Project for Package Delivery by Tram Starts in Karlsruhe

The goal of the new joint project LogIKTram is to shift freight transport more from road to rail, especially on medium and short distances. The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), MARLO Consultants, Offenburg University of Applied Sciences, DB Engineering & Consulting, and industrial partners are developing a vehicle technology and logistics concept for a ‘freight tram’ based on a Karlsruhe dual-system light rail and examining the impacts on road and rail traffic.

(Hanau/Karlsruhe) Another central aspect of LogIKTram is the development of ICT for planning and controlling the logistics and operation of the freight tram, which is being addressed by MARLO Consultants, INIT, SimPlan, and the FZI. LogIKTram is part of the overall initiative regioKArgo, whose partners are also partly involved in the LogIKTram consortium and aim to explore and implement new forms of intermodal freight and delivery transport.

Urban Transport on Rails

The goal of the new joint project LogIKTram is to shift freight transport more from road to rail, especially on medium and short distances. To provide electromobility solutions for commercial logistics in cities and regions, the project utilizes the existing tram and railway infrastructure of the ‘Karlsruhe Model’. In the future, more freight transport needs to be shifted to rail to improve the traffic climate balance and relieve cities. Combined rail transport currently mainly operates between large freight terminals or to and from seaports. In cities and urban agglomerations, rail freight transport plays hardly any role so far.
There, small-scale transport is carried out on the road, for which new concepts are needed. The joint project LogIKTram, in which AVG, KIT, Offenburg University of Applied Sciences, MARLO Consultants, and DB Engineering & Consulting, along with several other partners, are leading participants, aims to develop a logistics concept and an information and communication technology (ICT) platform for future freight transport in tram and light rail vehicles. “In the target state, we will use the existing tram and railway infrastructure,” explains Dr. Michael Frey, deputy head of the Institute for Vehicle System Technology (FAST) at KIT. The railway system technology division of FAST and the Institute for Transportation (IfV) at KIT are also involved in LogIKTram.

Project Duration of Three Years

The project started on March 1, 2021, and is planned for three years. LogIKTram receives funding of approximately 2.75 million euros from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). LogIKTram is a fundamental sub-project of the overall initiative regioKArgo, which aims to investigate and implement new forms of freight and delivery transport in Karlsruhe and the surrounding region. Within the framework of regioKArgo, on the one hand, transport is to be shifted more from road to rail, and on the other hand, the last mile of delivery is to be made emission-free. “The existing infrastructure of the ‘Karlsruhe Model’ provides optimal conditions for developing and testing new forms of freight transport in practice,” says Ascan Egerer, technical managing director of AVG.

Freight Tram Transports People and Goods

The LogIKTram project pursues several sub-goals. Researchers at FAST of KIT are developing the technical concept for a ‘freight tram’ based on a dual-system light rail according to the ‘Karlsruhe Model’, which has been combining tram routes in the city and railway routes in the surrounding area for almost 30 years. The Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (AVG) provides an older vehicle for this purpose, which is specifically adapted for the requirements of freight transport and is to be tested as the first demonstration object. “Another sub-project called regioKArgoTramTrain aims to enable the new train to be used not only for testing at the depot but also in real operations in the region – we have applied for funding in the state competition RegioWIN for this purpose,” says Ascan Egerer. Before real operations can begin, further tasks in the areas of traffic concept, railway operation, design of transshipment processes, and legal foundations need to be addressed.

Variable Interior Design Creates Space

To enable the freight tram to transport both people and goods, FAST is developing solutions to create space for goods through variable interior design. The transport containers are to be loaded and unloaded automatically and secured with devices such as hooks and latches. Precise positioning of the trams at the stations is important to move the transport containers with centimeter accuracy and to maintain the normal passenger exchange times in public transport. “The existing timetables are to be maintained,” explains Dr. Michael Frey from FAST at KIT.

Simulation of Passenger and Freight Transport in the Region

The IfV of KIT is investigating the impacts of the concept on road and rail traffic. To this end, the researchers are building a simulation environment for passenger and freight transport in the model region of Karlsruhe based on the traffic demand model mobiTopp developed at IfV. From this basis, IfV examines various operating scenarios of LogIKTram and their traffic effects. “The goal of the project is to make effective use of rail transport capacity in a time-dependent manner. It is important to consider the requirements of both passenger transport and freight transport and to combine both. With the combined passenger and freight transport model to be developed in the project, it will be possible for the first time to evaluate scenarios that optimize the utilization of rail vehicles with passenger and freight transport to develop sustainable, environmentally friendly concepts that relieve road traffic,” explains Dr. Martin Kagerbauer, a member of the management team at IfV of KIT.

Logistical and Technical Requirements Integrated into ICT Platform

MARLO Consultants, DB Engineering & Consulting, and Offenburg University of Applied Sciences contribute their expertise and extensive preliminary work in developing commercial urban logistics, planning, and operating concepts. The FZI Research Center for Computer Science will work with MARLO Consultants and INIT to derive requirements from the developed use cases and incorporate them into the design of the ICT platform. The ICT platform supports the simulation of vehicles, automated cargo handling, trips for evaluating the LogIKTram concept, as well as the logistical and railway operational planning and control processes. In collaboration within the overall initiative regioKArgo, numerous information activities are planned, and the dialogue with stakeholders and the public, as well as technology and knowledge transfer locally and to other regions, will be ensured.
The consortium consists of the Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (AVG) as the lead partner, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Offenburg University of Applied Sciences, the FZI Research Center for Computer Science, as well as the companies MARLO Consultants, SimPlan, INIT, and Thales Germany. DB Engineering & Consulting is represented by experts from Karlsruhe and Berlin on logistics and operating concepts and in the design of the freight tram system with their railway technology and logistics expertise. Various logistics companies and e-mobil BW, the state agency for new mobility solutions and automotive in Baden-Württemberg, are involved as associated partners.
Photo: © SimPlan
www.simplan.de