First 838-metre-long freight train tested in Sweden
TX Logistik, a major German rail freight operator, has successfully tested the ultra-long container train in Sweden. It had a length of 838 metres, which is over 200 metres more than the permitted length on most of the Swedish mainlines. The intermodal shipments were arranged on behalf of the local retail chain Coop.
On 8 and 9 May, TX Logistik AB, the Swedish subsidiary of the German rail freight operator of a similar name, organised two pilot shipments of the 838-metre-long container train. It delivered food in 48 reefer semi-trailers from Malmö to Frövi, which is located around 200 kilometres eastward of Stockholm. The ultra-long container train travelled the 500-kilometre-long distance at a speed of up to 120 kilometres per hour. The pilot rides were organised in a partnership with Coop, the Swedish retail chain, and Trafikverket, the Swedish transport infrastructure authority. The partners are planning to arrange further shipments of the ultra-long trains.
More attractive rail
Being a part of the Mercitalia Group (Gruppo FS Italiane), TX Logistik is actively developing its business in Sweden. It established a partnership with Coop in 2009. Currently, the German rail freight operator moves around 30 per cent of the goods of the Swedish retailer on its trains. Now, the companies are focused on joining forces to increase the capacities of rail transport in the Scandinavian country by coming beyond the permitted length of 630 metres, which acts in Sweden. “An expansion to 838 meters would significantly increase transport capacities and thus make rail freight transport even more efficient and attractive for shippers,” said Lars Winther Sørensen, managing director of TX Logistik AB in Sweden.
Read more about long freight trains in Europe: