PSA Antwerp expanding its hinterland network
As of yesterday, PSAA Europa Terminal (quay 869) and PSAA Deurganck Terminal (quay 1742) are the ‘terminals of call’ for the rail connection to/from Athus (Belgium). These PSAA terminals will now be able to offer to shipping lines, forwarders and shippers a direct rail connection to Athus, respectively 2 and 3 times a week. Furthermore, depending on the volume demand the possibility exists to organize two additional calls a week on the river terminals of PSAA (quay 869, quay 1742 and/or PSAA Noordzee Terminal – quay 913), the Company said in a press release.
Athus was the most important rail link in the NARCON network and this inland location services a wide hinterland area, ranging from Belgian Lorraine, to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and French Lorraine/Alsace to the German Saarland and Rhineland-Pfalz. As an alternative to the termination of the rail bundling concept in the port of Antwerp PSAA is providing the synchromodal consolidation of the Athus rail cargo (both by barge and truck).
In addition, the partnership with Delta Marine Terminal (DMT) in Moerdijk (Netherlands) was also formalized yesterday. The existing barge connection with three barge shuttles a week between the PSAA terminals and DMT will be optimized. It is the aim to shortly establish a similar paperless customs concept, by analogy with the CT Vrede set-up (to their inland terminal locations in Amsterdam & Zaandam), launched late August 2013.
Also, with the inland terminal operators in Ghent, La Louvière, Brussels (Belgium) and Gorinchem (The Netherlands) formal agreements have been made to realize barge connections to/from all PSAA terminals. Intermodal Platform Ghent and Ghent Container Terminal (Stukwerkers), Garocentre at La Louviere (Duferco) and Logistics Centre Gorinchem (HTS Group) will be operated three times a week; Brussels (TTB) will be served with a frequency of four barge roundtrips a week.
Through the launch of these new connections, PSAA wants to meet the increasing demand for integrated preand on carriage services directly at the deep sea terminals. Hereby, the simplification of time-consuming administrative processes is also of interest. PSAA and its partners offer a hassle-free handling of containers to the hinterland and thus provide an important contribution to more efficient, more reliable and ‘greener’ supply chains.
In this respect, it is obvious that potential new locations will be examined continuously.