We at the VAP are committed to competitive rail freight transport. In the meantime, several private RUs and VAP members operate important transports. We are happy to introduce them and their core competences. Let’s start with TR Trans Rail AG.
Between mid-September and the end of December is harvest time for sugar beet – a multimodal, logistical challenge for all involved. Here, rail plays to its strengths, especially on medium and longer distances, and delivers large quantities reliably and on time to the two plants in Aarberg and Frauenfeld.
As a long-standing logistics partner of Schweizer Zucker AG, TR Trans Rail AG’s cargo transports reach a peak in the last quarter of each year. During this time, a complex logistics project is ramped up for transport to the sugar factories. At the loading points, the rail wagons are loaded by the farmers and then transported by rail. Since the 2021 season, TR Trans Rail AG has been the sole national logistics partner of Schweizer Zucker AG in the area of rail transport, another milestone in its corporate history.
Thanks to the experience of the past seasons, meticulous planning coupled with a high degree of flexibility, the orders are handled smoothly. If, for example, drought or viral yellowing have a negative impact on yield and sugar content, various trains have to be rerouted at short notice. Only with the flexibility of everyone involved is it possible to optimise the utilisation of the two plants.
Shortly before Christmas 2021, the last load of beet reached the Frauenfeld sugar factory. For 100 days, TR Trans Rail AG transported around 555,000 tonnes of beet to the sugar factories in Aarberg and Frauenfeld with over 500 trains.
«The transport by rail and the cooperation with the partners involved mostly worked smoothly. Thanks to the rail transports, around 90,000 road kilometres could be saved. That corresponds to a distance of about two circumnavigations of the earth,» explains Peter Koch, who is responsible for the sugar beet transports east.
TR Trans Rail AG relies on the VAP when it comes to overarching know-how in rail freight transport.
André Pellet: To help our customers find new transport solutions for their wagon loads, we wanted to learn more about their needs, possibilities, but also hurdles. A business partner therefore recommended that we contact the VAP, which we already knew. The contact was quickly established and the cooperation started quickly and without complications.
What would you tell a colleague about the VAP?
André Pellet, Managing Director TR Trans Rail AGThe VAP is an extremely useful platform for the maritime industry. For only together can the urgent issues of freight transport by rail be tackled.
The rail freight system is extremely complex and therefore very demanding. Each customer or provider has different needs. But only the whole unit, bundled in an association, has the chance to master the challenges.
Where do you see the most urgent need for action to promote rail freight transport?
The transport policy framework must be right for the freight railways. The tightly organised railway organisation must not hinder the flexibility to find good transport solutions and the effort must remain within an economic measure. The ever leaner infrastructure must not restrict us any further.
What do you wish for the future of rail freight transport in Switzerland?
The railway should increasingly act as a unit vis-à-vis the road. The various service providers and private railway companies have different possibilities and each could contribute something to the implementation and handling of transports. The railways should not see themselves as competitors, but should contribute their individual strengths and thus offer holistic and customer-oriented solutions.
Thank you very much for your answers, André Pellet!
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Information about TR Trans Rail AG: As a Swiss rail transport company, TR Trans Rail offers a wide range of offers and services with various domestic and foreign partners. Thanks to many years of experience, they are specialists in the areas of freight transport, modern services, train nostalgia, group charter trips, accompanied trips and themed event trips. |
