This paper describes the COMMUTOR project for more efficient operation of rail freight services. At present, a through freight train is profitable only if it transports at least 100,000 tons of freight per year, but there are many lower flows of rail freight traffic between pairs of terminals. Today, most rail freight traffic is transported through a network of shunting yards, so that the `overnight' delivery, requested by many if not most customers, often cannot be guaranteed. The COMMUTOR approach is based on the concepts that: (1) trains should pass through one yard or `node'; and (2) trains should be connected. With this `hub and spokes' system, the trains between the forwarding yards and the node are very well filled with inter-modal units, because their traffic flow consolidates several flows. Similarly, trains leaving the node are well filled. For example, in the French rail freight system, the node would be in or near Paris. In COMMUTOR, the node would be an automatic quick transfer yard, through which up to 60 trains would pass per night; maximum turnround time would be 1.5 hours, and transhipment would cost relatively little. The paper describes the quick transfer yards and its operations, processing sequences and technical aspects.
Abstract