Kombiverkehr KG Expands Its MegaHub Network

Kombiverkehr KG is once again expanding its service offerings through the rapid transshipment facility MegaHub Hannover-Lehrte. Following the start of operations in April 2021 and the first expansion phase in early September 2021, the terminals Rotterdam Europoort and Lovosice are now connected to the innovative hub terminal east of Hannover.

(Frankfurt/Main) “With the integration of today’s train service between the Rotterdam terminal Europoort and the Czech Lovosice into the MegaHub transport concept, we are providing important gateway services for both economic locations in our international network via Hannover,” explains Alexander Ochs, Managing Director of Kombiverkehr. Since the timetable change last weekend, Rotterdam and Lovosice have been connected to Northern Europe and the Baltic region via the Baltic Sea ports of Kiel and Lübeck. Southbound services from Rotterdam and Lovosice to Northern Italy with a connection to the Verona Interterminal are possible within an A/C transit time. “From Europoort, logistics companies have extremely important ferry services to Great Britain in conjunction with our rail services. Since Brexit, multimodal transport on the East-West corridor has gained even more significance. With new international routings via Hannover-Lehrte, we are supporting UK forwarders in realizing their transport chains,” adds Sales Manager Peter Dannewitz. The new connections from Rotterdam Europoort and Lovosice to Hannover-Lehrte will be offered four times a week in each direction. The same applies for the return direction. The shipping days and timetable can be found in the online timetable information on the Kombiverkehr KG website.

Connection Lübeck-Scandinavia Quay and Frequency Increase Duisburg

Since mid-November, there have been additional connections to and from Sweden, Norway, Finland, and the Baltic region via the Baltic Rail Gate Terminal at the Scandinavia Quay, which has since been linked to the rapid transshipment facility in Hannover three times a week in each direction. Transfers of trailers, tank containers, and swap bodies to the direct trains to Stockholm and Hallsberg are still bookable in the Northern European Kombiverkehr network via the Lübeck terminal Dänischburg CTL; additionally, there are ferry services to and from St. Petersburg and Finland from this quay. Kombiverkehr’s forwarding customers book their transports either continuously in a one-stop-shop process or the onward shipping route from Dänischburg with the respective shipping company.

Also, with the timetable change 2021/2022, the operator increased the traffic frequency on the existing connection between Hannover-Lehrte and Duisburg-Ruhrort Hafen DUSS. Both directions have been offered five times a week from Monday to Friday since December 13. This reduces the transition times in transit traffic via Duisburg and Hannover.

Highest Flexibility in Routing and Intermodal Location Advantage

Through the MegaHub Hannover-Lehrte as a central hub, all connected terminals can be linked together. The MegaHub Hannover-Lehrte is funded as part of the federal program “Future of Rail Freight Transport” by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. The connections are designed so that trains arrive between 8 PM and 6 AM and have only short standing times, allowing loading units to be transshipped particularly quickly. With Kombiverkehr’s system offerings, forwarders and logistics companies already have a new variety of accessibility to important economic locations and ports in Europe. The services are continuously bookable. There is also a European intermodal offering with fast direct services for the economic region in Hannover itself through the MegaHub connections.

Photo: © Kombiverkehr