Combined transport is in danger

Christian Bücheler, CEO of the Transco Group based in Singen, has already experienced several ups and downs in combined transport. However, he considers the current situation to be particularly noteworthy.

According to him, freight forwarders and logistics companies have already had to swallow a 15 percent increase in rail track access charges for 2025, and a further 16 percent increase is under discussion for 2026.

„Under discussion, not confirmed – it’s mid-November and we still don’t know what to expect in 2026. It still seems impossible to communicate this in good time.“ According to Bücheler, both Transco’s plans and its customers‘ budgets for the coming year are already finalized. ”If we come up with further price increases in January, customers will not go along with it,“ says the transport expert – unfortunately, however, this has become a regular occurrence.

What also bothers him is that freight forwarders and logistics companies had to accept the toll increase and the extension of the toll to 3.5 tons as of December 2023. Half of the revenue, which is also paid by freight forwarders and logistics companies, goes toward rail infrastructure.

And according to Bücheler, rail prices are rising even more disproportionately than truck tolls. “I can accept inflation-related price increases, but anything else means maximum imbalance for everyone involved in combined transport.”

This is particularly true because reliability is also far from satisfactory—according to the Transco CEO, it is between 55 and 60 percent.

„Of course, strikes, accidents on the tracks, or construction work can happen from time to time. But when six trains arrive and four don’t, customers ask why they should pay the full price for only 60 percent of the promised service. Not to mention that they should have to bear the cost of a price increase for the quality they receive.“

Deutsche Bahn in particular delivers poor quality, mediocre communication in construction site management, and arbitrary price increases.

“All of this makes rail freight transport no longer attractive; time-sensitive shipments can no longer be handled by rail.”

The result: compared to previous years, the service provider, which relies primarily on intermodal transport for international traffic, is handling up to 15 percent fewer shipments by rail, and the trend is rising.

Short distances in particular, such as from Milan to Singen, are now being handled more by truck, because according to Bücheler, the problems are more noticeable here than on routes where the train is on the move for two to three days. Transco currently handles 70 percent of its shipments to Italy by rail, and the longer routes, such as from Busto Arsizio to Mannheim, still have a satisfactory balance.

“We have been involved in combined transport for 30 years and remain committed to it. But if things continue like this, it will no longer be economically viable,” says the CEO.

In his view, prices and quality need to improve – especially in view of the ongoing construction work by Deutsche Bahn and its infrastructure subsidiary DB InfraGo.

“Last year’s diversion near Ludwigshafen, for example, extended transit times and was more expensive – so customers had to pay more without getting more. And this will continue over the next few years.”

His suggestion: “The people in charge at DB should have their company cars taken away and be required to travel by train themselves. Maybe that would bring about a change.”

Rail customers are also affected by the problem with brake pads in Switzerland. According to Transco CEO Christian Bücheler, Swiss company Hupac, one of Transco’s most important providers in Alpine transit, has converted almost all of its wagons to cast brake pads as part of a subsidy program.

“Hupac needs significantly more rolling stock due to the shorter maintenance intervals, which are linked to mileage, and the breakdowns – this also has a proportional impact on us as customers.”