Die Reise
The main artery of the Contargo Network The Rhine
The Rhine
is one of the world‘s busiest waterways. It connects large conurbations and
industrial centres. From the Rhine, inland vessels can penetrate on canals and
tributaries deep into the European hinterland from the seaports of Rotterdam
and Antwerp, reaching approximately 50 million people in its catchment area. In
the Contargo Network, the Rhine is the main link between the seaports in the
west and most of our terminals, the majority of which are served by our own
barge transport lines. We will take you on a journey along the Rhine, stopping
off at some of Contargo’s interesting locations.
Linking the Alps with the North Sea
On its
1,232-kilometre journey to the sea, the Rhine touches eight European countries:
Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France, Belgium, Luxemburg and the
Netherlands. The Contargo terminals along the “Rhein”,“Rhin” or “Rijn” link
important economic and industrial regions with scheduled barge lines to almost
all the terminals in the seaports of Rotterdam and Antwerp. Along this route,
barges can maximise their advantages as a reliable, inexpensive and
eco-friendly transport mode.
BaselThe Gateway to Europe...
Our journey
begins in Basel, in the Rhine port of Kleinhüningen. Here the Rhine has already
put 170 kilometres behind it, has crossed Lake Constance and has cascaded over
the Rhine Falls to Schaffhausen. In the Middle Ages, Basel was already an
important trade and handling centre for goods between the Mediterranean region
and the North Sea.
Contargo Süd...for industry and logistics
At the
beginning of the 20th century Basel then became linked to international
navigation on the Rhine. The Rhine provided water for production and cooling,
and a reliable way to transport the finished goods, making conditions here
ideal for industry. The most successful Swiss companies were concentrated
around Basel, the “terminus” for navigation on the Rhine. The first beginnings
of industry were in paint manufacture, with later specialisation in the
production of pharmaceuticals and other sectors. Today Basel is still one of
the most important centres for the pharmaceutical industry worldwide, and
accounts for 20 percent of Switzerland’s exports. Contargo operates a trimodal
terminal in the port of Kleinhüningen.
On along the Rhine Canal
In the 19th
century, the course of the Upper Rhine was straightened and forced into a
fixed bed. This increased the speed of the current, so that although the Rhine
was navigable the stretch between Strasbourg and Basel was at first considered
impassable for large motorised vessels. Only in 1903 was Basel first reached by
a steam tug. To make this part of the journey safer for shipping, the
construction of a canal between Saint-Louis and Lauterbourg was commenced in
1928. Ever since its completion, shipping – and most of the water of the Rhine –
have been directed along the parallel Rhine Canal, which is entirely in French
territory. Today motorised vessels can complete the 832 kilometre journey downstream
from Basel to Rotterdam in three to four days, and upstream in about one week.
Wörth-KarlsruheTrucks for the world
About 200 kilometres
down the Rhine from Basel lies the port of Wörth. In the small town on the left
bank of the Rhine opposite Karlsruhe, the largest truck assembly plant in the
world was established in the 1960s. This factory, and a nearby oil refinery,
were the reason for building a river port in Wörth. The trimodal port is one of
the most important, highest-capacity container terminals on the Upper Rhine.
SpeyerSmall but excellent
A few
kilometres further down the Rhine an impressive building appears between the
containers: the Kaiser- und Mariendom in Speyer is the largest Romanesque
church still preserved today. It stands in one of Germany‘s oldest cities, now
an independent borough of the Rhineland Palatinate. The Rhine ports in Speyer are
used mainly for handling mineral oil products, so Contargo does not have a
presence there. However, one of the company’s rather special locations is just close
by.
Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region Industry with export power
The Rhine-Neckar
Metropolitan Region is one of the most important industrial areas in Germany. As
well as some of the strongest publicly listed companies in the world, this
region is the seat of many small and medium enterprises and start-ups. In
Mannheim and Ludwigshafen there has been a strong tradition of chemicals and
metal industry ever since the advent of industrialisation. Mannheim is also an
important transport node. Contargo operates its own terminals in the ports of
both cities, which are among Europe’s major inland ports.
