Rail freight of tomorrow
Urban logistics
A freight tram that meets city traffic requirements
Issues
Each year 25 tonnes of merchandise – equivalent to the capacity of a semi-trailer truck – must be transported to satisfy the personal needs of each person living in the Paris region. While the average weight of packages has gone down over the past few years, the volume of merchandise has increased fourfold. As a result, more and more trucks, the most common means of freight transport in urban areas, clog the streets of central Paris. The same situation is found in all large cities. Even though freight transport accounts on average for only one-third of city traffic, it is responsible for 30% to 40% of congestion. Its impact on road safety and on noise and atmospheric pollution is also very significant. These facts have prompted municipalities to ask whether there might not be other ways to transport and distribute goods.
SNCF's research in partnership with local authorities on how to insert a rail link in the urban logistics chain fits within a broader effort to develop urban transport plans that became obligatory in 1996. The new systems under consideration demand special technologies that will enable them to meet the specific requirements of urban environments (non-polluting traction, lower noise levels for freight trains, urban logistics platforms, etc.). Well-adapted equipment is essential, and the "freight tram-train" is one of the possible solutions.
Objectives
The tram-train, a product of internally developed innovations at SNCF, is a totally new concept for the transport and distribution of merchandise in cities. Ideally, such a vehicle should:
run on both classic railway and tramway tracks (hence its inclusion in the tram-train family),
have a low floor along its entire length to facilitate loading and unloading merchandise using pallets,
comply with railway signalling requirements as well as the driving code followed by tramways,
operate as quietly and be as well integrated in the urban environment as a modern tramway.
Solutions selected
Because of the diversity of customers and infrastructures, two types of complementary equipment must be designed:
a freight tram capable of providing high-capacity transport (pallets weighing over one tonne) between production sites and warehouses, with an 80-cm-high floor to match the height of logistics-platform docks.
a freight distribution tram for making deliveries in city-centre commercial districts, with a 35-cm-high floor suited to the platform height in tramway stations; handling equipment would also be able to roll on and off to deliver goods to merchants' doors.
In both cases, the overall design and the cab equipment called for special solutions (on which SNCF has obtained international patents) to satisfy the requirements of city operation.
Prospects
Municipalities have shown a lot of interest in this concept, since it fits well with the growing number of public transport projects that include a tram–train component. The system's commercial potential as a means to serve commercial centres is very strong, though it obviously must be validated case by case.
The sizeable investments in track and related equipment that would be necessary to bring this merchandise distribution system into generalised use make it unlikely that the freight tram concept will rapidly become a reality. However, work on the system's design is already far enough along to generate interest among manufacturers.
Contact : Philippe Berthier