ESTONIA: National freight operator Operail reports that it shifted a record volume of container traffic from road to rail in 2021 despite facing some challenging market conditions.
Operail services replaced 16 000 lorry journeys with rail transport, and the company grew its intermodal freight traffic by 47% to 190 000 tonnes. Operail says its trains travelled almost 83 000 km while transporting these goods, saving lorry journeys totalling nearly 3 million km on the roads.
‘The freight volume could have been even higher, but unfortunately the summer temperatures were too high for the growing grain, and therefore the yield was lower than expected’, said Sanda Benbik-Voitovich, Head of Intermodal Transport.
Operail is seeking to expand the range of products that it transports by rail, with new traffic including furniture. In 2021 it carried nearly 65 000 tonnes of gravel, 45 000 tonnes of peat and 38 000 tonnes of sawn timber.
The operator is looking to improve its sustainability, having signed an MoU last year with Stargate to convert up to 40 diesel-electric locomotives to run using hydrogen fuel cells. It is also in the process of testing a locomotive powered by liquefied natural gas. Operail is keen to make its intermodal services more efficient, offering enhanced information to shippers and additional services such as container reloading and storage.
‘More and more manufacturers are thinking about the environment and choosing environmentally friendly rail transport. I am happy to see this trend, and we encourage other manufacturers to make more environmentally friendly decisions as well’, said Raul Toomsalu, Chairman of the management board.
