Starting this week, Kombiverkehr is offering a new intermodal route between Germany and Austria. Trains are already up and running direct journeys between the München-Riem and Wels CTT terminals. Three departures per week in both directions are on the timetable.

The service is available for containers, tank containers and swap bodies. In Munich, departure days are on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. In Wels trains depart on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The trains will arrive at the destination terminals during the night, which means that the transport units can be collected early the next morning.

Protection environment

Each transport unit with a laden weight of 25 tons uses 280 kilograms less CO2 compared with end-to-end road transport. This equates to a saving of more than 75 per cent, points out Kombiverkekr. “Anyone relying on the railway for their transport is automatically helping to protect the climate”, says Alexander Ochs, managing director of the intermodal provider.

“On Austrian services this particularly sustainable transport option is available not only on the existing routes to and from Duisburg, Neuss and Ludwigshafen, but now to and from southern Germany as well. And with our many gateway connections, the saving over long journeys is a multiple of that”, he adds.

Hubs in the region

München-Riem and Wels CTT function as hubs for onward transport in the region. Within Germany, for instance, the new route creates access to Köln-Eifeltor and Leipzig-Wahren for Austrian shipments.

In Austria, Wels is the hub for shipments to and from Vienna, Bludenz, Graz, Hall in the Tyrol, Linz, St. Michael, Villach and Wolfurt and to and from Sindos in Greece. There are also international connections to and from Budapest, from where Halkali near Istanbul can also be reached by rail.