Central to its efforts is the understanding that digitalization is fundamental to sustainable logistics and a competitive rail system. Digital freight wagons equipped with telematic systems are only the beginning: Not until the entire pan- European fleet is digitalized, but the logistical processes and maintenance systems can be optimized from end to end. VTG takes its responsibility seriously to drive forward this development, which is why we became the first company in the industry to fit our whole European fleet with telematic technology. The telematic module VTG Connect enables customers to seamlessly track their wagons, freight consignments and the complete transport chain. More accurate scheduling thus accelerates logistical processes and permits the more efficient management of infrastructure capacity.
Digital platform for greater transparency in rail freight
In January 2020, VTG broadened its array of digital offerings and bundled them on a platform called traigo. traigo put in place a digital rail freight infrastructure that is still one of a kind in this industry. It is one way in which the company is helping make rail the most logistically attractive and economically sensible option for freight transport.
A lot has happened since traigo first went live: Besides providing a selection of information about leasing transactions, including all relevant contractual information, it also lets customers constantly track and trace information about their leased wagons in real time. In addition, the traigo toolkit includes mileage predictions, maintenance schedules, forecast arrival times, forecasts of wear and tear based on deployment patterns, flags to indicate wagons that are left idle for too long, and the ability to place online orders on demand. In other words, customers stay in touch with the precise movements of their fleet at all times. Already decorated with numerous prestigious awards, the digital platform is now continually being expanded as new ideas are developed.
It is important to note that traigo is more than just a new product or service: It is a whole new approach to collaboration – with customers, but also within the entire industry. The very name traigo – a truncated combination of ‘train’ and ‘go’ that conjures up associations with the dynamics of logistics – also means ‘I bring’ in Spanish. That said, no one player alone can ever transform the complex system that is rail. Aware of this, VTG obviously cooperates with customers to make improvements based on feedback from the ‘front line’, and is equally open to collaboration across the industry as a whole. Specifically, this means that third parties can likewise market their digital products via traigo.
