotunnel Le Shuttle Freight helping their customers reach sustainability goals, we are going one step further by also supporting our customers’ wider business goals.

Eurotunnel Le Shuttle Freight says it prides itself on its sustainability ambitions with an ultimate target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and already succeeding in reducing emissions by 33% between 2012 and 2019. To support this impressive target, Eurotunnel Le Shuttle Freight has already introduced fully electric trains with 100% low carbon electricity in both the UK and France.

Christian Dufermont, Freight Commercial Director at Eurotunnel Le Shuttle Freight, said: “As a vital transport link between the UK and continental Europe, we recognise the importance of helping our customers become as sustainable as possible. With the increasing pressure on the logistics industry to reduce their CO2 output, we are hoping our emissions certificate will enable freighters to better monitor their environmental impact and to help reduce it even further by using more sustainable means of crossing the Channel.”

TX Logistik AG is increasing the number of trains on its intermodal connection between Cologne and Bologna. As of 9th July 2022, the number of round trips will increase from five to six per week. The reason for this is the growing demand in both economic regions for rail transport capacities on this route through Switzerland.

TX Logistik included the route in its timetable at the beginning of 2021. It connects the Cologne North terminal with the Interporto Bologna terminal. The route runs via the Gotthard axis, whose expansion was completed in 2020. Since then, semitrailers with a corner height of 4m can also be transported intermodally by rail through Switzerland. The switch to the P400 profile has significantly increased demand for combined transport services on the Gotthard route.

TX Logistik has taken into account this development with the additional round trip. The rail logistics company, which is part of the Mercitalia Group (Gruppo FS Italiane), and its subsidiaries TX Logistik Switzerland and TX Logistik Transalpine are responsible for all services ‒ from marketing of transportation capacities to traction ‒ entirely under their own management. Modern multi-system locomotives are used, staffed by locomotive drivers from TX Logistik. Up to 34 loading units fit on one train. In addition to semi-trailers, mega-trailers, swap bodies and containers are also transported. They are loaded in Cologne and Bologna every day, with the exception of Sunday.

With the higher train frequency on the Cologne-Bologna route, TX Logistik says it is making a further contribution to modal shift and climate protection. Compared to transport by truck, rail transport saves around 23,000 tons of CO2 per year with six round trips per week.

Freightliner, in partnership with a consortium of specialist suppliers, has successfully secured government funding to develop a Rail Freight Energy and Emissions Calculator (REEC) that will be deployed on the existing NR+ platform used for rail- freight planning.

The project is one of 30 winners in the latest round of the First of a Kind (FOAK) competition announced recently by the Transport Secretary. Already the safest and greenest mode of ground-freight transportation, the competition has been aimed at making railways even cleaner and greener.

The NR+ platform, developed by University of Hull, is the first digital platform that fully captures the UK rail network capability from a freight operator’s perspective, including data on loading gauge, permitted weight and electrification constraints. It will be augmented with route gradient and line speed data, together with high-accuracy train performance modelling, to deliver a low-cost intelligent emissions calculation and mapping solution.

Rail-freight operators and customers will be able to calculate precise energy and emissions estimates for their routes, easily model the performance limitations of different traction options and varying train loads, or compare rail freight with other transport modes to determine the effects of modal shift on overall emissions.

“Freightliner is excited to be a key partner in this pioneering rail-freight project with University of Hull, Aether, Carrickarory and University of Derby,” said Freightliner UK Rail Managing Director Tim Shakerley. “There are significant economic and environmental benefits generated by rail freight, and the development of the Rail Freight Energy and Emissions Calculator can support an increased modal shift from road to rail, ensuring that rail freight is well positioned to deliver even greater economic benefits and the decarbonisation of the UK economy.”

With 44% of the UK network currently electrified and no more than 80% likely to be electrified in the next few decades, REEC can also be used to analyse the freight impact of different electrification plans, options, and alternatives. Freight operators are actively pursuing ways to decarbonise diesel trains, which is not just a matter of switching to lower carbon energy sources but also operating more efficiently – for example, by operating longer trains that are more energy and emissions efficient. However, a detailed energy and emissions calculator, that can simply and easily evaluate all the permutation of performance requirements, efficiency improvements and mitigation measures is not currently available.

The lead organisation, University of Hull, has successfully developed the NR+ platform and demonstrated its ability to combine big data and analytics to deliver scalable rail applications. The energy and emissions calculations will be led by consultants from Aether and Carrickarory, who have worked with Department for Transport and Rail Safety Standards Board on rail emissions understanding and reduction, and an expert from the University of Derby.

Amar Ramudhin, Director of the Logistics Institute, said: “Building on our innovative NR+ platform, our energy and emissions calculator will provide much more precise emissions data. This will allow DfT and Network Rail to align their investment on rail electrification to areas with higher emissions and lead to opportunities to plan routes that are lower in carbon emissions, contribution to the UK’s commitment to providing a more reliable, efficient, and greener railway, as well as the University of Hull’s commitment to accelerating a net zero future.”