ROTTERDAM: July 24, 2019. APM Terminals Maasvlakte II’s new rail service between Rotterdam and Venlo, a key logistics hub on the Dutch-German border is increasing its frequency from five to eight times a week this month.

Because Venlo is ideally located for servicing the distribution centres of C&A, Primark, Tommy Hilfiger, Esprit, and Zalando, the company says it plans to operate up to 14 services a week in the near future.

While the terminal has a fully automated 500 metre barge berth (pictured), it takes six or seven days to Venlo compared to an overnight rail service said Roy De Haan, head of Commercial Management at Maasvlakte II.

“This is very appealing to customers in industries such as fast fashion, where speed to market is an essential competitive advantage,” he added.

Suitable for all types of containerized cargo, with the exception of IMO classifications 1 and 7, each rail departure has capacity for 96 TEU, which replaces around 48 trucks on the road, and is powered by electricity from renewable sources.

“With direct load and discharge windows at both terminals, speed and convenience are clear benefits,” explained de Haan. “As the rail operator, APM Terminals also has direct influence on both terminals (Maasvlakte II and Cabooter Berick), which enables the company to provide priority loading/discharge for urgent containers. The direct point-to-point service also offers increased reliability as there are no terminal stops that could bring potential delays."

APM Terminals said it will soon introduce a rail service to Duisburg, a destination for trains from China strategically located at the junction of the Rhine and Ruhr rivers and connected to North Sea German ports via the Rhine-Herne Canal.