Lineas is Europe’s largest private rail freight operator, which makes them a vital link in the supply chain for many businesses. Keeping track of all those logistics means that they need an IT infrastructure that is both powerful and cost-effective. With a new data-intensive project on the horizon, they started looking for better ways to power it than just expanding their existing database stack. 

Together, we implemented an enterprise-grade PostgreSQL environment that gave them exactly what they needed: performance without the massive price tag. 

Lineas runs most of their core operations on big names like Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server. These are great databases, but they are also expensive. Bart De Pauw, their Domain Owner and a seasoned DBA with decades of experience in Oracle, saw the writing on the wall. Building a heavy new application on that existing stack would mean expanding their infrastructure, which in turn would blow up the licensing budget. 

To keep those costs down, Lineas started looking at open-source databases instead. However, for a company of this size and importance, using a community edition just wasn’t an option. Logistics requires constant uptime, so they needed enterprise-grade support.  

This search led them to EDB, who pointed them in our direction. Lineas was quick to accept, because there was already plenty of trust built up. Bart knew our Senior DBA, Guy Gyles, from Guy’s own time as an Oracle expert. 

Of course, we didn’t just rush into a massive overhaul. Instead, we worked with Lineas to find the smartest way to introduce open source into their environment. 

First, we looked at migration. We helped them run a proof of concept using EDB’s Migration Toolkit to see if we could move their existing Oracle databases. The database conversion worked fine, but Lineas realized that rewriting the applications to talk to the new database would be too expensive at that moment. It happens, so we kept looking. 

Then, we changed the plan. Instead of moving old applications, Lineas decided to build their new ideas on PostgreSQL. A perfect candidate appeared almost immediately: the “Data Twin.” This is a massive central database that collects information from all their systems to give customers near real-time updates on their cargo.  

We set up the EDB Postgres environment to handle this heavy lifting, and the Data Twin quickly became vital to the business. Going from an ambitious experiment to a core part of Lineas’ operations meant that downtime stopped being an option.  

We helped Bart’s team set up a replica environment using standard streaming replication. If the main database trips up, the copy takes over. More than happy with our help, Lineas asked us to also take care of the new environment through managed services. We now monitor this setup 24/7 and patch it to make sure everything stays on the rails (pun intended). 

Choosing open source for new projects paid off. The biggest win is simple: they avoided a massive bill. 

This approach made the Data Twin project financially feasible. On top of the savings, the collaboration just worked. Because both sides understood the traditional database world, we didn’t waste time on miscommunication. 

Lineas proves that you don’t have to replace your entire history to get the benefits of open source. You can just start with your next project and see where it takes you.

When we asked Bart if he’d recommend open source to other DBAs, his answer was telling: