The Hamburg Port Railway is a division of the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA). It has been connecting ship and rail for almost 160 years - and has since gained in importance for the port and the European hinterland in terms of sustainability. The Hamburg port railway was opened in August 1866, with the Berlin-Hamburger-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft operating the connection between Berliner Bahnhof and Sandtorkai. A lot has changed since then: Every day, around 210 goods trains with a total of over 5,400 wagons run on the tracks of the port railway. The port railway network comprises almost 300 km of tracks with around 762 points, 155 km of which are electrified.
"In the almost 160 years that the Hamburg port railway can now look back on, it has developed from a simple siding at Sandtorkai into a complex system of marshalling yards that now occupies a leading position in Europe: Hamburg is Europe's largest railway port and we are proud of that," says Jens Meier, Chief Executive Officer at the HPA.
Since the foundation of the HPA in 2005, the port railway has been an important division with currently 170 employees. In November 2012, the Port Railway welcomed "Freightliner", the 100th rail transport company in the Port of Hamburg; 161 rail transport companies now use the efficient track infrastructure.
In recent years, the port railway has recorded year-on-year growth rates and is thus still on course for a record. In 2023, 45,6 million tonnes of goods were moved on the port railway's tracks, maintaining Hamburg's position as the Europes largest railway port.
"We are not resting on our laurels, but are striving to continuously expand our position as a driver of innovation," says Harald Kreft, Head of the Port Railway Division. "It is also important to look beyond our own horizons, because the port railway is the link between the container ship handling terminals and the European rail network."
The port railway is involved in the further development of smartPORT. The idea of the smart port can be seen, among other things, in the development of transPORT rail. The traffic management system for rail transport in the Port of Hamburg regulates the exchange of data between the parties involved and transparently maps all train journeys, track occupancy and loading processes of railways in the Port of Hamburg.
Users of transPORT rail can carry out the necessary communication largely automatically by setting up a data interface. With transPORT rail, the port railway is positioning itself for the future and will enable more efficient rail traffic in the port in the long term, even with increasing numbers of trains.
The construction of the New Kattwyk rail bridge has further optimised the flow of traffic in the Port of Hamburg. Originally, the existing Kattwyk Bridge was used for both rail and road traffic. With the construction of the new bridge, the HPA has unbundled the traffic and created an efficient connection across the Süderelbe. In 2020, the first train crossed its tracks.
The Hamburg port railway is the link between the transhipment terminals and the European rail network. Regardless of whether the goods are transported from the port to the rest of the world or vice versa: the port railway provides the necessary infrastructure to all rail transport companies whose goods trains wish to use the Port of Hamburg. It does not operate any trains itself, but owns vehicles to maintain the route network.
A modern, IT-supported operating system ensures that all rail operations are precisely timed and that all containers arrive at their destination reliably and without loss of time.
As a service facility in the sense of railway law, Hamburger Hafenbahn guarantees non-discriminatory access to its track infrastructure for the currently more than 174 rail transport companies.
Every day, around 210 goods trains with a total of over 5,500 wagons run on the tracks of the port railway.
The total transport volume on the port railway in 2022 was around 47.3 million tonnes, the third-best result after 2021 and 2019.
The modal split in the hinterland of the Port of Hamburg is going in favour of rail as a mode of transport. In 2015, the share of rail in the modal split was higher than that of truck (42.4 percent) for the first time, at 45.3 percent. In 2022, the share of rail was already 53.9%.
The port railway network comprises 289 km of tracks (roughly the distance Hamburg-Berlin) with 771 points, 155 km of which are electrified.
The port railway serves 77 sidings of companies in the port.
170 HPA employees work for Hamburger Hafenbahn.
Freight wagons from the Hamburg port railway fleet have been maintained on Spreehafeninsel for over 70 years. In the new workshop hall, completed in 2014, eleven experienced and qualified employees work under ideal conditions. For the first time, wagons from third parties are also repaired here.
Whether it's a brake overhaul, wheelset replacement, replacement of wagon components or the repair of other damage: in the 1,200 m² hall with two 48 m long tracks, the staff of the port railway workshop can provide rapid assistance in many cases of damage to standard or special freight wagons.
If necessary, the damaged wagons can be collected from the entire port area. The workshop site also has around 600 m of sidings. The workshop has the capacity to repair and maintain several hundred wagons per year.
In addition, the HPA offers its customers the possibility to store spare parts in the storage building directly adjacent to the workshop.
The workshop holds the maintenance centre certificate according to Regulation (EU) No. 445/2011 (ECM), is certified by the Association of Freight Car Owners in Germany (VPI) and is authorised to weld rail vehicles and parts according to DIN EN 15085-2.
