The Port of Hamburg is promoting regular rail links with Cologne and Duisburg as an alternative for container shipments affected by low water levels on the Rhine. The existing services can be used for both exports and imports via the German port.
Persistently low water levels on the Rhine are limiting the capacity of river vessels, extending transit times and increasing costs for cargo owners.
Against this backdrop, the Port of Hamburg recommends that companies use the regular rail connections between its maritime terminals and the major logistics hubs of Cologne and Duisburg in western Germany.
The combined transport services are operated by HGK Logistics and Intermodal, a German company specialising in rail and intermodal transport, and by the logistics operator IGS Intermodal Container Logistics.
An alternative to barge transport on the Rhine
Rail links allow containers to be transported regardless of water levels on the Rhine and can maintain freight flows when barge capacity is reduced.
Export containers can be transported from Cologne and Duisburg directly to the maritime terminals in Hamburg, where they are loaded onto ships. Conversely, containers unloaded at the German port can be transported by rail to the two logistics centres in the west of the country.
The Port of Hamburg argues that rail transport offers more predictable transit times and reduces the dependence of logistics chains on river navigation conditions.
This alternative is also presented as a cost-effective solution with a lower environmental impact.
Rotterdam and Antwerp affected by low water levels
Navigation restrictions are particularly affecting containers transported via the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp, which rely heavily on the Rhine for connections to the industrial regions of western Germany.
The reduced capacity of river vessels may force operators to use more barges for the same volume of freight or to transfer containers to road and rail transport, leading to increased costs.
For Hamburg, the situation also presents an opportunity to attract freight volumes that would normally have been transported via Belgian and Dutch ports.
However, the German port emphasises that this is not about launching new services, but about promoting existing regular rail connections.
Companies urged to book in advance
The Port of Hamburg advises cargo owners to plan their shipments in advance, as demand for alternative rail capacity may increase whilst navigation restrictions are in place.
HGK and IGS can take on volumes diverted from inland waterways and tailor solutions to each client’s requirements.
The Port has not specified how much additional rail capacity is available, nor how long the problems caused by the low water level on the Rhine might continue.
Hamburg already has one of the largest port rail infrastructures in Europe. Approximately 200 freight trains and over 5,500 railcars run daily through the port’s network, which provides direct links to numerous industrial and logistics centres across the continent.
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