Top 5 Reasons Why Rail Transport is Your Best Option for Volume Logistics

By Paul Petersen 4 years ago

There are four freight transportation options that you can use in Australia: maritime, road, rail, and aviation. If you want the best shipping container transport, rail, along with road or trucking, is your best option.

Here are some of the most compelling reasons why rail should be your number one choice:

  1. It is Cost-Effective

Rail transport, compared to maritime and aviation, is the most cost-effective and trusted option in Australia. The country’s railway system saw rapid development beginning in 1854. It began when the first steam railway was built to connect Port Melbourne and Melbourne itself.

By 1901, virtually all the states in the country were already connected via rail. Fast forward to today, Australia’s national railway is the go-to shipping container transport option if you’re looking for cost-effective heavy haul logistics.

If you use rail as a long haul freight transport, it can save you anywhere from 10% to 40% of the cost compared to maritime and air transport options. The rail has comparatively lower fuel costs. This difference in costs becomes more obvious as the volume of the freight increases.

  1. They are More Reliable

Railways in Australia follow a standardised transit schedule. This makes them more reliable than other shipping container transport. Trains are never hindered by traffic or other road conditions. You can expect your cargo to arrive on schedule as long as the train and the tracks are well-maintained.

  1. It is an Environment-Friendly Option

If your logistics operation wants to go green, rail should be your shipping container transport choice. Compared to trucks, trains tend to consume less fuel, even when transporting huge volumes of cargo.

Authorities estimate that freight railroads can move a ton of cargo, on average, more than 470 miles using only one gallon of fuel. Experts say that choosing rail over other cargo transport options can bring down your greenhouse emissions by as much as 75%.

  1. It Gives You Access to Large Capacity Cargo Transport

With the current increase in logistics demand—more customers are ordering and shipping items than before–you may find it difficult to find available trucks for overland transport. Shippers are having difficulty when it comes to finding an available truck or driver.

Trains are also capable of hauling large loads of cargo. If you’re looking to move higher freight volumes, this may be the shipping container transport option you should use.

Here’s a little example of how big a volume a train can move. Note that a single double-stacked train can hold as much cargo as 250 trucks—and that is a pretty good ballpark estimate.

  1. It Can Be Combined with Road Shipping

Rail transport can be combined trucking options, allowing shippers to promptly transport huge volumes of cargo to any point in Australia. The rail can be used as the main or bulk freight transport.

Think of it as interstate container transport. The road delivery via trucks can then deliver the goods to specific points within the country. Combining these two transport options makes things more flexible for your operations.

Selecting Container Freight Services

The best container transport service in Australia is one that takes advantage of the country’s national railway. The service should cater to interstate and local transport needs. They should also have depots in every state capital as well as in different regional centres.