The Mixed Train Concept: The Best of Both Worlds for European Rail Freight?

It may be time for European railroads to take another look at wagonload service. Wagonload, because it involves assembling, sorting, and multi-point distribution of wagons for individual customers, generally has been seen as less cost efficient and more operationally complex. Oliver Wyman believes, however, that by developing "mixed train" services that meld the economics of trainload with the greater geographic coverage of wagonload, railroads can actually gain a new source of strategic control and competitive differentiation. Download