The BSR Urban Freight Rail Screening Tool was developed to help public authorities, infrastructure managers, transport planners, and urban development practitioners identify locations with potential for inner-urban rail freight operations. Across the Baltic Sea region, many cities face increasing freight transport volumes and congestion, yet often lack practical methods for assessing whether existing rail infrastructure and urban sites could support more sustainable freight solutions. The Screening Tool addresses this challenge through a structured, evidence-based assessment methodology.

The web-based tool guides users through a series of criteria related to rail accessibility, surrounding land use, logistics demand, operational feasibility, and development potential. Based on these inputs, it provides an initial assessment of a site’s suitability for an urban freight rail hub. In doing so, it helps stakeholders identify promising locations, compare alternatives, and focus further planning efforts on sites with the greatest potential.

The tool was developed through close cooperation between project partners from Germany, Poland, and Sweden, combining expertise from public authorities, metropolitan planning organisations, research institutions, and transport specialists. Its methodology was informed by practical experiences gathered in the project’s pilot regions, including Berlin, Stockholm, Warsaw, and the Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska metropolitan area. Through stakeholder workshops and transnational exchanges, the partners refined the tool to ensure its applicability across different planning contexts. The final Screening Tool is available through the UrbFRail Learning Platform, allowing cities and regions throughout the Baltic Sea Region to access and apply a common framework for identifying urban freight rail opportunities.