Unveiling the success formula of APM terminal's rail management

APM Terminals Gothenburg is one of the terminals in the world that handles the most freight by rail, and rail volumes continue to increase. Today, 48% of all goods arrive at the terminal by rail, and in the spring alone, this share increased by 8%, which corresponds to 10,400 TEU. But what makes APM Terminal’s rail operations so successful? Homam Mansour, the Planning Manager overseeing railway operations, sheds light on the key factors driving this success and the continuous evolution of services tailored to meet customer needs.

Why are APM Terminal’s customers choosing rail solutions?

Our rail offering is incredibly strong. No matter where in Sweden a container is loaded onto a train, it reaches us within 24 hours and is then loaded directly onto a ship. As a green terminal, we are constantly striving to help our customers optimise the fill rate of their trains to achieve maximum climate efficiency. All in all, this makes rail an unbeatable option in terms of lead time, reliability, cost and environment. In addition, our customers find it very convenient to book and rebook rail transport. 

What are the success factors behind APM Terminal’s rail opration? 

We don't force customers to adapt to a ready-made offer – instead, we adapt to their needs, whether it’s time schedules or variations in volume. We understand that needs may arise outside the annual train schedule and that sometimes, extra service is required. By communicating closely with external partners such as the Swedish Transport Administration and ProTrain, and by making internal adaptations, we do our best to meet these needs. 

A recent example is a customer who needed to increase the number of departures from two to three in one day. We solved this with one day’s notice by allowing the customer to borrow a set of rail cars and changing our planning to free up a handling window, without affecting other customers. To transport these goods by truck, they would have needed about 120 trucks. 

How is APM Terminal elevating the efficiency of its rail operations?

We are continuously working to improve our efficiency. Every week we have standardised meetings to follow up on our delivery and identify areas for improvement. We plan strategic slots for crane and machine maintenance to utilise available handling times. Our latest investment includes a major upgrade of our rail cranes, reducing downtime and increasing efficiency even further. Through close cooperation with customers and partners, we have found a solution that will eliminate the impact on rail production during the upgrade work. 

How do you ensure customer requirements are met?

As a planning manager, I work in close connection with our customers to create a deep understanding of their challenges and needs. Sometimes things happen en route and trains arrive at the terminal later than expected. Then we quickly offer a new slot time for handling, while triggering our vessel planners to redirect the loading order for the late arrivals and coordinate with the shipping company in question to ensure that the units make it onto the vessel. This service is very valuable for our customers. 

We also place great emphasis on working proactively and listening to customer feedback. This allows us to continuously improve our services and offers. One example is our ongoing development of digital and integrated solutions to make bookings, cancellations and tracking even easier. 

How do you see the demand for rail solutions going forward? 

As more and more goods owners are choosing rail, others see how well it works, which has a ripple effect. Our customers are constantly increasing their volumes and we continue to welcome new customers and destinations. We have several exciting business opportunities in the pipeline and it has proven to be very successful to expand the rail network outside Sweden.

Today we handle around 75 shuttles per week and we have the capacity to double this figure. However, there are challenges beyond our control, such as track construction and access to track times, but with flexible and smart solutions, we do everything we can to help our customers overcome these challenges.