Hamburger Hafen und Logistik has announced to acquire a majority stake in Austrian intermodal operator Roland Spedition. HHLA will acquire 51% of the shares, while the remaining 49% will remain in the hands of both co-shareholders Christian Gutjahr and Nikolaus Hirnschall, who will continue to manage the business.
Hamburg-based leasing company Northrail is to offer its customers the opportunity to fuel the majority of their diesel locomotives with hydrogenated vegetable oils in the future. ‘With the release of HVO as fuel for our diesel locomotives, Northrail customers now have the opportunity to significantly reduce their companies’ carbon footprint and thereby achieve their own sustainability goals. The HVO fuel reduces the emission of soot particles by up to 60%’, says Dr Volker Simmering, Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer of Northrail.
Self-propelled autonomous wagon developer Intramotev has finalised an agreement with mining group Carmeuse Americas to deploy its technology at a mining site in Cedarville, Michigan. With support from the Michigan Mobility Funding Programme, Intramotev will deploy three TugVolt battery electric vehicles to move one six-wagon train of ore per hour. The company says this will be the first real-world operational deployment of a battery-electric freight wagon capable of operating without a locomotive hauling it.
DB Cargo UK has placed into revenue service the first of 10 regeared Class 66 diesel locomotives which it is modifying to allow them to haul heavier trains. The modifications will give the locos a 14% increase in tractive effort, and enable the operator to withdraw its last ex-British Rail Class 60s, which it says are ‘less reliable’ than the EMD-built Class 66.
European Loc Pool is to supply three EuroDual bi-mode locomotives to ÖBB subsidiary Rail Cargo Group under a strategic partnership agreement announced on April 24. The first loco is due to arrive by the end of 2024 and the other two by early 2025. ‘The EuroDuals provide us with the necessary flexibility to efficiently respond to the high costs of the first and last mile. Their hybrid capability allows for continuous traction, which significantly enhances our competitiveness and enables us to offer customized logistics solutions’, said Cenk Seringölge, Managing Director of Rail Cargo Logistics in Germany.
South Korean logistics company LX Pantos has opened a rail terminal in Hungary, home to Europe’s largest battery production hub. Located 65 km west of Budapest, the LX Pantos Tata Terminal has a 36 000 m2 footprint and two access tracks. It can store up to 1 450 TEU at any one time, and handle up to three block trains per day.