Hamburg Port Railway: Strong first half 2016

After posting an all-time high in 2015, the Hamburg Port Railway achieves another record result in the first half of 2016. Between January and June, approximately 23.8 million tonnes of cargo and 1.19 million standard containers (TEU) were transported on the port railway network. This corresponds to an increase of 3.9% for goods and 2.1% for containerised freight traffic compared with the same period last year. Up to 220 trains with 5,900 cargo and container wagons run between Hamburg and the European hinterland per day.
 
“With 150 years of experience, the port railway provides up-to-date solutions for transport – including a promising outlook for the future,” says Jens Meier, Chairman of the Management Board HPA. “The constantly growing traffic numbers show that we are on the right track: our IT system transPORT, introduced in 2015, and investments in our infrastructure, such as the capacity increase of the Waltershofer Brücken, lay further foundations for a high-quality traffic system,” adds Meier. The impact of the construction measures at the Waltershofer Brücken is kept to a minimum in close cooperation with railway companies and terminals so that customers of the port railway do not have to deal with any significant restrictions.
 
“The highest priority is to increase the future viability and to improve the sustainability of the port railway,” says Frank Horch, Senator of Economy, Transport and Innovation and adds: “Pollutant emissions and noise needs to be reduced significantly. For this reason, the HPA strives to strengthen the incentive function for the use of wagons with noise-reducing breaks as well as shunting locomotives with soot particle filters. Noise-reducing wagons are encouraged and the incentive for the use of soot particle filters increased by approximately 28% effective January 1, 2017.”
 
Since the turnover in rail traffic is expected to further increase, the Port Railway Director Harald Kreft is recommending a nationwide expansion of the rail network for train lengths of 740 metres: “The infrastructure in the Port of Hamburg as well as the large terminals are able to handle trains with a length of 740 metres. However, the network bottlenecks in the hinterland – especially towards Prague and Leipzig – lead to many short trains competing for the already scarce routes. A network that is consistently expanded to 740 metres would mean a double-digit efficiency gain for our already heavily utilised trains.”
 
In order to further strengthen the location and to remain competitive against other traffic carriers, the Hamburg Port Railway will merely implement an inflation-related payment increase in the coming year.
 
The port railway is a business unit of the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA). Its network includes approximately 300 kilometres of tracks and 800 switches. More than half of the track network is electrified. The port railway provides access to more than 80 rail connections of turnover, logistics and port industry operations in the Port of Hamburg. More than 300 cargo trains with a total of 5,000 wagons run on an average weekday. 126 railway companies are currently working on the tracks of the port railway. More than 30% of all goods handled in the Port of Hamburg are transported by train.