The Port of Kokkola is Finland’s largest railway port, with approximately 4–7 million tonnes of goods passing through every year. Most of the port’s freight is transported on the railways. The port features a private railway connection and effective unloading equipment and conveyors that make sure its special terminals transition effectively from land to ground transport and vice versa. Now, Fintraffic’s D/S POLO also supports the port’s day-to-day operation on rails.
The Port of Kokkola is Finland’s largest bulk freight port, our largest railway port, and the number one port for the mining industry. The Port of Kokkola consists of three independents ports: Kantasatama, Syväsatama, and Hopeakivi. Its 14.2-metre lane allows Panamax and Cape Size ships to pass through. It has railways that lead straight to the port, which also features Finland’s only rail wagon tippler terminal, RWTT. The terminal makes it possible to unload trains at 1,500 tonnes per hour.
The Port of Kokkola is a long-term user of Fintraffic’s D/S POLO service, which handles pier planning, crane reservations, and service orders, among others. Now, the service expands to rail planning, ensuring safe and smooth shunting on the private track and rail capacity management.
“Private rail traffic regulations are incredibly strict, and rail use is controlled through the Rail Transport Act, which follows the EU’s Railways Directive and EU regulations that govern service facilities. Safety is the absolute number one on the railways. As our port controls over 22 kilometres of private rail, it’s natural that we would develop rail traffic safety and smoothness alongside our other core operations. In particular, transport of dangerous goods requires special supervision and compliance with safety guidelines to minimise the risks,” says Jyrki Roukala, Development Manager at the Port of Kokkola.
Focus on a common view of the situation
The loading and unloading of 30,000 railcars every year translates into busy tracks in the Port of Kokkola area. In addition to the Port itself, the service facility providers, significant industrial operators and logistics companies, such as VR Logistics, Rauanheimo, Boliden Kokkola, Yara Suomi and Wibax need a common view of the situation, alongside railway maintenance.
Such a common view is vital for smooth rail traffic and successful services. Now, the D/S POLO rail planning tool includes information on not just the rail capacity, but also the rail network’s loading and unloading information and maintenance works.
“We have already reached 150 D/S POLO users at the Port, and it’s proven to be an excellent tool for a multi-user environment. In addition to rail capacity, POLO is exceedingly useful during our most difficult season, winter, where it easily provides status updates on winter maintenance. In the bigger picture, POLO also gives us plenty of development opportunities for our future needs, such as models of the rail infrastructure and traffic, as well as information exchange solutions between port operators, supporting our strategy of a constantly developing port,” says Jyrki Roukala.
Find more information about the Port of Kokkola here.
