Digital solutions for multimodal freight transport optimisation in Europe - The FOR-FREIGHT platform

The FOR-FREIGHT project, funded under the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme (Grant Agreement No. 101069731), demonstrates how a new generation of digital technologies can reshape multimodal freight transport across Europe. By delivering a federated, service-oriented digital ecosystem, the platform interconnects ports, airports, terminals and logistics operators through AI-powered solvers, workflow-driven orchestration and trusted data-exchange mechanisms. In this way, FOR-FREIGHT moves beyond local optimisation tools and introduces a coherent digital layer that supports real-time, cross-modal coordination across the transport network.

A central innovation of the project is the introduction of Generalisable Solving Processes (SPs): abstract, reusable representations of logistics workflows that encapsulate tasks such as prediction, optimisation, planning and monitoring. These SPs serve as the conceptual blueprint for digitalising logistics processes. Through the FOR-FREIGHT Workflow Engine, the abstract process models are dynamically instantiated and bound to local systems, datasets and operational environments. This allows the same logical workflow—originally defined in one context—to be executed in a completely different setting, preserving the underlying sequence of tasks while adapting to local constraints. This paradigm transforms static process descriptions into living, executable digital workflows capable of harmonising heterogeneous data sources and responding dynamically to disruptions or changing operational conditions.

The FOR-FREIGHT Marketplace complements this orchestration layer by providing a unified catalogue of solvers and solving processes. Designed according to API-first principles, the marketplace ensures that every component can be invoked in a standardised way, with consistent interfaces and automatically generated user forms. This guarantees seamless integration within the platform and lowers the barrier for extending or reconfiguring workflows, supporting both developer productivity and ecosystem scalability.

The platform’s technological maturity was demonstrated through three pilot deployments—Spain, Greece and Romania—each representing distinct multimodal corridors with unique operational requirements. In Spain, the platform was applied both to the port–hinterland corridor connecting Valencia with Madrid and to an innovative metro-based last-mile distribution model in the capital. Across these two environments, the integration of predictive solvers and digital-twin simulations enabled more accurate resource planning, tighter synchronisation of transport legs and more sustainable use of existing infrastructure. The results showed substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, dramatic decreases in port container dwell times and a step-change in the efficiency of urban parcel distribution, where the use of the metro network demonstrated the feasibility of near-zero-emission last-mile logistics.

In Greece, the platform was validated along the time-critical multimodal corridor linking the Port of Piraeus with Athens International Airport. Here, the workflow engine orchestrated a chain of solvers for flight recommendation, warehouse capacity prediction, route optimisation, dwell-time estimation and real-time tracking. By turning a traditionally fragmented, manually coordinated process into a fully synchronised digital workflow, the platform significantly reduced idle time at both the port and the airport, accelerated customs procedures and improved the reliability of urgent shipments. These operational gains translated into measurable increases in cargo handling capacity without requiring any physical infrastructure expansion.

The Romanian pilot focused on the inland waterway–rail corridor connecting Izmail in Ukraine with Galați in Romania. The platform demonstrated its ability to synchronise vessel arrivals, port operations and rail departures through AI-based ETA predictions, dwell-time modelling and resource planning. The conversion of static planning processes into dynamic, solver-driven workflows led to dramatic reductions in container idle time and overall transport duration, while also improving safety and accuracy throughout the corridor. By enhancing visibility and enabling proactive decision-making, the platform addressed longstanding inefficiencies in a complex cross-border logistics ecosystem.

Across all three deployments, FOR-FREIGHT delivered operational, environmental and economic benefits that illustrate the transformative potential of digitalisation in freight transport. The solver-based architecture enabled precise, data-driven planning, reducing delays, eliminating administrative errors and ensuring the reliable sequencing of intermodal operations. The integration of background data processing, predictive analytics and automated notifications supported faster decision cycles and improved coordination among stakeholders. In parallel, the demonstrated reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and idle time show that digital transformation is a powerful enabler of Europe’s sustainability objectives, directly contributing to the modal shift and efficiency targets of the European Green Deal.

Beyond the tangible performance improvements, FOR-FREIGHT provides a strategic blueprint for Europe’s future digital logistics architecture. By proving that abstract Solving Processes can be replicated across very different environments—from seaport-to-airport flows to inland waterway–rail corridors—the project establishes a model for scalable, transferable and interoperable digital workflows. This approach aligns with European initiatives on digital transport corridors, logistics data spaces and AI-enabled optimisation, offering a clear pathway toward an integrated digital layer for multimodal freight coordination across the continent.

Through its federated architecture, orchestrated solver chains and demonstration of real-world value, FOR-FREIGHT shows how fragmented logistics systems can evolve into intelligent, sustainable and interconnected ecosystems. By enabling the convergence of AI-driven optimisation, real-time data exchange and reusable workflow logic, the project sets the foundation for the next generation of multimodal freight operations in Europe and beyond.