GERMANY: Public transport IT specialist INIT has been selected to develop the booking, transport management, payment and shipment tracking system for the RegioKArgo freight tram demonstrator project in Karlsruhe.
The project aims to assess the feasibility of urban deliveries using trams rather than lorries and vans, with trams carrying parcels off-peak in compartments which could be used by passengers at the busiest times.
Shippers would deliver their parcels to logistic sites, where they would be loaded onto a tram for transport to city centre hubs. They would then be collected for last-mile delivery by emission-free electric vans or cargo bikes.
‘Karlsruhe is convinced that this innovative logistic concept will contribute significantly to an overall reduction in traffic volumes in urban areas’, explained Ascan Egerer, Chief Operating Officer of public transport operators Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe and Albtal-Verkehrsgesellschaft. ‘The Karlsruhe tram-train model provides the ideal preconditions for this project. As our trams are technically equipped to use Deutsche Bahn’s heavy rail network, we can also serve the countryside where logistics hubs are easier to install.’
Led by AVG and Automotive Engineering Network, the RegioKArgo project also includes Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Offenburg University and the FZI Research Centre for Information Technology, as well as public transport, logistics and local authority partners.
