Port of Antwerp: iIntermodal shuttle to remove 5700 trucks off the roads 12/12/24

Source: https://mediarail.wordpress.com/2021/10/28/rail-europe-news-les-breves/#469

Belgium

A very short distance connection within the port of Antwerp – 12/12/2024 – With its approximately 12,000 hectares, the port of Antwerp is not a dwarf and the industries are strung out along the axes and docks for kilometers. Evonik, a German company in the fields of specialty chemicals and high-performance materials, employs 979 people in Antwerp on a 109-hectare site within the port itself. And we know how important chemistry is in Antwerp.
In 2008, a short rail connection of a few kilometers was set up between its sites and the Main Hub Terminal, a terminal once created by the late B-Cargo for containers, and located to the east of the port. But in 2022 Evonik transferred everything to the road, further clogging up the already busy port roads.
Since mid-November 2024, a new train has been running every week between Evonik's production sites and the Mainhub terminal, now managed by Lineas. By reviewing the quality (and prices) of its services, the Belgian rail operator has been able to rebuild a weekly but solid flow of just a few kilometres. It should be noted that queues of trucks are not uncommon within the port itself, due to the countless container transhipments between different terminals. Given the waiting times and formalities in a terminal, making a 10-kilometre round trip can sometimes take the morning.
The new connection takes 5,700 trucks off the road every year. "With this connection, we are showing that rail transport is not only more sustainable, even when it comes to intermodal transport over short distances, but that it also fits perfectly with our vision of further optimising our supply chains," says Tim Mertens, Assistant Logistics Solutions at Evonik.
These short intra-port trips should not be underestimated. They can provide real added value and relieve companies of the constant search for trucks, in a changing world where truckers are becoming hard to find. Once at the Lineas Main Hub, the tankers are dispatched to different trains, heading for Europe.