The Overseas Port of Rostock has been a Railway Port since its Inception

The Overseas Port of Rostock is a significant railway port on the German Baltic Sea coast. About one-fifth of all goods handled in the port are transported by rail. In 2020, this amounted to around five million tons of freight transported via rail. Currently, the port is facing significant challenges due to track closures in the Danish railway network.

(Rostock) More than 60 years ago, the Overseas Port of Rostock was conceived and built as a railway port. Adjacent to the port is a marshalling yard with approximately 180 kilometers of track length. The port area has tracks laid out with a total length of 54 kilometers. Furthermore, Rostock is now the only port in continental Europe with a rail ferry connection to and from Trelleborg in Sweden. This service is operated by Stena Line with the two largest railway ferries in the world.

Increased Demand in the Rail Sector

Currently, the track closures in the Danish railway network for intermodal trains present significant challenges for railways, freight forwarders, as well as shipping companies and port operators. The port of Rostock is currently handling many additional intermodal trains or utilizing the existing rail transport options provided by Stena Line. “The port location Rostock is proud to be part of the solution together with its partners, the shipping companies, railway transport, and handling companies, even in times of the Corona pandemic and track closures in the Danish railway network, and to demonstrate its capabilities. The railway capacity of the port location is currently and will in the future be ensured through appropriate investments by Rostock Port and its partners in railway tracks and intermodal handling facilities,” says Jens A. Scharner, Managing Director of Rostock Port GmbH. Scandinavia is accessible for rail traffic both via fixed crossings and by sea between Rostock and Trelleborg. The current situation once again highlights the necessity of redundancy solutions for rail transport. The Swedish infrastructure operator Trafikverket recently highlighted the need for a rail-based transport alternative to and from Sweden in a report. The ferry company Stena Line and the two railway ports of Trelleborg and Rostock require economic support to maintain the costly rail infrastructure.

Handling of Intermodal Loading Units Continues to Increase

The handling of intermodal loading units in combined freight transport (KV) at the Overseas Port of Rostock impressively rose to 94,800 units in 2020, despite the Corona crisis (+7 percent). “We are pleased that with the turn of the year, two new intermodal connections from Rostock to Bettembourg and Bratislava have commenced operations. This demonstrates the efficiency of the rail system and combined transport even in times of crisis. We see significant growth potential in combined transport in the coming years. Through the provision of railway infrastructure, the port location Rostock can contribute to environmentally friendly logistics solutions,” says Dr. Gernot Tesch, Managing Director of Rostock Port GmbH. With the connection to Bettembourg, destinations in France and Spain, as well as via the North Sea ports in Great Britain/Ireland, are accessible in addition to BeNeLux destinations. The new connection to Bratislava emphatically underscores the KV potential on the increasingly important axis to Southeast Europe for Rostock. The port operator Rostock Port is continuously working with several partners to expand existing KV connections or realize new ones. Mixed train concepts in wagonload and container traffic are playing an increasingly important role. The positive development in the handling of intermodal loading units in Rostock has led to expansion plans that will enable the handling of KV with 740-meter-long trains in the future.

Iron Silk Road Leads to the Baltic Sea

Container traffic between China and Europe on the iron silk road has also seen rapid growth for some time. This growth requires alternatives to traditional routes through Belarus and Poland. By transporting containers by container ship between Kaliningrad and Rostock, additional capacities can be created and traffic can be significantly accelerated. For customers in Sweden, Norway, or Denmark, transport via Rostock also offers another advantage: they can take the direct, fast, and environmentally sensible route by ferry to and from Northern Europe.

Further Investments

In addition to timely capacity adjustments at the KV terminal, both Rostock Port and DB Netz are continuing to invest in the environmentally friendly mode of transport, rail. DB Netz is creating the conditions for demand-oriented use of the railway infrastructure there with the upcoming reconstruction of the marshalling yard in front of the port. These measures by DB Netz are continuously coordinated with the measures of the port operator Rostock Port. Together, both partners are involved in creating a powerful rail connection for a new RoRo terminal in the Rostock port, whose hinterland transports are to take place almost exclusively by rail.
Photo: © Rostock Port www.rostock-port.de