Rail Freight Vs

Road Freight15th Feb 2013

An introductory comparison of the Advantages and Disadvantages associated with:

Introduction

Timothy Bay

Trucks Vs Trains

The Team

Angad Sandhu

James Ferguson

Introduction

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the use of freight transport via road versus freight transport via rail across Europe, thus paying particular attention to the sustainability in supply chain operations for each method.

Trucks Vs Trains

The Investigation

A bit of BackgroundRail Transport

A bit of Background

However road freight as we know it today really evolved with the first “Trucks”. These were built in 1896 by Gottlieb Daimler.

Road Transport

Europe freight (Road vs. Rail) Comparative analysis

Trucks Vs Trains

Road Rail

Total length Total road network: 5.6 million Km. Higher reach to remote destinations vs rail transport

Total rail network: 97,600 Km (2005) & (0.212 million Km + 0.111 million Km = 0.323 million Km) (2009)Lower traffic density vs road leading to shorter transit times in higher population regions

Economic turnover

(2009) Euro 2,290.41 Billion (2011) Euro 18 billion down from Euro 20 billion in 2008

Employment 2.95 million 0.712 millionTotal Transport

45.3% of total 3.831 billion-tonne km of goods transport = 1.735 btk

10.2% of total 3.831 billion-tonne km of goods transport = 0.39 btk

[1] “European union road statistics 2009,” European Union road federation, accessed February 12, 2013, http://www.irfnet.eu/images/stories/Statistics/2009/2._Road_Network.pdf.[2] “Transport infrastructure – TEN – T,” http://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/infrastructure/ten-t-policy/transport-mode/doc/rail_tab1_country_length_ten-t_rail.pdf.[3] “European transport figures 2012,” 2.1.14 accessed February 12, 2013, http://ec.europa.eu/transport/facts-fundings/statistics/doc/2012/pocketbook2012.pdf.[4] “European union road statistics 2009,” http://www.irfnet.eu/images/stories/Statistics/2009/1._General_Data.pdf. [5] Kevin Smith, “European rail-freight struggles despite improving traffic,” International railway journal, August 30, 2012, accessed February 12, 2013, http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/freight/european-railfreight-struggles-despite-improving-traffic.html.[6] “European transport figures 2012,” European commission, 2.1.5 accessed February 12, 2013, http://ec.europa.eu/transport/facts-fundings/statistics/doc/2012/pocketbook2012.pdf.

Road

Overview of Transport via Road

Trucks Vs Trains

Advantages DisadvantagesDeparture times

Customizable transport departure time. Increased flexibility of dispatch

Departure and transit time hit due to traffic jams and congestion/accidents/material damage

Vehicle type (Axle: central shaft of a rotating wheel)

Transport via different types and sizes of vehicles. Namely: Lorries (2 axle, 3 axle), Road train (4 axle, 5 axle or more)

Road train is always shorter than trainCombination lengths B-Double- 26 m (85.3 ft) max B-Triple- 33.5 m (110 ft) max Pocket road train- 27.5 m (90.2 ft)

max. This configuration is classed as a "Long Vehicle"

Double road train- 36.5 m (120 ft) max

Triple and AB-Quad road trains- 53.5 m (176 ft) max

Package size

Variation in package size is acceptable. Single axle (steer tyre): 6MT till triaxial grouping (20MT) for road trains

Lower when compared to freight rail one axle load

[1] “Road train,” Wikipedia, accessed February 13, 2013, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_train#Combination_lengths[2] “Road train,”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_train

Rail

Overview of Transport via Rail

Trucks Vs Trains

Advantages Disadvantages

Departure times

Set material delivery times vs. road transport, which are subject to traffic congestion

Non-Customizable set departure times. Reduced flexibility of dispatch

Vehicle type • Conventional and high-speed rail available.

• Diesel and electric traction is available for European rail.

