New line connects Bologna and Cologne, also for P400 semi-trailers

Arcese and TX Logistik have launched a new intermodal freight service on the Swiss corridor between the Interporto of Bologna (Italy) and the TKN north terminal in Cologne (Germany). The service is open for P400 semi-trailers, which was enabled by the opening of the new Ceneri Base Tunnel last year.

Operational from 11 January with 5 departures per week, the new Bologna-Cologne line connects the Emilia, Tuscany and Marche regions directly with the Ruhr area and allows the movement of up to 15,000 large semi-trailers (P400) per year.

Ceneri Base tunnel

The Bologna-Cologne train will pass through the new Ceneri Base Tunnel, which opened on 4 September 4 and has made the Rotterdam-Genoa railway corridor even more efficient. This was in fact a motivating factor for the launch of the new line, explains TX Logistik, a Mercitalia subsidiary.

“Since the timetable change in December, it is possible to transport the semi-trailers with a height of four meters (P400), which are normally used in Europe, intermodally by rail through Switzerland. This was not possible before and has significantly increased the interest of our customers for an offer on this route,” underlines Gian Paolo Gotelli, CEO of TX Logistik.

Sustainable transport

“We have been operating in the intermodal freight sector in Europe for many years and this new connection responds both to the growing demand for combined road/rail transport and the careful search for increasingly environmentally sustainable solutions on our part and that of our customers”, says Tobia Mazzi, Transport Purchasing Manager at Arcese.

“We want to support the commercial exchanges between Italy and Germany in a green and sustainable way. Shifting to rail we are relieving the environment and saving around 28,000 tons of CO2 per year with our new connection”, adds Gotelli.