Freight News, IT, Rail


Rail loading project ready to roll

[ October 16, 2025   //   ]

The KIBA project has completed three years of research and development into Artificial Intelligence and loading optimization for combined transport. Led by operator Kombiverkehr and supported by Deutsche Umschlaggesellschaft Schiene-Straße (German Rail-Road Transhipment Company), Goethe University, operations research software firm INFORM, KombiConsult, Technical University of Darmstadt, and VTG, the project developed a demonstration network capacity management and train loading optimization system. The project was funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation.

The goal of KIBA was to use artificial intelligence (AI) and mathematical optimization to enhance efficiency, safety, and sustainability in rail freight transport.

Managing director of Kombiverkehr, Heiko Krebs, said: “With KIBA, we have demonstrated how AI can make rail freight transport more efficient. The developed prototypes help maximize train capacity, use resources more effectively, and make combined transport more attractive. This represents an important step toward shifting freight from road to rail – and thus toward climate protection.”

The models developed ensure that trains are utilized to their full capacity in terms of weight and length while reducing crane movements and reloading processes, combining AI-based volume forecasts with mathematical optimization to distribute load units in the best way and ensuring fast transport times with minimal transhipments.

Forecasts booking volumes can be directly integrated into the process.

Next steps include ensuring high-quality data, automating information exchange, and conducting live tests within operational systems. The prototype developed in KIBA is now being prepared for early use by terminal operators and rail freight service providers.

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