APM Terminals in the Port of Gothenburg, Sweden, has had a successful H1 2026 for rail freight. The facility broke four back-to-back monthly volume records between March and June. It told RailFreight.com about the factors behind its success.
The all-time rail freight volume record at the Gothenburg terminal was set during the autumn peak season, explains Emil Seferaj, Rail Sales Representative at APM Terminals. The team in Gothenburg hopes to break that record later during the coming peak season, when preparations for the December holidays drive up demand.
APM Terminals declined to share its exact numbers for the period March-June, but does say that it hopes to break the previous annual volume record of 254,000 units (2025). The company mentioned the strong import market as one factor underpinning the rail freight growth, but there is more at play. “The growth is also the result of many years of investment and close collaboration across the entire rail ecosystem”, explains Emil Seferaj. “Rail operators, inland terminals and cargo owners have continuously invested in infrastructure, equipment and new services.”
Most of the rail destinations offered from APM Terminals Gothenburg started with just a single train service, Seferaj explains. Those have grown through long-term commitments, investment and close cooperation among the involved parties. “Today, many of those early investments have matured into stable and competitive rail solutions supporting high-volume cargo flows.”
Supplying Sweden’s south
One such humble-beginnings rail solution could be the Gothenburg–Helsingborg (southern Sweden) shuttle. Launched in March 2026 and operated by APM Terminals itself, the service has proved to be successful. In June, it added another weekly departure. The aim is to grow to three weekly departures.
“We have a strong collaboration with several of our largest customers, who have redirected their flows to APM Terminals Gothenburg. Major shipping lines, as well as freight forwarders and rail customers, have shown significant interest in the solution. If the demand continues, we expect to increase to three trains per week shortly”, Seferaj said in June.
A tiny bit of vertical integration helps on this route: APM Terminals also operates a dedicated area at the Helsingborg intermodal terminal. “This means we can receive cargo at the Helsingborg intermodal terminal well in advance, without warehousing costs. It also allows us to tailor depot solutions for our customers, for both empty and loaded units”, explained Seferaj.
Uniquely high modal share
A strong operational product at APM Terminals Gothenburg, together with long-term investments, has strengthened the competitiveness of rail, Seferaj tells RailFreight.com. As a result, it has made rail an increasingly attractive transport solution.
Worth mentioning is the figure highlighted in the headline. Typically, around 55% of all containers handled at APM Terminals Gothenburg are transported by rail. Seferaj calls this “quite unique”. The Port of Hamburg boasts a similar modal share, but others fall behind. The Polish port in Gdańsk manages 35%, the British Port of Felixstowe did 33% in 2023.
The modal share of rail in Gothenburg has “continued to increase over the years and demonstrates the importance of Sweden’s inland rail network”, concludes Seferaj.