Innofreight makes rail logistics smart

The mission statement of the Styrian rail logistics specialist Innofreight Solution is to continuously improve what is good. This applies both to logistics services and to “hardware” – the rolling stock that has been put on rail for almost two decades.

The InnoCloud freight transport monitoring system will be launched in 2020. This will enable Innofreight, together with partner companies – first and foremost VTG – to optimise and perhaps even revolutionise logistics in European rail freight transport. The system will help to make rail a great deal more attractive for European freight traffic. This will relieve the burden on the roads and ultimately also on the climate.

The InnoCloud makes it possible to monitor the location, loading condition and technical condition of the wagons used around the clock. This in turn makes it possible to send wagons with the right superstructures flexibly and just in time to where they are really needed. There are no more long idle times and no more superfluous empty runs.

The InnoCloud is basically designed as a sharing platform that also enables cooperative use of the wagons if required. In a first step, three block trains with 30 wagons will be used as a pool for cooperative use. This means that unloaded trains will not have to make empty runs in the future, but can be used by different customers in such a way that the return loads also work across companies.

In the case of roundwood transport alone, the project partners expect an increase in resource efficiency of up to 30 percent, i.e. significantly better compensation for fluctuations in capacity utilisation and better coordination of return loads. The test drives were completed in 2019 in cooperation with Papierholz Austria – the central development partner for users.

Back in 2004, the Styrian logistics company started partnerships with the wood processing and paper producing industry. This was followed by 15 successful years in which the company was able to support Europe’s forestry industry as well as pulp and paper companies with containers, InnoWaggons and tailor-made loading and unloading systems. This development was crowned by the introduction of the Smart GigaWood wagon in 2018, which raises log transport to a new level and, according to the company, has proven itself in every respect.

www.innofreight.com