Barcelona Europe South Terminal - BEST

Free webinar about terminal efficiency for rail

Photo: BEST

On first sight, terminal efficiency may not seem to be a typical rail freight topic. However, rail and terminal are intrinsically linked. They depend on each other in creating a successful logistics industry. On 27 February, three stakeholders of this industry sit around the ‘webinar table’ to discuss terminal efficiency for rail.

The webinar is the prelude to conference Improving Rail Terminal Efficiency, to be held on 28 March at the Freight and Terminal Forum. The webinar guests are speakers at this conference: Ad Toet, Railway Consultant and Coordinator of the ELETA project; Peter Pardoel, Member of the board of directors of the Cabooter group Venlo & Chairman of SMART Logistic Centre Venlo and Jarno Kuipers, Senior Manager Terminal Development at Kalmar.

How to improve efficiency?

How can terminal efficiency be improved? Which gains can be won for the rail freight sector? And who is responsible for these developments? The speakers will discuss these topics in a general round of discussion. Do we depend on innovation, automation and digitalisation? Or can terminals become more efficient in other ways? Should we move towards a more inclusive and complex logistics chain? Or towards shorter trains and single load traffic? the experts will be asked.

Apart from these discussions, the guests will be asked about their contribution to the conference on 28 March. As a Kalmar representative, Kuipers will be asked about his expertise as a terminal designer, while Pardoel will draw upon his experience as a terminal operator in the Netherlands. How does he look at the market needs? And how does he balance these needs with that of running a business?

Time of Arrival

Last but not least, Toet will give an update about the ELETA project, which stands for Electronic Estimated Time of Arrival. It is one of the projects that was agreed upon during the 2016 TEN-T Days in Rotterdam, when the sector committed to boosting international rail freight by defining ten priority projects.

Although ETA figures are provided in the industry, the quality and data for the algorithms are poor. More exact data can be calculated by forecast calculators taking algorithms into account, one of the aims of the project. “By using the experiences of previous train journeys and delays from the past, Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning can achieve a higher level of accuracy”, explained Toet. Apart from sharing the latest findings, Toet is also able to give a helicopter view on the market needs as an experienced railway consultant.

Free of charge

The webinar starts at 12.00 and takes an hour. It is free of charge and registration is still open. Did you get interested in the topic and would you like to register for the conference? This can be done here. The conference takes place on the last day of the three-day exhibition called the Freight and Terminal Forum. As part of the larger RailTech Europe 2019, this event is held from 26-28 March 2019.

Author: Majorie van Leijen

Majorie van Leijen is the editor-in-chief of RailFreight.com, the online magazine for rail freight professionals.

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Free webinar about terminal efficiency for rail | RailFreight.com
Barcelona Europe South Terminal - BEST

Free webinar about terminal efficiency for rail

Photo: BEST

On first sight, terminal efficiency may not seem to be a typical rail freight topic. However, rail and terminal are intrinsically linked. They depend on each other in creating a successful logistics industry. On 27 February, three stakeholders of this industry sit around the ‘webinar table’ to discuss terminal efficiency for rail.

The webinar is the prelude to conference Improving Rail Terminal Efficiency, to be held on 28 March at the Freight and Terminal Forum. The webinar guests are speakers at this conference: Ad Toet, Railway Consultant and Coordinator of the ELETA project; Peter Pardoel, Member of the board of directors of the Cabooter group Venlo & Chairman of SMART Logistic Centre Venlo and Jarno Kuipers, Senior Manager Terminal Development at Kalmar.

How to improve efficiency?

How can terminal efficiency be improved? Which gains can be won for the rail freight sector? And who is responsible for these developments? The speakers will discuss these topics in a general round of discussion. Do we depend on innovation, automation and digitalisation? Or can terminals become more efficient in other ways? Should we move towards a more inclusive and complex logistics chain? Or towards shorter trains and single load traffic? the experts will be asked.

Apart from these discussions, the guests will be asked about their contribution to the conference on 28 March. As a Kalmar representative, Kuipers will be asked about his expertise as a terminal designer, while Pardoel will draw upon his experience as a terminal operator in the Netherlands. How does he look at the market needs? And how does he balance these needs with that of running a business?

Time of Arrival

Last but not least, Toet will give an update about the ELETA project, which stands for Electronic Estimated Time of Arrival. It is one of the projects that was agreed upon during the 2016 TEN-T Days in Rotterdam, when the sector committed to boosting international rail freight by defining ten priority projects.

Although ETA figures are provided in the industry, the quality and data for the algorithms are poor. More exact data can be calculated by forecast calculators taking algorithms into account, one of the aims of the project. “By using the experiences of previous train journeys and delays from the past, Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning can achieve a higher level of accuracy”, explained Toet. Apart from sharing the latest findings, Toet is also able to give a helicopter view on the market needs as an experienced railway consultant.

Free of charge

The webinar starts at 12.00 and takes an hour. It is free of charge and registration is still open. Did you get interested in the topic and would you like to register for the conference? This can be done here. The conference takes place on the last day of the three-day exhibition called the Freight and Terminal Forum. As part of the larger RailTech Europe 2019, this event is held from 26-28 March 2019.

Author: Majorie van Leijen

Majorie van Leijen is the editor-in-chief of RailFreight.com, the online magazine for rail freight professionals.

Add your comment

characters remaining.

Log in through one of the following social media partners to comment.