As COO of Hödlmayr International and Head of the Rail Initiative Program of the Association of European Vehicle Logistics (ECG), Andreas Sundl has extensive experience in the rail industry and sees significant growth opportunities in this area.
Despite the advantages in terms of efficiency and sustainability, rail transport also faces challenges in day-to-day business: infrastructural bottlenecks, fluctuating market volumes and short-term planning decisions make consistent use difficult.
However, the focus should not be on the uncertainties that cannot be influenced - but on those adjustments that can be made together. These include, among other things:
- The expansion of cooperation between all parties along the supply chain and the establishment of a strong partnership network in rail transport
- The development of common industry standards and the provision of a “railway handbook” with loading guidelines, infrastructure instructions and information on train path orders
- The optimization of operational key figures such as resource efficiency, utilization rates and idle times
- Concluding long-term contracts (over two to four years) with OEMs to improve planning security and justify infrastructure investments
- Working closely with policy makers at EU level to achieve industry-wide improvements
Further insights into this topic are provided by a joint technical article with ECG Managing Director Frank Schnelle in the current May issue of Railway Gazette International. Under the title “The challenges of moving cars by rail”, the existing challenges and concrete solutions are discussed.
