Page 9 - Hafen Hamburg | Broschüre | Port of Hamburg Magazine 4.2020

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INFRASTRUCTURE PORT ■
Geared up for the future
The Hamburg Port Railway is the link between terminals, private siding operators and the supra-regional rail network belonging to German Rail or DB – Deutsche Bahn. This makes it an indispensable connection to the Port of Hamburg’s hinterland. An intact infrastructure is of paramount importance for the Port of Hamburg as Europe’s biggest rail port.
Slowly the block train from Hansaport terminal starts to pull away. It certainly does have a heavy load to pull, since it is transporting around 4,000 tons of ore and coal. This means, when adding its own weight, i.e. the locomotive and railcars, the whole train weighs almost 6,000 tons. This ranks it among the heaviest trains on the German rail network. The tracks and points have quite a lot to cope with. However, before the train makes it from Hansaport terminal at the western side of the port into the DB network, it passes over the Hamburg Port Railway tracks. As operator of the in-port rail facilities, it is responsible for marshalling and maintenance yards and the tracks that connect the terminals, tranship- ment facilities, and siding operators in the port with the DB rail network linking it to the German and Eu- ropean hinterland. With a network consisting of vari-
ous rail terminal segments with more than 750 points and almost 300 kilometres of track, of which some 160 kilometres are electrified, Hamburg Port Railway ensures that each and every train, railcar and container reaches its destination.
Up to 220 freight trains with more than 5,500 railcars roll over the Port Railway tracks daily. This means that on average a freight train arrives or leaves the Port of Hamburg approximately every seven minutes. “Our infrastructure is in heavy demand every day. So, it’s one of our core tasks to ensure that our facilities are available round the clock to keep operations running,” said Markus Wolf, head of control and safety technol- ogies management. This specifically includes servic- ing, maintenance and repair, but also the moderniza- tion and expansion of tracks, control and safety technologies and the overhead contact lines.
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© HPA / Andreas Schmidt-Wiehoff