HANSA 12-2017

Häfen | Ports
Photo: Port of Gothenburg
The intermodal business will move from its current location in the
centre of in Gothenburg to the outer port area on the island of
Hisingen – beside the RoRo terminals. One reason behind the project
is the planned development of the city centre and the construction
of the West Link rail tunnel. It is planned that locating the terminal
close to the port will facilitate the introduction of new transport systems
that will link up shipping and rail traffc.
The port authority says, the industry is »desperately in need of a facility
with more capacity. There is already a high demand with more
rail companies.«
Magnus Nordfeldt, Senior Manager for Port Development in Gothenburg,
explains to HANSA: »In the container segment we have a
share of more than 50% of the hinterland traffc with railroad. In
comparison the same numbers for the Ro/Ro traffc is almost zero. We
hope that the introduktion of the new intermodal terminal will raise
those numbers in the long run to at least 25%.« The goal for the first
year is to have a throughput of 75,000 trailer units. The year after that
(2019) 100,000. Nordfeldt and his colleagues hope that at least 30%
of the goods will go through the RoRo terminal as a link to the European
continent. »We believe that the capacity of the terminal is approximately
140,000 units in its current form, When we install RMG
cranes the capacity will be 250,000 yearly units«, the manager adds.
Each day, the the terminal is said to be served by twelve trains
and more than 200 trucks. In addition to domestic traings bound for
Norrland, Stockholm and other destinations,there will also be trains
heading for various parts of Europe.
The area of the terminal is 65,000 m2. Seven railroad tracks with
an overall lenght of 3,600 meters. According to the port authority, all
tracks will be electrified. At the begin, the terminal will be operated
with three reach stacker lifting trucks. The terminal is prepared for
the installation of two RMG cranes, »we already installed the power
supply, ducting and two large crane beams«, Nordstedt says. When
the cranes are to be installed is not decided yet, »but as we see that
the market interest is very high we will probably reach the capacity
roof with reach stackers, and the crane installation will be necessary
within the next five years.«
Depending on the markets, the area can be expanded with
35,000 m2 for handling and units buffer within the next year. In ten
years time it will also be possible to make the railroad tracks longer,
»but to make that happen we need changed plan permissions«, Nordstedt
adds.
The family-owned company Sandahlsbolagen Sweden AB has
signed a five-year agreement to operate the new facility. The company
already operates terminals in Luleå, Umeå, Sundsvall and Jönköping.
»It will be an open access terminal for all rail operators that are interested,«
Thord Sandahl, chief executive of Sandahlsbolagen Sweden
AB said at the announcement. The roots of his company date back
over 100 years the founder Enock Sandahl began delivering goods using
a horse-drawn wagon. Today the group comprises a parent company
and six subsidiaries, working with terminal operations, transport
and contracting.
The Port of Gothenburg proud of its rail shuttles. Today, more than
50 % of containers arrive at the port by rail instead of by road. However,
increasing the number of road trailers carried on rail trucks
would have proved slightly more challenging, despite extensive ro-ro
traffc from the port, the authority said. Nonetheless, Sandahl shows
confidence: »I can see considerable potential to increase the number
of trailer trains into and out of the port, particularly to and from the
more northerly parts of the country and the Oslo region. With better
access to trailer trains, the logistics situation for Scandinavian industry
will be improved considerably and emissions from transport
will be reduced.«
MM
HANSA International Maritime Journal – 154. Jahrgang – 2017 – Nr. 12 55