New ‘Bavaria Shuttle’ from DB Cargo Supplies the Automotive Industry in Bavaria

DB Cargo, in partnership with the Austrian partner CargoServ, transports more than half a million tons annually on the environmentally friendly rail for the steel company voestalpine. Steel goes one way and scrap returns: The shuttle between Linz and Bavaria is always fully utilized and operates with green electricity.

(Linz/Regensburg) The new ‘Bavaria Shuttle’ from DB Cargo ensures an environmentally friendly supply for the Bavarian automotive industry and its suppliers. Without CO2 emissions, steel is delivered daily by rail from voestalpine in Linz, Austria, to Lower and Upper Bavaria as well as to the Upper Palatinate in a goods cycle. The target: the major automobile manufacturers in the region and their supplier companies. In the opposite direction, freight trains transport scrap from the car factories to the steelworks in Linz. In total, more than half a million tons are moved annually. The new cycle protects the environment and the Bavarian-Austrian highways.

Save 8,000 tons of CO2

Additionally, voestalpine has ordered CO2-free rail electricity and logistics chains from DB Cargo. Even CO2 emissions that arise, for example, from the subsequent transport by truck are compensated by purchasing additional ‘green’ electricity for the rail network. The logistics partner CargoServ also exclusively uses CO2-neutral ‘green’ electricity on the Austrian section of the route. In total, this saves about 8,000 tons of CO2 per year compared to truck transport. “Together with our partner DB Cargo, with whom we have had a very successful collaboration for many years, and our in-house railway company CargoServ, we can further expand the climate-friendly and sustainable rail freight transport between our production site in Linz and our important premium automotive customers in Bavaria with the new shuttle,” says Hubert Zajicek, member of the board of voestalpine AG and head of the Steel Division.

Fast and Flexible

“Our new Bavaria Shuttle is not only fast, but also flexible and can accommodate production fluctuations on a daily basis. This is very beneficial for industrial customers. And the new electric and hybrid models from the major German premium manufacturers already leave significantly less CO2 traces in production and logistics,” praises Dr. Sigrid Nikutta, chairwoman of DB Cargo, the new express service. Furthermore, in light of recent short-term border closures, rail logistics has proven to be crisis-resistant and stable. “A freight train replaces 52 trucks – therefore, the processing of our trains has never been a problem, even under Corona conditions.”
Photo: © DB Cargo