• Single wagon to multiple freight trains is available. Conventional freight lines: 750 m long

Freight transport for smaller rails less economical

Package size Large containers enable greater break bulk carrying loads. Max axle load applicable of: 22.5 MT

Containers only - package movement only after full container stuffing

[1] Michael Spielmanm, Roland W. Scholtz, “Lifecycle in Transport services,” Ecoinvent database (2005): 87, accessed February 13, 2013, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/lca2004.10.181.10[2] “Transport infrastructure – TEN – T,” European Commission, accessed February 12, 2013, http://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/infrastructure/ten-t-policy/transport-mode/rails_en.htm.

Energy Usage Rail vs. Road

Trucks Vs Trains

Road Rail

Total energy consumption

(2010) 299.72 Mtoe (million tonne oil equiv) = 3485.74 megawatt hours82.1% of final energy consumption of Eu-27

(2010) 7.36 Mtoe = 85.59 megawatt hours2% of final energy consumption of Eu-27

Greenhouse gases

(2009) 878.4 million tonnes of Co2 equivalent or 71.7% of the total

(2009) 7.5 million tonnes of Co2 equivalent or 0.6% of the total

[1] “European transport figures 2012,” 3.2.3 accessed February 12, 2013, http://ec.europa.eu/transport/facts-fundings/statistics/doc/2012/pocketbook2012.pdf.

Energy Usage Rail vs. Road

Trucks Vs Trains

[1] Michael Spielmanm, Roland W. Scholtz, “Lifecycle in Transport services,” Ecoinvent database (2005): 87, accessed February 13, 2013, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/lca2004.10.181.10

Comparison

Trucks Vs Trains

Category Type Trucking Railroad

Tons of CO2 equivalents / million ton-miles (2007)

230 28.96

Air Pollution Tons of PM/ million ton-miles (2002) 0.12 0.018

Accidents Fatalities per billion ton-miles (avg 2003-2007)

2.54 0.39

Injuries per billion ton-miles (avg 2003-2007)

55.98 3.32

Congestions Cost of delay to road user (2000) £10.86 £0.58

Noise Pollution

Trucks Vs Trains

External Costs Road (Billion Euro) Rail (Billion Euro)

Congestion 268 -

Accidents 156 0.3

Noise 40 1.4

Climate Change 70 2.1

Air Pollution 164 2.4

TOTAL 698 6.2

External Costs induced to support both methods:

EU-15 + Switzerland + Norway

Source: INFRAS / IWW2004

Government subsidies

Road Rail0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

Billion Euro per year

Total subsidiesTotal external costs

Source: EEA 2007 *Costs are inclusive of all previously identified factors

Legislation

Trucks Vs Trains

Railways and Highways

European rail network for competitive freight (Regulation EC 913/2010)

EU directive 91/440 – open access operations on railway lines:

“...First Railway Package aimed to open up the trans-European rail freight network to international goods services by 2008...”

Legislation

Trucks Vs Trains

Vehicles

Driving Authorities

MOT’s

Overview

Trucks Vs Trains

In 2008 a freight company opted to send produce via rail instead of by road from Marseilles to Ludwigshafen:

http://www.rail-link-europe.com/uploads/Sustainable%20Development%20RLE%20-%20UK.pdf

A gallon of diesel will carry a tonne of freight 246 miles by rail as opposed to 88 miles by

road.

Trucks Vs Trains

Put this into context..

Public and Social opinion

More customers admit to being influenced in their purchases by “economically friendly” tag lines

Public and Social opinion

Big Brands are recognising that efficiency and sustainability sells.

Summary

Trucks Vs Trains

It is evident the most effective way to transport freight is by a combination of both road and rail

Predictions for the Future...By 2020/20301

– Road transport (trucks) operating cost is supposed to increase by 4% compared to 2005

– Rail transport operating cost is supposed to decrease by 10% due to more efficient planning and improved operability.

– From 2005 to 2030: tonne-km is supposed to increase by 43% for trucking and 79% for rail.

Trucks Vs Trains

[1] Jeppe Rich and Christian Overgaard Hansen, “Freight transport trends for 2020, 2030 and 2050 - Freight transport foresight,”, DG TREN 7th Research framework program (2009): 5, accessed February 14, 2013, http://www.freightvision.eu/files/D4.3.pdf,

Questions?