Rail Capacity Broker: Collaborating efficiently in wagonload freight transport

Wagonload freight is declining and causing losses. The Rail Capacity Broker addresses this issue by serving as a neutral matchmaking platform. linking capacity of various freight rail carriers with transport requests. Wagons and wagon groups are planned across rail carrier networks. A transport algorithm utilizes available rail capacity and forms virtual wagonload networks. The consortium consisting of Rail-Flow GmbH, Captrain Deutschland and the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML is developing, testing, and evaluating the platform with funding from the German Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV) as part of the “Federal Program for the Future of Rail Freight Transport (Z-SGV).”

The project’s goal is to develop and launch the Rail Capacity Broker as an open-market matchmaking platform for demand and capacity in wagonload freight. The platform provides transparency regarding the available capacity of various freight rail operators, including schedules, routes, available load, length, and other constraints. An algorithm combines train networks from different providers, calculates transport plans for individual wagons or wagon groups, and supports feasibility assessments and bookings.

The central challenge lies in market inefficiencies and inflexible analog processes. Traditional wagonload freight at marshalling yards involves high overhead, requires extensive land coverage, base capacity and flexibility. High infrastructure and shunting costs mean that wagonload freight is often uncompetitive compared to road freight transport. Without digital connectivity and transparency regarding traffic flows suitable for wagonload freight, the system remains uneconomical. The Rail Capacity Broker creates a foundation for digital collaboration, reduces coordination efforts, and lowers barriers to market entry.

Sign up for Rail Capacity Broker and start using the first version in Q3 2026.

For suppliers

• Publish Your Capacity for Freight Train Group Service
• Reach new customers you wouldn’t be able to reach on your own
• Receive targeted inquiries instead of a scattergun approach
• Optimize the load factor of your trains

For customers

• Try the route search on Rail Capacity Broker
• Get an overview of available connections
• View combined routes with a single click
• Contact the right providers directly
• Receive tailored offers for your transportation needs

Rail Capacity Broker: Contact us

“Wagonload freight is indispensable for many industries, but it faces significant cost pressures and suffers from a lack of connectivity. With the Rail Capacity Broker, we create transparency regarding available capacity and traffic flows suited to wagonload freight, link the networks of various railway undertakings, and open up new transport options for wagon groups. In this way, we structurally strengthen rail freight transport and tap into additional potential for modal shift.“
Maximilian Schellert, Senior Scientist, Fraunhofer IML

The Rail Capacity Broker serves as a neutral digital capacity exchange for single wagons and wagon groups. Providers first enter their capacities and areas of expertise. They upload schedules, routes with intermediate stops, available length and weight capacities, and pricing information. In addition, they define wagon types, cargo types, and certificates—such as those required for chemical or waste transport. This information is incorporated into a structured data model. The platform stores it and uses it to match it with requests.

Customers enter their transportation needs via a search form: origin and destination, wagon parameters, cargo data, weight, length, and time constraints. The Rail Capacity Broker’s algorithm compares these needs with capacity data from various railway undertaking networks. It considers available capacity, maximum transit times, dwell times, switching operations, and technical restrictions.

The transport request is sent to a lead rail carrier, which acts as the central point of contact for the shipper. Based on the algorithm’s results, the lead railway undertaking organizes additional partner railway undertakings and integrates them into the planned transport chain. The providers assess feasibility, define the specific processes, and submit commercial offers to one another. The requester receives a consolidated offer from the lead railway undertaking.

The Rail Capacity Broker’s role remains that of a facilitator; transport contracts continue to be concluded directly between the requester and the providers; contact information and a chat function support coordination.

The Rail Capacity Broker’s primary use case involves utilizing existing trains in conventional rail freight transport for wagonload freight in mixed trains. In traditional wagonload freight, railway undertakings collect wagons in a region, consolidate them at shunting yards, and generate complex shunting processes. High infrastructure costs for unloading yards and shunting areas, long transport times, and detours are making this system increasingly unattractive. The Rail Capacity Broker addresses this by establishing a virtual wagonload freight network based on existing block trains.

The starting point is the suboptimal utilization of trains. According to analyses of train lengths, 89% of trains are shorter than 700 m, and 64% are shorter than 600 m. With wagon lengths ranging from 10 to over 20 m, these reserves allow for additional wagons per train. Under conservative assumptions of a 5–10% increase in utilization, 2,000 to 4,000 additional wagons can be transported per month.

The Rail Capacity Broker identifies available network trains and enables the addition of further loaded wagons as well as the use of existing empty wagons for return loads. Providers make suitable offers to demanders based on their capacity offerings. Streamlined processes at the participating railway undertakings, combined with existing block train services, enable efficient operational workflows. This results in mixed trains that provide a more cost-effective alternative to wagonload freight and maximize the potential for modal shift. Infrastructure is utilized more effectively, and downtime is reduced.