Article: Entrepreneur initiative relies on climate-friendly rail: Non-stop from Lower Bavaria to the North Sea
Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer and the Bavarian State Minister for Housing, Construction and Transport, Kerstin Schreyer, praise the partnership-based logistics cooperation in the region: bayernhafen Passau and DB Cargo subsidiary TFG Transfracht are expanding Passau's freight train network to and from the North Sea ports. The project goes back to an initiative in the IHK Transport Committee.
Passau, 1 February 2021 – bayernhafen Passau is now connected to the German seaports with daily freight train connections. The winners are import- and export-oriented companies in Lower Bavaria. The initiative for this new, climate-friendly combined transport (CT) connection was taken by entrepreneurs from the region – the intermodal connection does not require subsidies. The trains are operated by the DB Cargo subsidiary TFG Transfracht. For more than 50 years, it has been the market leader in so-called seaport hinterland transport with containers.
Since 1 February, the AlbatrosExpress has been running daily from Passau towards the North Sea ports. The hub and transshipment point is the terminal of bayernhafen Passau. From the north, containers with automotive components and commercial goods are primarily coming to Lower Bavaria. Goods from the Lower Bavarian economy are exported to the north, including from the automotive, regenerative technology and agricultural sectors. The seaports of Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Bremen and Wilhelmshaven are directly connected to Passau by climate-friendly rail. bayernhafen Passau carries out container handling with a reachstacker and the Mobile Harbour Crane, which has been in operation since the beginning of 2019.
In addition to combined transport, the partners DB Cargo, TFG Transfracht and bayernhafen offer the additional service of single wagon transport.
The cornerstone of the idea of implementing Passau as a port hinterland location was laid in 2019 in the expert committee for transport, logistics and infrastructure of the IHK Niederbayern.
Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer said: "The arguments in favour of combined transport are unbeatable: more goods on water and rail means fewer trucks on the roads. With the Albatros Express alone, we are relieving the roads of around 10,000 trucks. This means less traffic, less traffic jams, fewer accidents, fewer emissions - but a better quality of life for people. This project is also a role model in terms of implementation: in just one and a half years from the idea to completion - here real doer qualities were proven."
"With the inclusion of bayernhafen Passau in the Transfracht combined transport network, combined transport in Bavaria is taking the next step," says Kerstin Schreyer, Bavarian State Minister for Housing, Construction and Transport. "In addition to inland waterway vessels, our ports also include trains: these transport the goods further and secure the supply of the population – even in the pandemic. We need to integrate rail and waterway much more into the transport chains and combine them optimally. In this way, we achieve the best possible harmony between people, economy and ecology in freight transport."
Dr. Sigrid Nikutta, Member of the Board of Management for Freight Transport DB AG and CEO of DB Cargo AG: "Our partner bayernhafen and our customers have created a network to which we as a railway can contribute our strengths: With maximum flexibility and at the same time predictability, we can offer competitive logistics solutions. And: every ton of freight that makes its way here emits 80 percent less CO2 than a truck on the motorway. "
"Our goal is to bundle freight flows and to shift traffic from road to rail and inland waterway," says bayernhafen Managing Director Joachim Zimmermann, "the new intermodal train connects Lower Bavarian companies with the German North Sea coast. This shows that our investment in trimodal expansion at bayernhafen's Passau-Schalding site is bearing fruit. We thus offer the greatest possible flexibility for the requirements of the Lower Bavarian economy." This means that all five trimodal bayernhafen locations in Aschaffenburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg, Regensburg and Passau are now connected to the German seaports on schedule. "A strong sign for Bavaria as a business location and climate protection."
"Each mode of transport has its own specific strengths. We need the combination of rail, ship and truck in order to be able to design the logistical processes in the region as optimally as possible. However, the advantages of a trimodal connection, such as those offered by Passau, have so far only been used to a limited extent," says Jürgen Pfeil, freight forwarder and chairman of the IHK expert committee 'Transport, Logistics and Infrastructure'. "Our companies now have an international container terminal on their doorstep, which opens up completely new possibilities on the rail to and from the seaports," says Pfeil. This was made possible by the interaction of several actors from the committee of the IHK Niederbayern. "We have been working for decades to improve transport connections in our region. But we don't just demand, we also deliver. In this case, and very specifically: a new offer from the economy - for the economy," emphasizes Pfeil.
"We are very pleased to integrate Passau into our nationwide AlbatrosExpress network as a new port hinterland location on 1 February," says Frank Erschkat, CEO of TFG Transfracht GmbH, "with this new offer for our customers, together with our partner bayernhafen, we are connecting the Passau economic area with efficient rail connections to all major northern German seaports. With the ten departing and arriving trains per week between Passau and Regensburg and the change there to our high-frequency Regensburg axis to and from the German seaports with 46 trains, we are further strengthening the Bavarian economy. On the way to achieving our sustainability goals, we are very pleased to be shifting further truck transports from road to rail with the product "TFGreen" in conjunction with the expansion of rail transport in CT and EV. Together with our customers and partners, we are thus able to make a significant contribution to our environment. For the Passau region, this means relieving the road of around 10,000 trucks and CO2 savings of 4,000 tonnes per year. "
About bayernhafen :
bayernhafen includes the six locations Aschaffenburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg, Roth, Regensburg and Passau - Hubs for the worldwide exchange of goods, which efficiently manage the water, rail and road transport routes link. Every year, around 9 million tonnes of goods are handled by ship and rail. bayernhafen acts as Site architect who invests in infrastructure and works across companies and locations together with the Port settlers open up new value creation potential. 800 ha total port area and over 400 residents Companies with more than 13,000 employees make bayernhafen one of the most powerful logistics companies Networks in Europe. The operator of the Locations Aschaffenburg, Bamberg, Regensburg and Passau is Bayernhafen GmbH & Co. KG. The managing director is Joachim Zimmermann. The Nuremberg and Roth sites are operated by Hafen Nürnberg-Roth GmbH, in which Bayernhafen GmbH & Co. KG holds 80 percent, the city of Nuremberg 19 percent and the city of Roth one percent.
About TFG Transfracht:
TFG Transfracht is the market leader in containerized seaport hinterland traffic at German seaports. With its nationwide AlbatrosExpress network, TFG Transfracht connects the ports of Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Wilhelmshaven, Koper, Rotterdam and Antwerp with over 15,000 locations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland on a daily basis. TFG Transfracht is a Deutsche Bahn AG company with a transport volume of over 900,000 TEU (2020).
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