Case Study
Freightliner intermodal electric optimisation
Railwhere SEEsim supports Freightliner to unearth huge performance gain for intermodal routes.
Overview
When Freightliner, a leading UK rail freight operator, decided to target a significant reduction in round trip times for intermodal trains, they turned to the Railfreight Energy and Emissions Calculator (now Railwhere SEEsim) to perform the analysis. They soon realised that the current sectional running times (SRTs) that are used to build time schedules for these trains were somewhat archaic and understated the performance potential of Class 90 electric locomotives significantly.
The analysis indicated that the current SRTs were understating the performance of a set of Class 90s by up to a third. The results from the simulation work conducted in Railwhere SEEsim (then REEC) was used to convince Network Rail to re-assess the current SRTs and develop new standards. The results were described as “staggering”, especially up the West Coast main line, where the time performance improvements up the steep inclines like Shaps create scheduling opportunities that did not exist before and reduced the requirement for looping trains. Improved utilisation of both moving and network assets makes this a major win for all.