|
|
Research by the Brussels-based International Union of Combined Rail-Road Transport Companies (UIRR),
the trade association for the combined road-rail transport business, has shown that intermodal
transport is on the rise in Europe.
In 2007, the latest year for which complete data are available, container, trailer and swap body transport
grew by 9 percent. This means that the equivalent of almost 3 million road transport units was taken off
the road. The intermodal segment of traffic between the Port of Rotterdam and Germany grew by more
than 14 percent, according to the UIRR. Intermodal traffic destined for Austria even grew by 60 percent.
The Rotterdam Port Authority expects a further increase in railborne transport this year, which grows
by
7 to 10 percent total annually. Container transport is growing by 20 percent annually.
Not only is intermodal transport on the rise, bulk transport is also booming. The largest European
rail cargo operator, DB Schenker, has been running six coal and ore trains between the
EMO Dry Bulk Terminal on the Maasvlakte and destinations in the Federal Republic of Germany on
a daily basis.
Recently, Rotterdam Rail Feeding (RRF) has also become involved in bulk transport. Together with
Polish rail operator CTL, RFF runs at least ten long coal trains a week between EMO and several
German destinations.
The transport of coal between the Port of Rotterdam and German consumers will only increase further in
the near future as coalmines in Germany close down. Germany already imports close to 70 million tons of
coal every year, accounting for two thirds of its annual consumption. As more mines are closed over the
next nine years, even more coal will pass through Rotterdam's EMO terminals on its way to German
power plants and steel refineries.
Currently, fourteen rail operators are active in the Port of Rotterdam. That their combined efforts in the
realm of rail logistics have been a boon to the port is demonstrated by the increase in railway container
transport. Recent research by the German Institut für Verkehrswirtschaft und Logistik (IVL) confirms this.
The intermodal segment of traffic between the Port of Rotterdam and Germany grew by more than 14 percent.
Photo Wim Scheurkogel
According to IVL, in 2006, the latest year for which data were available, the Le Havre-Hamburg range
saw 4.6 million teu of rail cargo pass through. Hamburg processed the most railborne containers:
1.5 million TEU in total. The Port of Rotterdam came in second amongst large European ports,
with 800,000 teu worth of railborne containers passing through - more than Bremen, Bremerhaven
and Antwerp.
IVL predicts that by 2015 twenty million teu of rail cargo will be transshipped in Rotterdam. This
increase in volume will test the limits of existing facilities, meaning that they will have to be used
more efficiently.
This goes to show why the Euromax terminal on the Maasvlakte, which was recently opened, is of crucial
importance. This new terminal boasts an initial annual capacity of 3.2 million teu. Its railroad infrastructure
features six long parallel tracks, enabling it to handle several trains simultaneously. By adding
similar six-track modules one at a time, the terminal's facilities can be expanded to 24 tracks in total.
|
|
