PETALING JAYA: Rail-based logistics company Diolko is introducing a delivery model never before implemented at scale in Southeast Asia by blending passenger rail services with cargo movement.
This, according to Diolko co-founder and chief operating officer Onno Pfeiffer, is to tackle congestion and emissions linked to e-commerce growth.
Pfeiffer said while the idea of transporting goods by rail is not new, Diolko’s approach differs fundamentally from traditional models used elsewhere.
“Our specific model is actually quite new, and we are the first in Southeast Asia to implement it this way,” he said in an interview.
“Traditionally, cargo is moved on dedicated freight trains running alongside passenger services. What we are doing is different, we are using existing passenger trains and creating a hybrid passenger-cargo model,” he added.
Pfeiffer explained that the concept is comparable to airport city check-in services, where travellers drop off luggage at a city terminal before boarding a train to the airport.
“It’s very similar in principle. Your luggage travels on the same train, but you don’t need to carry it. We’ve adapted that idea into an end-to-end logistics solution, combining electric vehicles with rail and final-mile delivery. That full integration is what’s new.”
In Europe, Pfeiffer said, similar initiatives have been tested but largely remained small-scale or academic in nature with some projects involved modifying trams exclusively for cargo use, without mixing passenger and freight operations.
“Those projects were interesting but they were never designed to scale. Our model was built from day one with scale in mind. In Malaysia alone, there are around two to three million parcels moving every day.
A viable solution needs to work for tens or hundreds of thousands of parcels, not just a few hundred,” he said.
Asked if individual consumers could directly benefit from Diolko’s services – such as through parcel collection hubs or consumer-to-consumer deliveries – he said the firm is currently focused on business-to-consumer and business-to-business-to-consumer segments.
Because the system operates on passenger trains, security remains a top priority, he added.
“We follow security principles similar to the aviation industry, where passengers and cargo share the same infrastructure.
We vet our customers, we know what every package contains and we ensure everything that goes onboard is safe.”
Pure C2C deliveries, Pfeiffer said, present additional challenges due to unknown parcel contents, which would require extensive screening measures such as X-ray machines and enhanced inspection protocols.
“That’s something we may explore in the future. But right now, there is already so much impact we can make by transforming B2C deliveries to be more sustainable.”
Despite this, Pfeiffer stressed that consumers still benefit directly from the model.
“When you order something online, you are already benefiting from lower emissions and more efficient delivery. Our focus now is to scale that impact and change how urban logistics works.”
Diolko currently serves a diverse client base that includes tech firm CompAsia, e-commerce heavyweights Shopee and Zalora, and retailers such as L’Oréal, Watsons and TudungPeople.
Diolko pilots passenger rail-cargo service in SE Asia