The infrastructure also includes the Alte Süderelbe port railway station with its distinctive tower. The station was put into operation in 1995.
From the Alte Süderelbe port railway station, the smooth container handling between the rail traffic and the large container terminals in the western port is controlled.
The futuristic-looking signal box was also completed in 1995. The plans for it were drawn up by the Hamburg architects' office me di um, which among other things also developed the ferry terminal of the former England Ferry and converted the Zeisehallen in Ottensen.
The rooms of the control centre are 15 metres above the ground. On the one hand, this provides an optimal overview, on the other hand, the lighting of the tracks cannot obstruct the view.
In order to further increase the performance of the rail connections between the western and eastern harbours and to the Deutsche Bahn network, the HPA has built two new bridges:
- the Retheklappbrücke with an independent railway bridge
- the new Kattwyk railway bridge
Both bridges serve to separate rail and road traffic.
By introducing ecological components in its charging system INES, the HPA's port railway has created incentives that enable rail transport companies to reduce user charges by acting sustainably.
As a pioneer in Europe, the Port of Hamburg Railway introduced a noise-based charging component on the rail infrastructure. The development shows that customers and HPA Hafenbahn are also pulling in the same direction when it comes to sustainability: the number of wagons equipped with low-noise brakes has since risen to 52 percent.
If the shunting locomotives are equipped with soot filters and thus reduce pollutant emissions in the port, the charge for port-internal journeys is reduced.
11.08.1866: Opening of the Hamburg port railway: Berliner Bf - Sandtorkai; operated by Berlin-Hamburger Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft.
1869/1874: Connection of Kaiser-, Dalmann-, Hübener- and Strandkai to Berliner and Venloer Bahnhof.
01.12.1872: Opening of the Elbe bridges railway: Hamburg-Venlo railway station (later Hannoverscher Bf, at Lohseplatz / Stockmeyerstrasse). Opening of the port railway facilities between Venloer Bf and Grasbrookhafen (Grasbrook Railway).
18.01.1876: Opening of the Altona harbour railway tunnel (Altona Palmaille - Altona Kai).
1880: First port railway track on the southern bank of the Elbe to the then Petroleumhafen (today Südwesthafen) as the first port basin on the left bank of the Elbe; port railway accounts for 45 percent of all goods transported to and from the port.
01.07.1882: Kaiserkai, Dalmannkai and Grasbrookkai at Grasbrookhafen are connected to Hanover Bf (Lohseplatz).
1888: Opening of Bf Kai rechts ("right bank of the river Elbe"); length of port railway tracks on the right bank of the river Elbe approx. 55 km.
02.01.1893: Opening of Hafenbahnhof Hamburg Süd (formerly Niedernfelde Rangierbf.) with connection to Wilhelmsburg; port railway network has approx. 90 km of track.
02.01.1893: Opening of Wilhelmsburg Industrial Railway.
1907: Opening of Harburg seaport railway station.
1912 (until 1974): Opening of the ferry service between Neuhof and Waltershof; in 1938, the largest volume of traffic with 91,000 trafficked goods wagons.
1913: Opening of the first port railway track west of Köhlbrand in Waltershof; the port railway network, including private sidings, has a total length of 240 track kilometres.
1920: Commissioning of Bf Hamburg Süd (main port marshalling yard) with entry and exit system (2 hump yards).
Apr. 1921 - 1923: Trajectory services from Köhlbrand West to the Deutsche Werft jetty. With the opening of the Köhlbrand Bridge, trajectory traffic is abandoned in 1974.
31.04.1926: Opening of the Freihafen-Elbe bridge as a road bridge with a port railway track on the eastern side.
01.09.1927: Opening of the Hohe Schaar railway (Prussian property, operated by the Wilhelmsburg Industrial Railway (WIB)).
27.11.1929: Opening of Waltershofer Bahn Hausbruch - Waltershof and the Waltershof harbour railway station. The total length of the harbour railway is 375 track kilometres.
24.10.1934: Opening of Rethe lift bridge combined for road and rail traffic with separated port railway track.
1937/1938: Extension of the Hausbruch - Waltershof line to the Finkenwerder aircraft factories.
1941 - 1943: Extension of Waltershof station for ore handling.
1962: Opening of the Hohe Schaar harbour station with the first central track diagram interlocking and hydraulic track brakes.
1962 / 1964: Takeover of the Wilhelmsburg industrial railway, opened in 1893, by the port railway.
1965: Start of electrification of the port railway (in Hohe Schaar and Hamburg Süd station). First goods train hauled by electric locomotive reaches the Port of Hamburg.
1965: Commissioning of the Hsw signal box.
1966: Opening and rail connection of the Burchardkai container terminal.
