The Port of Hamburg is pushing direct container trains to Cologne and Duisburg as a water-level-independent alternative to Rhine barges after prolonged low water cut vessel capacity and drove up inland transport costs, according to Port of Hamburg Marketing.
HGK Logistics and Intermodal GmbH and IGS Intermodal Container Logistics GmbH operate the regular services, carrying export containers to Hamburg and import boxes from the port to the two western German inland hubs.
The trains connect directly with Hamburg’s seaport terminals. The operators are urging cargo owners to plan shipments early and are offering support to transfer container flows from barges to rail.
Exporters using Antwerp and Rotterdam have faced reduced barge capacity, longer transit times and higher costs as conditions on the Rhine deteriorated. The Kaub gauge stood at 23 centimetres at 05:00 on 5 August, below the previous listed record low of 25 centimetres set in October 2018.
At the end of July, vessels passing the Rhine bottleneck were often carrying about 20% of their normal loads. Tanker barge rates from Rotterdam to Karlsruhe had climbed to about €150 to €155 ($173 to $178) per tonne, from €45 ($52) at the end of June.
Hamburg’s port railway has nearly 300 kilometres of track and handles about 200 freight trains a day.
Port of Hamburg Marketing e.V. is an industry association established in 1985 to represent and promote companies and institutions connected with Hamburg’s port and logistics sector.