23 mill. € have been invested in the new intermodal facility in Sweden’s main port already. Railroads play an important part in the strategy. Further expansions are possible
The intermodal business will move from its current location in the centre of in Gothenburg to the outer port area[ds_preview] on the island of Hisingen – beside the RoRo terminals. One reason behind the project is the planned development of the city centre and the construction of the West Link rail tunnel. It is planned that locating the terminal close to the port will facilitate the introduction of new transport systems that will link up shipping and rail traffic.
The port authority says, the industry is »desperately in need of a facility with more capacity. There is already a high demand with more rail companies.«
Magnus Nordfeldt, Senior Manager for Port Development in Gothenburg, explains to HANSA: »In the container segment we have a share of more than 50% of the hinterland traffic with railroad. In comparison the same numbers for the Ro/Ro traffic is almost zero. We hope that the introduktion of the new intermodal terminal will raise those numbers in the long run to at least 25%.« The goal for the first year is to have a throughput of 75,000 trailer units. The year after that (2019) 100,000. Nordfeldt and his colleagues hope that at least 30% of the goods will go through the RoRo terminal as a link to the European continent. »We believe that the capacity of the terminal is approximately 140,000 units in its current form, When we install RMG cranes the capacity will be 250,000 yearly units«, the manager adds.
Each day, the the terminal is said to be served by twelve trains and more than 200 trucks. In addition to domestic traings bound for Norrland, Stockholm and other destinations,there will also be trains heading for various parts of Europe.
The area of the terminal is 65,000m2. Seven railroad tracks with an overall lenght of 3,600 meters. According to the port authority, all tracks will be electrified. At the begin, the terminal will be operated with three reach stacker lifting trucks. The terminal is prepared for the installation of two RMG cranes, »we already installed the power supply, ducting and two large crane beams«, Nordstedt says. When the cranes are to be installed is not decided yet, »but as we see that the market interest is very high we will probably reach the capacity roof with reach stackers, and the crane installation will be necessary within the next five years.«
Depending on the markets, the area can be expanded with 35,000m2 for handling and units buffer within the next year. In ten years time it will also be possible to make the railroad tracks longer, »but to make that happen we need changed plan permissions«, Nordstedt adds.
The family-owned company Sandahlsbolagen Sweden AB has signed a five-year agreement to operate the new facility. The company already operates terminals in Luleå, Umeå, Sundsvall and Jönköping. »It will be an open access terminal for all rail operators that are interested,« Thord Sandahl, chief executive of Sandahlsbolagen Sweden AB said at the announcement. The roots of his company date back over 100 years the founder Enock Sandahl began delivering goods using a horse-drawn wagon. Today the group comprises a parent company and six subsidiaries, working with terminal operations, transport and contracting.
The Port of Gothenburg proud of its rail shuttles. Today, more than 50 % of containers arrive at the port by rail instead of by road. However, increasing the number of road trailers carried on rail trucks would have proved slightly more challenging, despite extensive ro-ro traffic from the port, the authority said. Nonetheless, Sandahl shows confidence: »I can see considerable potential to increase the number of trailer trains into and out of the port, particularly to and from the more northerly parts of the country and the Oslo region. With better access to trailer trains, the logistics situation for Scandinavian industry will be improved considerably and emissions from transport will be reduced.«
