The move, orchestrated by the Environmental Solutions team, underscores the effort of Rail Cargo Group (RCG) to integrate road and rail logistics, offering a more flexible approach to waste management logistics.
Christopher Prax-Huber, the Segment Manager for Environmental Solutions at RCG, alongside Thomas Flatscher, whi has been an esteemed member of the Rail Cargo Group team for over three decades, are at the forefront of this initiative. Both are key players in RCG's adaptation to evolving market needs, particularly in the realm of rail logistics.
The Environmental Solutions division focuses primarily on the transportation of waste, offering comprehensive support from start to finish. This includes coordination beyond the conventional station-to-station transport, encompassing the necessary pre- and post-rail logistics typically handled by trucks.
The relevance of this new independent unit was further underscored by the Waste Management Act (AWG) of 2021, which mandates environmentally friendly transport of waste over specified weights and distances. This legislation has prompted a detailed examination of the types of waste transported by RCG, leading to the realization that a dedicated competency center for waste transportation was necessary. AWG requires all waste over 10 tons transported over distance of 300 km to be moved by rail. This distance will be decreased this year to 200 and in 2025 to 100 km. It was the real driver behind these innovative RCG solutions to come to realization.
The division also emphasizes multi-modal transport solutions that adapt rail logistics to be as flexible and effective as road transport. Innovations like the MOBILER - a mobile system that supports transshipment in areas without rail infrastructure - demonstrate RCG's commitment to adaptable, efficient logistics solutions. The MOBILER system enables quick and easy transfer of waste materials without the need for heavy lifting equipment, operating efficiently with just a truck driver and remote control.
In terms of waste types, RCG handles a variety, ranging from waste glass to scrap or slag to processed waste like substitute fuels used in the cement industry. Each type of waste presents unique logistical challenges, such as the corrosive nature of salt slag, which necessitates specially coated containers originally designed for offshore use.
The division's key accounts include major energy and utility companies, which rely on the thermal recycling of waste to produce electricity and heating. This is critical not only for energy production but also for industries like cement manufacturing, which require high temperatures in their processes.
RCG plans the Environmental Solutions division to further develop by targeting new customers and crafting tailored rail logistics concepts that could include transporting non-ferrous metals and addressing the emerging relevance of sewage sludge.
The team of 19 people at Environmental Solutions at RCG make sales of around EUR 35 million per year and move over 1.85 million tons of cargo. For this, 300 wagons and 1,200 various containers are used. By 2026, RCG will get another 400 MOBILER wagons and 1,200 MOBILER containers of three various types: Halftainers for transport of various bulk materials such as waste glass, slag or industrial salt, bulk containers suitable for transporting water glass, grain, wood chips and scrap, and Multitainers which acts as a combination container for pallet goods and bulk goods.