1971: First electric point heating systems at Hamburg Süd station on the port railway.
1972 - 1976: Extension and modernisation of Waltershof station.
30.09.1972: Last steam-hauled train leaves Hamburg Süd station.
21.03.1973: Kattwyk Bridge with Hausbruch - Hohe Schaar line opens; with a clearance of 54 m, it is the largest lift bridge in the world; the railway project over the Köhlbrand is abandoned.
1973: Mühlenwerder district railway station goes into operation.
1974: Alte Süderelbe district railway station goes into operation.
1976: Commissioning of the central Whf signal box at Waltershof station.
05.03.1977: Commissioning of Hansaport including electrification of the railway connection for ore trains weighing up to 5,000 t.
1978: Takeover of the Altona port railway facilities including the 970 m long railway tunnel from DB.
1981 - 1982: Electrification of the Waltershof, Mühlenwerder and Alte Süderelbe stations.
1983: Electrification of the Hausbruch - Kattwykbrücke - Hohe Schaar connecting line.
1988: Relocation of the harbour railway from Wilhelmsburg residential areas and commissioning of the new main track from the Hohe Schaar railway to the Pollhornweg / Schmidts Breite / Bei der Wollkämmerei road section.
1988: Commissioning of the Hof (Hohe Schaar) signal box with SpDrS60 technology.
1991: Anniversary "125 years of Hafenbahn" is celebrated with a Hafenbahn festival.
1992: Closure of the Altona Harbour Railway and the Altona Harbour Railway Tunnel.
Hamburg cedes ownership of the American harbour in Cuxhaven to the state of Lower Saxony. This means that the port railway also loses responsibility for the port railway tracks there.
30.09.1995: Opening of the Alte Süderelbe port railway station: dome-ready running target braking, dispatching centre.
1997: Commissioning of the world's only road "level crossing" for aircraft over the Neß main dike at Airbus.
2002: Track development of the new Altenwerder port area with container terminal, warehousing and distribution operations and Altenwerder Ost track group with an extension track to the Moorburger Elbdeich.
01.05.2005: Amendment of the General Railway Act (AEG): Hafenbahn is granted the status of a public railway infrastructure company (EIU). This means that the port railway takes over operational management.
01.10.2005: The "Electricity and Port Construction Authority" becomes the "Hamburg Port Authority".
2006: Demolition of the Sq signal box and the railway facilities in Bf Kai rechts for the construction of HafenCity.
Sept. 2007: "Masterplan Hafenbahn 2015" is presented with DB Netz AG.
Dec. 2008: The port railway receives the Medlog Award 2008 for outstanding logistical achievements.
2009: Double-track connection to DB Netz in Hausbruch.
2011: First Hafenbahn geothermal points heating system commissioned at Rossdamm (Roeloffsufer).
Nov. 2012: The 100th railway company signs a contract of use to operate on the port railway.
Aug. 2013: Inauguration of a new office building on Spreehafeninsel. A new combined workshop/warehouse building with a social wing is also built. The office building is built as Hamburg's first passive office building and receives an award as an Excellence Project within the framework of the IBA.
Aug. 2014: Commissioning of the workshop for freight wagons at the newly designed Spreehafen site. For the first time, wagons from third parties are also repaired.
01 Oct. 2014: The port railway puts its new traffic management system transPORT rail into operation.
Dec. 2015: Connection of the port railway to the 835 m train line Maschen -Padborg opened (Hohe Schaar station).
14-17 Sep. 2016: Celebrations to mark the 150th anniversary of the Hamburg port railway.
21.04.2017: Start of construction work for new locomotive service station. As part of the Alte Süderelbe port railway station, a modern service complex is being built on Dradenauer Deichweg with locomotive parking areas, a workshop, a filling station and office and social rooms. The aim: to avoid unnecessary empty runs of locomotives.
15.12.2017: Official opening of the Retheklapp bridge. The span of each bridge is 104 m. The fairway in the bridge area is 64 m wide.
2018: Overall completion of the Retheklappbrücke.
2018: Completion of the new locomotive service station. The completely automatic facility is unique. It creates 32 new locomotive parking spaces as well as a sand and a diesel filling station. The centrepiece is an 80 x 75 m transfer table system, which is used to move the rail vehicles to the parking position.
14.12.2020: Traffic opening of the New Kattwyk Bridge 58 metres north of the old Kattwyk Bridge. It separates rail and road traffic to improve the traffic situation. The Kattwyk Bridge remains reserved for road traffic, the New Kattwyk Bridge is used by the railway.
2019: Changeover of the interlocking technology from analogue to digital.
2021: Best transport result in the history of the port railway: 48.5 million t; 2.79 million TEU (standard containers).