Krone customers in south-west Germany can now benefit from a new sustainable logistics solution: The delivery of their new Krone vehicles will be handled by combined transport from 2024. Since mid-January, an exclusive block train has been travelling once or twice a week on the route between Werlte and Wörth, the main location of Daimler Trucks. Up to 32 semitrailers can thus begin their CO2-saving journey to the south – in return, trucks and tractor units ready for delivery from Daimler Trucks are transported to customers in northern Germany and Scandinavia.
This sustainable logistics solution was made possible on the one hand by the construction of a new loading facility in the town of Werlte, which was realised by Emsländische Eisenbahn GmbH (EEB), and on the other by the Austrian service provider Vega International Car Transport, one of the largest commercial vehicle manufacturers in Europe. Its special low-floor wagons make it possible to load vehicles up to 4 metres high. Thanks to the specially developed “r2L Connector” adapter system, they can also be used to transport non-craneable semi-trailers.
For Heiko Isfort, Head of Logistics at the Krone Commercial Vehicle Group, the block train between Werlte and Wörth is just the beginning: “By entering the field of intermodal delivery logistics for new vehicles, we are not only succeeding in reducing CO2 emissions and significantly relieving the burden on the roads, but also in significantly increasing our efficiency. In cooperation with our partners Vega and E.G.O.O. (Eisenbahngesellschaft Ostfriesland-Oldenburg), we have therefore already set our sights on further routes.“
The town of Werlte and the district of Emsland are supporting the project and are planning a transhipment centre directly on the bypass track under the sponsorship of Emsländische Eisenbahn. “This investment and the current developments show that the loading track is developing into a successful project for Werlte as a business location,” says city director Ludger Kewe, who is delighted. “And it’s not just Werlte and the entire district that benefit from the delivery of trailers by rail. With this solution, we will reduce CO2 emissions in the future and relieve the burden on transport hubs,” adds the deputy district administrator, Hartmut Moorkamp. Together with the management of the vehicle plant, Moorkamp and Kewe saw the implementation for themselves during the first on-site rail loading.