GERMANY: Hamburger Hafen & Logistik has completed a project to expand the rail facilities at its Container Terminal Burchardkai in the Port of Hamburg.
Work to increase capacity of HHLA’s largest container facility by 25% to 850 000 TEU/year has included the installation two additional tracks and two Kocks Ardelt Kranbau gantry cranes. CTB now has four cranes and 10 tracks, all of which can handle 740 m long trains.
The federal government contributed to the €13m cost of the project as part of its strategy to encourage the use of intermodal freight services.
‘We have expanded our rail terminal once more to provide our customers with more than just extra capacity’, said CTB Managing Director Andreas Hollmann. ‘The four rail gantry cranes, which work independently of one another, enable more flexible processing and faster reaction times for rail throughput.’
Rail throughput at CTB has grown by 50% since 2010, while rail’s share of container volumes at the Port of Hamburg increased from 37% to 43% between 2010 and 2017.
An second connection between CTB and the Hamburg port railway is being built by the Hamburg Port Authority for completion in 2020.
‘We believe rail services will increase considerably from 2020 through the improved transport connections of CTB’, said HHLA Executive Board Member Jens Hansen. ‘And we are already perfectly prepared for this.’
