Spider in Europe's rail web ' gets Rotterdam terminal

The Swiss logistics service provider Bertschi will build a rail terminal in the Botlek area of the port of Rotterdam. In the first phase the terminal will be 3,5 ha. large with the possibility to triple the size in later phases. The three 450 meter tracks are worked by a gantry crane to handle up to four train arrivals and four departures per day. All together, the throughput of the new terminal in the first phase is some 120'000 TEU of which part is new cargo for Rotterdam. Construction of the terminal is planned to start December 2006, and by June 2007 it is expected to be in operation. The total investments into the site will amount to ten million Euro.

The site, along the Merseyweg close to the Brittaniëhaven dock, is situated favourable amidst the chemical industry, which is Bertschi’s main business target. The terminal will have a storage capacity of upto 1250 TEU and is designed to store as well hazardous cargo. Bertschi plans to start-up a first train connection from its new Rotterdam terminal to Italy mid of 2007. Bertschi transports very much shortsea and by rail, the two often combined. After the first phase the volume in general will rise, but especially the deepsea containers originating in the Middle-East.

Spider 
Mr. Ger van Tongeren, CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, considers the terminal a gain both in depth and scope. “The Bertschi terminal of course brings more cargo, but especially strengthens our strategic position in a number of growth sectors such as shortsea shipping, in chemical logistics and in rail transport. Bertschi is already an important user of rail transport but as a shareholder of Rail4Chem and Hupac, it’s a spider in the European rail web as well. This will also have positive effects for the Betuwe Route, the dedicated freight line corridor which connects Rotterdam with the European hinterland. On top of that we’ll get a company in our port that closely follows the shift of chemical industry to the Middle East. In this way it also contributes to the preservation in the longer term of our prominent position as Europe’s global hub for the chemical sector”.

Bertschi
Bertschi is European market leader in intermodal transport of chemicals. It operates 28 locations in 19 European countries, for example in Antwerp, Terneuzen, Moerdijk, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Poland, UK, Skandinavia, the Baltic countries and St. Petersburg. The company employs 1,600 people and offers its customers integrated container-based logistics concepts with a tank and silo container fleet of over 10’000 units and 12 owned container terminals across Europe.