AMR Future Brief| How Innovations in Freight Rail Are Transforming the Entire Railroad Infrastructure?

Freight rail refers to the transportation of goods by rail. It is also known as rail freight or rail cargo. This type of transportation is mainly used for transporting goods that are too large or heavy to be transported by other means, such as truck or airplane. Freight rail is often used for long-distance transportation as it offers cost-effective and more efficient modes of transportation for large volumes of goods. It typically involves the use of large, specialized trains that are designed to transport a variety of different types of goods which include agricultural goods, vehicles, raw building materials, coal, oil, turbines, wood logs etc.??

Why is freight rail transport a desirable mode of transport for today’s economy??

Freight rail transport offers several advantages that make it well suited to helping shippers meet the challenges of present era businesses. A freight rail is equivalent to hundreds of tractor-trailers which can carry vast quantities of materials and products, providing efficient and economic mode of transportation. With these significant cost savings, shippers find opportunities to reduce margin pressure caused by rising commodity prices and inflation. According to Journal of commerce, depending on distance, payload, and cargo, the cost of rail transport can be reduced to 20% to 40% than that of truck transport.??

On the other hand, based on academic and industry studies, the carbon footprint of rail freight transport is approximately 75% lower than that of truck shipments. This makes industrialists adopt rail freight for their goods transportation actively.??

Additionally, compared to trucking, freight rail transport is safer for society, compared with trucking. According to a study by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, the rail-related facilities are five-times lower per ton-mile transported while the injury rate is twelve times lower. Moreover, with the rising environmental concerns, rail transport has lower pollution rates compared to ocean and air modes of transport, contributing a big hand in making the environment better for public health. As per a recent study, it is found that to cover a distance between China and Northern Europe, air freight emits 77 tons CO2, and the combination of sea and air emits 139 tons of CO2. However, rail freights emit only five 5 tons of CO2 to cover the entire distance.??

How has digital transformation promoted rail freight transport in North America??

In recent years, the rail freight transport industry in North America has adopted advanced tracking devices, known as telematics. These devices can produce vast amounts of data on railcar location, condition, and health. The railway industry in the region has applied such data collected from the devices to improve customer experience, which has helped the industry to increase its freight volume after a decade-long decline in market share.??

Furthermore, leading stakeholders in the industry across the region have formed a coalition, called RailPulse to offer shared infrastructure needed to disseminate, capture, and analyze data from telematics sensors. Several application-layer developers in the industry would be able to tap into the data provided by RailPulse to provide shippers, railcar owners, and railroad operators with real-time visibility and insights to optimize their operations. Such data-driven applications would help augment the existing efficiency, safety, and sustainability of freight rail shipping.??

However, the optimum potential of telematics would require active participation of railcar owners, railroad operators, application developers, hardware vendors across the industry. They should collaborate to implement rail’s digital enhancements and create value. Additionally, stakeholders in the domain can also take steps to communicate the carbon-reduction benefits of shifting freight volumes from trucking to rail, boosting the growth of the industry throughout the region.?

New net zero carbon rail freight service by top players in the domain?

Recently, in February 2024, Network Rail, the owner and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in the UK announced its partnership with Varamis Rail, the UK’s first high speed rail logistics company providing fast, zero emission end to end logistics services to launch an innovative rail freight service that would bring zero carbon movement of goods through Scotland and the Midlands. The companies primarily targeted to launch this service for express parcels and third-party delivery companies, focusing on next-day delivery of consumer goods.??

As the UK aims to achieve net zero carbon by 2050, the companies envisioned to bring transformative change in rail freight services by making them fully electric at the same time freeing up space on the roads for local commuters. To achieve this goal, a collection of former passenger services trains is converted, enabling them to haul freight goods and granting them operating licenses, contracts, and train paths for the service to operate. The companies also conducted a trail service to check the robustness and practicability of the service.??

To wrap up, in this age of technological advancement, the transformation of railways with modern technologies such as AI-powered predictive analytics and maintenance is expected to revolutionize the rail freight domain with enhanced efficiency, optimized maintenance schedules, and uninterrupted train operations. Such modern age technologies are going to empower the railroad industry with increased safety and reliability by ensuring early detection of failures.??

To gain more insights into the freight rail innovation industry, feel free to talk to our industry experts today! You can also directly chat with them here!?

Short Description - Freight rail is a fast, reliable, safer, and environmentally friendly mode of transportation compared to air and ocean freight. They are mainly designed to heavy goods. The digital transformation in rail freight has reshaped the railroad industry with optimized operational flow and improved efficiency.?

? **?????????????? ????????????: Rosy Behera?

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