We are pleased to announce the start of a new interdisciplinary research project at TU Darmstadt together with the Department of Management Science/Operations Research. The aim of the interdisciplinary project at TU Darmstadt is to evaluate the potential of spotters (small, powerful tractors) for different configurations and requirements at CT handling terminals. The project aims to develop an evidence-based, novel decision support system that helps to identify framework conditions under which spotters are advantageous. Similarly, the results will provide relevant recommendations for the future-oriented design of autonomously driving spotters.

Our research assistant Johannes Rentschler was recently in Kazakhstan and had the opportunity to visit Almaty as part of the cooperation with the German-Kazakh-University (DKU). As part of the research project “Analysis of transport and storage capacities along the Trans-Caspian Railway Route” he was able to conduct several on-site interviews with Kazakh and international logistics companies to take a look at challenges and potentials of the route. In addition to the project work, the scientific and intercultural exchange was not neglected. In a guest lecture at DKU's LogistikClub, Mr. Rentschler also provided current insights into our research at the Chair. A big thank you to Prof. Wolrad Rommel and Prof. Stefan Dilfer for the excellent organization – and the hospitality. We are looking forward to the next visit!

Am 15. September 2022 hatten wir das Vergnügen, Frau Staatssekretärin Ayse Asar vom Hessischen Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst in unserem Innovationslabor Kombinierter Verkehr im House of Logistics and Mobility (HOLM) in Frankfurt am Main begrüßen zu dürfen. Auf ihrem Rundgang durch das vielseitige Gebäude besuchte sie unser Innovationslabor in Begleitung von ihrem Ministeriumskollegen Gerrit Stratmann und HOLM-Geschäftsführer Michael Kadow und sprach gemeinsam mit Prof. Elbert und unserer Teamassistenz Eva Hartmann über die Chancen und Möglichkeiten, die der Kombinierte Verkehr für Deutschland und die Verkehrswende bietet. Der KV kann einen großen Beitrag dazu leisten, Klimaziele zu erreichen und die große Belastung der deutschen Straßen zu mindern. Sehr treffend äußerte Staatssekretärin Asar: „Das ist die Zukunft.“ Wir bedanken uns für den kurzweiligen und spannenden Austausch und freuen uns auf ein Wiedersehen!

We are pleased to announce that a new and highly topical research project has started at our research area: Together with Prof. Rommel from the German-Kazakh University (DKU) based in Almaty, Prof. Elbert and the project manager Johannes Rentschler are starting the “Analysis of transport and storage capacities along the Trans-Caspian Railway Route”. The cooperation aims not only to promote German-Kazakh research exchange, but also to analyze potentials and challenges of the intensified use of the Trans-Caspian route between July and December 2022 and to find out to what extent the shift of freight shipments to the new routes requires additional time as well as investments in the expansion of transport and storage capacities. A particular challenge, which has been shown in previous research activities, is the storage capacities along the route. Therefore, the project will analyze the storage capacities and derive recommendations for the strategic expansion of these capacities. To this end, expert interviews will be conducted with players in the logistics chain in Germany and Kazakhstan in order to uncover specific challenges. Based on the interviews and the shared data, the transport and storage capacities will be analyzed quantitatively. The project is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Federal Foreign Office Germany. More information about this project can be found here.

As part of the WCTRS Virtual Meet 2022, Prof. Elbert and his team organized two sessions on “Climate Change – The role that freight transport can play to avoid emissions”. The first session was organized in cooperation with the Transportation Research Board’s AT045 Intermodal Freight Transport Committee and highlighted different perspectives from Europe and North America. For both sessions we welcomed Prof. Thierry Vanelslander, who gave an interesting keynote on “How to decarbonize freight transport?”.

It was finally that time again: as part of our Logistics Live! event, we started an excursion at our department again this year. About 20 students of the TU Darmstadt – mainly from our Master's seminar – joined us. Together with Hongjun Wu and Julia Wenzel from Prof. Elbert's team, they set off for Ludwigshafen for two plant tours in one day. First, the tour went through the KTL Kombi-Terminal Ludwigshafen. The students learned more about the handling of intermodal transports in one of the largest container terminals in Europe. After a short lunch break, the tour followed through the extensive BASF plant, where the students gained exciting insights into Bulk Logistics and also into the in-house development of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV) to improve internal logistics. A big thank you for the informative tours and exciting insights – we are looking forward to next time!

Das Leben ist ein ständiger Austausch – so auch für unsere Studierenden, die am vergangenen Dienstag die Gelegenheit hatten, das House of Logistics and Mobility kennenzulernen. Dort besuchten die Expert:innen von morgen unter Begleitung von Ralf Elbert zunächst unseren interaktiven Showroom, das „Innovationslabor Kombinierter Verkehr“ und erfuhren mehr über anwendungsorientierte Forschung und die Komplexität der Transportkette im Kombinierten Verkehr. Im Anschluss daran begrüßte sie Holger Bartels im DB Cargo Lab, der ihnen mit großer Begeisterung vom Asset Intelligence Center (AIC) des Labs erzählte, in dem digitale und automatisierte Lösungen entwickelt werden, um den Zugang zum Schienenverkehr zu erleichtern, die Kapazität zu erhöhen und die Steuerung zu optimieren. Mithilfe von KI und dem IOT werden hier plattformübergreifende Herausforderungen im Schienenverkehr bearbeitet, um die Attraktivität und Wettbewerbsfähigkeit zu erhöhen. Besonders praxisnahe Beispiele, wie zustandsabhängige Wartung von Güterwagen oder automatisierte Schadenerkennung, zeigten den Studierenden, wie Studieninhalte in der Praxis Umsetzung finden. Wir bedanken uns herzlich für den spannenden Austausch und freuen uns auf zukünftige Besuche!

We are pleased about another successful guest lecture! With Dr. Felix Heusler from Isabellenhütte Heusler GmbH & Co. KG, we had the pleasure of welcoming an alumnus to our campus at TU Darmstadt on June 29, 2022. As part of the course “Management of Value Networks”, Dr. Heusler spoke about supply chain disruptions and gave the students exciting insights into the current challenges of procurement and supply chain management. An important and topical issue – especially regarding current challenges in terms of raw materials and supply problems! We would like to thank him very much on behalf of the team around Prof. Elbert and Raphael Hackober. We are looking forward to the next time!

Last week, the summer party of the Innovation Alliance between Deutsche Bahn AG and TU Darmstadt took place: on June 23, 2022, the alliance members met for a summerly get-together to exchange information about current projects and the activities of various working groups. Within the Innovation Alliance, our department is represented by the “Research Lab Innovative Freight Car m²”, a cooperation institute between TU Darmstadt and DB Cargo. In the context of this, we would like to express our sincere thanks for and are pleased about the presence of Arne Redlin from DB Cargo and Raphael Hackober from the department at this year's summer party. The aim of the cooperation institute is to promote joint research and cooperation in the field of planning and analysis of logistics and transport services and to create attractive offers in the areas of teaching, training and further education as well as university marketing. Joint research projects form the core of the Research Lab Innovative Freight Car m².