How railroad logistics works
Railroad logistics is a fundamental area for the transportation of cargo, supplies and people in any country in the world. Logistics is effectively the area of study, planning and organization of movements of all types of transport vehicles. When a company needs to carry out several cargo transports daily it is essential that the organization of this practice is well carried out. Therefore, it is necessary to plan how the production items will be moved, which path will be taken, determine the costs with freight and overall operation, as well as dealings with partners, customers, storage sectors and others.
Logistics companies are involved in different scenarios and in all types of transport here in Brazil, since this planning practice is essential in water, road, road and rail transport. The focus of our text will be on railroad logistics, how this area is inserted in the railroad sector, which are the main companies, how railroad lines are formed and much more.
Content Index
Railroad logistics
Until today, the railroad sector is one of the main modes of cargo transportation within the Brazilian scenario. Since the first construction of a railroad in Brazil, still at the time of the Empire, the sector has been changing and evolving to better meet the needs of cargo transportation, mainly of products from mining and agriculture, such as ores and grains.
Until the mid-1950s, the railroad sector was still the main form of cargo transportation in the country, but with the rise of President Juscelino Kubitschek, investments in the road sector began to be increasingly greater. From that period on, there was a change in the investment priority, when the road sector took over the main transport operations in the country. With the lack of incentives and investments, together with the weak organization and planning of the use of the existing railroad lines, the railroads were abandoned and had to go through a long period of recess before they came back fuller and more organized.
In this way, railroad logistics has become fundamental for the resumption of the sector's operations and for new investments to be made to improve the infrastructure and the quality of the cargo flow in the sector. Currently, almost all railroad lines are managed by logistics companies, largely because of the knowledge and advantages that these companies have to offer in organizing routes, controlling activities, planning routes, among other duties.
Today, the railroad sector is responsible for about 20% of the cargo transported in the country. Despite being a number much lower than the other modes, mainly in relation to the road sector, which handles about 60% of cargo, it is a very relevant percentage. There are about 30 thousand km of railroad lines spread over several states in the Brazilian territory.
According to the National Railroad Transport Association (ANTF), last year the railroad reached its main brand of transported cargo, with about 107.8 billion tons. This level can be explained by the organizational change that the sector has been going through thanks to the new model of railway logistics.
Advantages of railway logistics
The new investments and the resumption of growth in the railroad sector are linked to the advantages that the railroad sector offers, mainly in relation to the road sector. This factor is fundamental for the railroad logistics to have taken new directions in the country. In this way, it is easy to identify some points that are favorable for logistic companies to invest in revitalizing the railroads, implementing new lines and increasing investments in the sector.
Firstly, railroad logistics is simpler to plan because railroad lines are more restricted than road sections. It is 30 thousand km long, with only 15 lines. When compared to the road sector, which is more than 1.7 million kilometers long, this becomes even more evident.
Another advantageous factor for railroad logistics is that the trains that make up the modern lines can have up to 100 wagons in a single composition. In this way, it is possible to transport a large amount of cargo in a single trip, a number much higher than the transport made by trucks, which need a much larger number of vehicles to reach the same numbers
The cost of logistics operations is also reduced. Trains that pass through the railroad lines do not have a toll cost, unlike what happens with road transport, in which the value of tolls spread over the different stretches is quite high, especially for cargo vehicles. Another advantageous economic data is that the fuel cost is much lower.
These are some points that make railroad logistics extremely important and advantageous, especially when compared to the logistics required to feed road transport. Organization is simpler, costs are reduced and travel is more efficient and optimized. Thus, we understand why logistics companies have great influence in this sector and prefer to invest in the expansion of the railroad network than in other modes of transport.
Line differences and compositions
Obviously, railroad logistics is different for each type of line. As we will see below, there are divergent line sizes, which have more specific routes, climate changes, differences in the types of soils and land, the supply locations, among other factors that directly impact logistics. In addition, some lines built pass through extreme regions, that is, they are stretches whose exit and arrival terminals start in the north and reach the south of the country. These are the main points that make railroad logistics different in each type of line and require companies to plan their strategies according to these factors. In the map that we will show below, it is well exemplified which are those points of departure and arrival and how the railroad lines are formed, as well as which are the logistics companies that are present in the railroad network and which are the lines that are in their concessions. Check out:
Conclusion
We can see throughout the article that railroad logistics is of fundamental importance in the organization and planning of cargo transportation. The new investments that have been emerging by companies in the industry are directly linked to the benefits that the logistics of the railroads offer to administrators, especially in relation to the highways. Thus, we can conclude that despite the current moment, when highways are still the main forms of cargo transportation, companies are starting to look at the railroad sector with new eyes, and this is a very positive sign for the sector to start to grow in the coming years.
Did you like our article? Then see others on our blog
https://portogente.com.br/artigos/13884-a-capacidade-dos-trens-de-carga
https://www.cnt.org.br/agencia-cnt/volume-cargas-transportadas-ferrovias-cresce-10-um-ano
https://administradores.com.br/artigos/o-que-e-logistica
https://www.fm2s.com.br/o-que-e-logistica-como-funciona-quais-os-tipos/
