Weekly direct train connection established for rail freight traffic between Norwegenkai Terminal in Kiel and Verona in Italy
In cooperation with the company of Kombiverkehr KG the Norwegian Color Line shipping company has established a weekly direct train connection for rail freight traffic between the Norwegenkai Terminal in Kiel and Verona in Italy. According to the press release of the PORT OF KIEL, the train departs from Verona every Thursday at 10 p.m. and arrives in Kiel on Saturday morning. From the Norwegenkai Terminal, there is a direct connection to the ferries going to Norway so that consignments arrive in Oslo on Sunday. In the other direction, goods are taken on-board in Oslo on Friday afternoon and are transhipped in Kiel onto rail so that they arrive by train in Verona at 6 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director at the PORT OF KIEL (SEE-HAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG): ”Shifting the seaport hinterland traffic to the more eco-friendly mode of rail transport is an important contribution to climate protection and it also takes pressure off our local and regional road network.” The intermodal rail/ship connection between Norway and Italy replaces truck transport on a distance of 2,000 km and thus reduces the car-bon footprint by 50 %. In addition to the environmental aspects, the intermodal cargo transport helps to counter the lack of truck drivers, it allows for higher load weights and it remains unaffected by the ban on Sunday driving.
The new combined transport train Kiel-Norwegenkai – Verona, which has been in operation since the beginning of October, disposes of a wagon capacity for 30 trailers and containers. The train is mainly booked by the company of FREJA Transport & Logistics AS, however, it is also available to other customers. The cruise ferries “Color Magic” and “Color Fantasy” have been complemented by the freight ferry “Color Carrier” on the route between Oslo and Kiel since the beginning of the year. Consequently, there are ten Color Line departures per week and direction between Germany and Norway. The “Color Carrier” (1,775 lane metres) accounts for three round trips a week and operates in addition to the daily liner services of the combined passenger and freight ferries. All sorts of rolling cargo such as trucks, trailers and containers on flats or also construction and agricultural machines are accepted. Furthermore, the vessel carries products of the automotive industry as well as temperature-controlled and classified goods as per IMDG-code. The Norwegenkai Terminal has also been re-connected to the rail freight cargo network through the combined train shuttle since January. It offers a connection via Hamburg-Billwerder to national destinations such as Nuremberg, Cologne, Duisburg, Ludwigshafen or Munich. There are three more freight trains a week going from Kiel to Verona. They de-part from the Schwedenkai Terminal though and provide a connection to the ferries heading to Gothenburg (Sweden).
Kiel is one of the most versatile ports on the German coast. Last year 7.2 million tons of cargo were handled at its range of terminals and 2.2 million ferry or cruise ship passengers embarked or disembarked. Liner shipping services to Scandinavia and the Baltic States are the backbone of Kiel’s port activities. Daily departures of Color Line to Norway, Stena Line to Sweden and DFDS to Lithuania provide forwarders with the best possible opportunities for shipment to target markets in the Baltic Sea region. SCA cargo ships link Kiel twice a week with Sweden’s southern and eastern coasts. There is, in addition, a link to St. Petersburg in Russia, served several times a month by conventional ships.