Swiss Federal Railways SBB and Swiss Post have come up with an ingenious idea. The tests for it are promising.
Swiss Federal Railways SBB launched the collaboration with Swiss Post through its cargo subsidiary. A pilot project aims to determine the potential time savings and possible improvements in CO2 emissions, the two state-owned companies announced in a media release on Tuesday.
The principle is both simple and innovative, they added.
Commuting packages
A freight train is put together like a passenger train, those responsible explain the procedure. Using two Eem923 hybrid locomotives, one would be at the head and one at the tail tail of the train, with six converted freight cars for twelve containers in between, which could easily be changed.
And it is precisely this train that shuttles in the pilot project between Swiss Post’s large parcel centers in Daillens (VD), Härkingen (SO) and Frauenfeld (TG).
Many savings
Locomotive changes at both ends will become unnecessary, according to the communiqué. Thanks to the use of hybrid locomotives, the composition can run directly into the terminals of the parcel centers. This eliminates shunting, making operations more efficient and faster.
In the future Swiss Post wants to carry out more shipments by rail and hopes that this new type of logistics in cooperation with SBB Cargo will save a considerable amount of time over the entire process, it added.
The environment appreciates it
SBB Cargo said that this was a contribution by the two companies to Switzerland’s energy and climate goals.
In view of all this, one wonders why the two companies did not come up with this simple solution earlier. But sometimes, perhaps, simplicity is just too close to see.
20.09.2022/kut./ena.