Swiss logistics service provider Bertschi will build a new €10 million rail terminal in the Botlek area of the Port of Rotterdam. Construction is scheduled to start December 2006, with the terminal being operational by June 2007.In the first phase, the terminal will be 3,5 hectares, with the potential to triple in size in later phases.
The three 450 metre tracks are worked by a gantry crane to handle up to four train arrivals and four departures per day. Altogether, the throughput of the new terminal in the first phase will be around 120,000 TEU, part of which is new cargo for Rotterdam.
The site, close to the Brittaniëhaven dock, is situated amidst the chemical industry, which is Bertschi's main business target. The terminal will have a storage capacity of up to 1,250 TEU, and is designed to store hazardous cargo.
Bertschi is the European market leader in the intermodal transportation of chemicals. The company operates 28 locations in nineteen European countries, including Antwerp, Terneuzen, Moerdijk, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Poland, UK, Skandinavia, the Baltic countries and St. Petersburg.
Bertschi plans to run the first train connection from the new Rotterdam terminal to Italy in mid-2007.
According to Ger van Tongeren, CCO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, the Bertschi terminal will not only attract more cargo, but will also strengthen the Port’s strategic position in a number of growth sectors, such as shortsea shipping, in chemical logistics and in rail transport.
“Bertschi is already an important user of rail transport, but as a shareholder of Rail4Chem and Hupac, it is a spider in the European rail web as well,” said van Tongeren. “This will also have positive effects for the Betuwe Route, the dedicated freight line corridor which connects Rotterdam with the European hinterland.”