Fraport AG has launched a research project together with partners to develop an “AirCargo RailCenter” (AC/RC) and put it into operation. The kick-off meeting took place on 18 March 2008 at CargoCity Süd, Frankfurt Airport, led by Christof Schneider, Head of Management Systems (VAM). The project assignment, which is valid until 2010 and is being supported by the German Ministry of Industry and Technology (BMWi), is aimed at shifting air cargo traffic to rail. The background of the project is the fact that cargo volumes at major airports like Frankfurt are growing especially strongly and the number of trucks used is growing at the same time.

 With optimized processes and innovative alliance models, the plan is to shift air cargo traffic from the road to rail. Realization provides for use of the railhead in CargoCity Süd. The main objective of the project is to develop an air-cargo rail center and put it into operation. As a neutrally operated handling facility, this "AirCargo RailCenter" will be open to all partners at the airport and in the air cargo market. The research assignment comprises an analysis of the requirements of air and rail cargo traffic, determination and assessment of the freight volume and development and implementation of a rail cargo concept.

The partners and users are involved from the outset in the processes to agree and design the jointly used neutral (or jointly operated) facility. The event was thus supported by the consortium partners Marcus Niedermeyer, management board coordinator of Lufthansa Cargo AG (LCAG), Andreas Hartmann, Director Airfreight of Panalpina Welttransport (Deutschland) GmbH, Thorsten Hölser, Managing Director of the freight forwarders and logistics association “Speditions- und Logistikverband Hessen/Rheinland-Pfalz. e.V.”, and Ewald Heim, Director of Panalpina Welttransport (Deutschland) GmbH, as well as Dr. Heinrich Frye, Head of the Airport Project Center of the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flows and Logistics, as research partner and Bernhard Leßmann, Real Estate Marketing and Optimization Department (HVM-IV), for Fraport AG.

 Decisive in the future will be accelerated turnaround of cargo between rail and aircraft taking account of the security-critical part of the airport. The time-saving sought should compensate for the present advantage enjoyed by trucks by virtue of their flexibility and guarantee sustainable, long-term and financially viable rail cargo traffic at airports.