Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) has expanded its rail terminal at the Port of Hamburg. Two extra tracks and two new rail gantry cranes have been added at the Container Terminal Burchardkai (CTB), which was already one of the largest terminals in Europe.

It now has 10 tracks, and 740m-long trains can be processed on every track.

The new cranes were designed by the manufacturer —Kocks Ardelt Kranbau — in close co-operation with HHLA (www.hhla.de).

The German Federal Railway Authority contributed towards the cost of the expansion project, which increases the rail terminal’s capacity by about 200,000 standard containers (TEU) to around 850,000 per year.

Since 2010, rail throughput at CTB has grown by almost 50%. Between 2010 and 2017, rail transport’s share of the total container volume at the Port of Hamburg increased from 36.5% to 42.8%, making it by far the largest rail port in Europe.

The capacity expansion at CTB could increase rail’s share even more in the medium term, according to HHLA board member Jens Hansen said: “The numerous high-frequency rail connections give the Port of Hamburg a clear advantage against other European ports.

“We believe rail connections will increase considerably from 2020 through the improved transport connections of CTB.”