On 26-27 March 2025, the UIC IT Study Group met in Antwerp, hosted by Lineas. On the second day, Frederick de Backer, Head of Public Affairs at Lineas, introduced the new shunting hill operations, which were implemented in April 2023. As a “Neutral Services Manager”, Lineas now provides shunting hill services for all railway undertakings (RUs) in a fully impartial manner.

Tom Thijs, Enterprise Architect at Lineas, provided further detail on the critical information and data flow essential for shunting operations. He emphasised the importance of receiving the consignment note and the Hermes 30 (train pre-advice message) to execute shunting operations efficiently and ensure that each wagon is allocated to the correct RU and destination.

This innovative approach can serve as a best practice for other shunting hills across Europe. It aligns with EU directives and regulations, and also supports the Single European Railway Area by ensuring equal opportunities for all rail freight undertakings, regardless of volume.

As part of the meeting, the UIC IT Study Group experts also visited the C1 Arrival and Outbound Hills to observe these operations in practice.