The Port of Rotterdam Authority has announced that the Alsace Rotterdam Express has added a second stop at the RWG terminal on the Maasvlakte to its schedule, because the train volumes are recovering, following the Covid-19 pandemic.
The direct rail connection between Rotterdam and Strasbourg/Kehl, an initiative of the C3C collaboration between Haeger & Schmidt Logistics, Danser Group and Ultra-Brag, started in 2015 and has three weekly round trips. In the autumn of 2019, a trial was conducted with four services, but there was insufficient demand.
However, there is still that option on demand, according to Maik Bastian, general manager of the intermodal division of Haeger & Schmidt Logistics, who said that “particularly the flows in consumer products are growing.”
“What also contributes to the increasing volumes on our train is the offer of onward transport from Kehl to Switzerland by barge. This also mainly concerns consumer goods, such as clothing, food and electronics,” he explains.
The current capacity of the container shuttle is 270TEU per week in both directions, with calls at all deepsea terminals on the Maasvlakte and from mid-June twice a week at RWG.
From the French Alsace and the German Baden-Württemberg a lot of paper, wine and beer is transported to Rotterdam, as well as automotive products. From Rotterdam it is a diverse cargo that goes eastbound.
