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duisport (Duisburger Hafen AG) is investing in the rail technology company CargoBeamer from Leipzig. Both companies aim to shift road freight transport to rail. To achieve this, they motivate customers with innovative logistics offerings. A new terminal is planned in the heart of North Rhine-Westphalia.
(Duisburg/Leipzig) Duisburger Hafen AG (duisport) has invested in the Leipzig-based rail technology company CargoBeamer AG. Both companies are jointly committed to shifting road freight transport to rail. Innovative logistics offerings create the basis for this.
“Anyone who wants to shift more traffic from the road must particularly bring semi-trailers onto the rail. CargoBeamer offers a first-class solution thanks to its transshipment technology. It has developed into a pioneering concept for environmentally friendly and sustainable transport concepts,” emphasizes Erich Staake, CEO of Duisburger Hafen AG. “I am very pleased that our shareholders have now approved the entry into a capital investment beyond the already existing successful partnership!”
CargoBeamer: Digitally controlled and flexibly applicable!
CargoBeamer is a fully automated system primarily designed for the rail transport of craneable and non-craneable semi-trailers of all kinds. It consists of special railway wagons and terminals equipped accordingly. Loading and unloading is done by driving semi-trailers into special troughs, which are then horizontally and completely automated moved along with the semi-trailers into the waiting train. This allows CargoBeamer to completely load and unload a freight train with up to 36 wagons in less than 20 minutes. The process is fully digitally controlled. The CargoBeamer wagon technology is also fully compatible with the cranes and reach stackers widely used in conventional combined transport. As a result, almost every existing combined transport terminal is capable of loading and unloading CargoBeamer wagons. Customers, such as local freight forwarders, simply bring their semi-trailers to the rail terminal. From there, they are transported by rail to their destination.
Directly onto the rail with the truck semi-trailer
duisport has already begun to expand its world-leading offering in trimodal freight handling in the inland with the first CargoBeamer trains. “Our customers will thus receive even more reliable and climate-friendly logistics chains in the future – without burdening their fleet with high investments,” says Erich Staake. The CargoBeamer system can transport not only semi-trailers but also typical intermodal units. The capacity of each train is 36 semi-trailers or 45-foot containers. Each semi-trailer can carry up to 26 tons of cargo.
New terminal, improved infrastructure
CargoBeamer and duisport pursue a vision for the future: Together, they are working towards a digitally automated transshipment of semi-trailers from road to rail. Combined with robotic warehouses and electric distribution of goods on the “last mile,” a powerful European model for a sustainable transport network is to be created in the heart of North Rhine-Westphalia. An important building block for this development will be a joint terminal project based on the CargoBeamer infrastructure. As part of this project, the innovative CBoXX technology from CargoBeamer will also be integrated. This involves a high-volume rail container that can be fully robotized for loading and unloading at the terminal. This will enable a powerful offering for LTL/LCL volumes (freight quantities with piece sizes below an entire semi-trailer or container) to be brought to market.
Further strengthening strategic cooperation
“We are very pleased to strengthen our already successful strategic cooperation with duisport’s investment in CargoBeamer. duisport offers ideal conditions to establish future transport routes deep into Asia and opens up enormous potential for connections to the whole world as the largest inland port in Europe. duisport shares CargoBeamer’s vision of massively increasing rail freight transport with innovative rail logistics,” explains Robert Osterrieth, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of CargoBeamer AG.
Currently, around 30 percent of all trade by rail between China and Europe passes through the Duisburg port. Currently, between 50 to 60 trains operate weekly between duisport and around 20 different destinations in China.
About duisport
Duisburger Hafen AG (duisport) is the ownership and management company of the Duisburg port, the largest inland port in the world. The duisport group offers full-service packages for the port and logistics location in the areas of infra- and superstructure, including settlement management. In addition, the subsidiaries provide logistical services such as the establishment and optimization of transport and logistics chains, rail freight transport services, building management, contract logistics, and packaging logistics.
About CargoBeamer
CargoBeamer is an innovative logistics company aiming to shift freight transport from road to environmentally friendly rail through the use of novel technologies. The CargoBeamer system consists of patented wagons, transshipment terminals, and logistics software. It enables cost-effective transport of truck semi-trailers of all designs by rail – without additional modifications and reinforcements to the semi-trailers and without the need for drivers and tractors. This reduces CO² emissions by 70% and alleviates congestion on highways. CargoBeamer plans a Europe-wide network of routes connecting the major logistics hubs in Europe.
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