New train shuttle between Piteå and Gothenburg
PITEÅ A new train shuttle between Piteå in Norrbotten and the port of Gothenburg, a distance of 1400 kilometers, started in December.
Since December 10, Träfraktkontoret (Wood Freight Office) in Gothenburg and its subsidiary TFK Logistics have established a rail shuttle with two departures a week. The wagons are loaded both at the port operator Shorelink in the port of Piteå and at the forest industry Stenvalls Trä’s rail-connected terminal at Lövholmen outside Piteå, before the train departs for the port of Gothenburg.
For Stenvalls Trä, this means a safe and climate-smart transportation solution to the world market.
“We quickly found a good collaboration with Träfraktkontoret and together we are now working to ensure that the rail shuttle also provides other companies in the region with good logistics solutions. It gives the region’s companies a more even logistics flow with secure deliveries, it reduces freight costs, and we jointly reduce our climate impact,” says Roger Bergman, Marketing Manager at Stenvalls Trä AB.
In the Port of Gothenburg, the containers are driven directly into the container terminal operated by APM Terminals, where they are lifted onto ships for further transportation. Companies that load their goods in Piteå can at best have their goods on board an ocean-going vessel that leaves Gothenburg 48 hours later.
The wood freight office in Gothenburg refers to calculations by the Swedish Environmental Institute IVL, which show that the transport solution by rail to Gothenburg also means 80-90 percent less fossil emissions compared to taking the cargo on ships through the Baltic Sea and around Sweden.
“The Norrbotten region is one of the most important hubs in Swedish industry and it is incredibly important that there is a fast, reliable and climate-smart connection with good capacity to Scandinavia’s largest port. It also strengthens the Port of Gothenburg’s role as the guarantor of the entire Swedish business community’s access to the outside world,” says Antti Laakso, Business Development Manager at the Port of Gothenburg AB.
The rail shuttle also transports tank containers. From March onwards, trailer wagons will also be used on the train. The trailer wagons will be handled at the Arken combi terminal operated by Gothenburg Roro Terminal.
Lennart Håkansson
