German operator HSL has added rail capacity between Amsterdam and Germany’s Rhine-Neckar region to make up for barges hampered by low water on the Rhine. The services, running since the end of October, carry bulk goods, liquid fuels and petroleum products, with coal trains hauling up to 4,000 tonnes each.
“With these new services, we are helping industry in the Rhine-Neckar region to compensate for the loss of inland waterway transport capacity and to maintain the supply of raw materials even during periods of low water on the Rhine”, said Stefan Frankowski, Managing Director of HSL Logistik GmbH. The Hamburg-based operator is part of TX Logistik, which is itself a subsidiary of the Italian state-owned group FS Logistix.
To reach the 4,000-tonne mark, the coal trains run with double-unit traction, with two locomotives hauling each convoy. The multi-system locomotives on the route were hired specifically for these services and are authorised for cross-border operations. The Rhine-Neckar region, around Mannheim and Ludwigshafen, is one of the main industrial areas of south-western Germany and normally relies heavily on barges for its raw materials.
Three months, maybe six
The services are initially planned for three months, but could be extended by another three should the low water persist, the company said. However, HSL did not disclose how many trains per week are running or the total volumes it expects to carry.
HSL is the latest in a long line of rail players stepping in since the summer. In August, DB Cargo said it could mobilise around 400 wagons at short notice, while Captrain added up to 13,600 tonnes of weekly coal and coke capacity. In September, Hapag-Lloyd launched a rail connection between Rotterdam and Germersheim, near Mannheim, set to run until the end of the year.
At the same time, the railways have their own bottlenecks. Logistics company VTG said in October that the German network cannot absorb all the cargo diverted from the river, partly due to maintenance works. On top of that, the right-bank Rhine line between Troisdorf and Wiesbaden is closed for renovation until mid-December. In other words, rail can act as a buffer when the Rhine runs dry, but only as long as the network has room to spare.