BargeSlow but steady
Barges
underway for Contargo sail with high frequency and a steady speed. The average
transit time between the western seaports and Basel is four days for export and
five and a half days for import; between Rotterdam and Duisburg transit takes
only one and a half days for export, and two and a half for import. Barges are
a reliable transport mode, unaffected by traffic jams or Sunday driving bans.
DuisburgEurope’s largest inland port
In the
Middle Ages the region now known as the Ruhr was already an important transport
node. Following industrialisation, coal mining and the associated steel
industry led to further development of the infrastructure. The waterways and
the rail network were extended or newly constructed, and as early as the 19th
century the “Ruhrorter Hafen” was already developing into one of the most
important ports in the region. Today the ports of Duisburg-Ruhrort, situated at
the confluence of the Ruhr and the Rhine, are regarded as the largest inland
port complex in Europe. Contargo is present here with the Duisburg Intermodal
Terminal (DIT).
EmmerichThe river approaches the delta
We are gradually
approaching the border region between Germany and the Netherlands. The city of Emmerich
was already a member of the Hanseatic League before the end of the 14th century.
The tradition of the river port on the Rhine goes back to the middle of the
17th century. Today, one of the two terminals of Contargo Rhein-Waal-Lippe is located
there and can be accessed by rail, road and water. From Emmerich am Rhein a
barge can reach the Port of Rotterdam in approximately ten hours and the Port
of Antwerp in about 14 hours. To get there, vessels have to first pass beneath Emmerich’s
suspension bridge – the longest of its kind in Germany. It spans the Rhine,
which is 400 metres wide at this point, and connects Emmerich with Kleve.
Rhine-Meuse DeltaFrom the North Sea – to everywhere in the world
Now we are
coming to the delta of the Rhine and the Meuse (known in Holland as the Maas) and
shortly afterwards we reach the German-Dutch border. The seaports of Rotterdam
and Antwerp connect Europe with the rest of the world. In both these ports
together, about 750 million tons of goods and 28 million TEU are handled
every year. The ports of both Rotterdam and Antwerp can be accessed by the
biggest seagoing vessels in the world. Maasvlakte 2 in Rotterdam and the
Deurganckdok in Antwerp have greatly increased container capacity in the last few
years. Situated in the hinterland directly behind both seaports – in
Zwijndrecht – Contargo has an office from which barge, rail and road transports
are coordinated.
Legal Notice
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Contargo GmbH & Co. KG
August-Hirsch-Straße 3
47119 Duisburg
Deutschland
Freecall 00800 CONTARGO
info@contargo.net
Editing and design
Medienbüro am Reichstag GmbH
Reinhardtstraße 55
10117 Berlin
+49 30 30872993
contargo@mar-berlin.de
Translation: Anne Ray
Photo copyrights
© Braxart 2015
© Contargo
© Carsten Büll/vor-ort-foto.de
© Contargo/Moll
© Rhein-Waal-Terminal GmbH
© Michel van Meurs/Contargo
Royalty-free music and sound
Musicfox.com
August-Hirsch-Straße 3
47119 Duisburg
Deutschland
Freecall 00800 CONTARGO
info@contargo.net
Editing and design
Medienbüro am Reichstag GmbH
Reinhardtstraße 55
10117 Berlin
+49 30 30872993
contargo@mar-berlin.de
Translation: Anne Ray
Photo copyrights
© Braxart 2015
© Contargo
© Carsten Büll/vor-ort-foto.de
© Contargo/Moll
© Rhein-Waal-Terminal GmbH
© Michel van Meurs/Contargo
Royalty-free music and sound
Musicfox.com
Contargo Basel
The Port of SwitzerlandOne river – three ports
There are
three ports on the Rhine at Basel: Birsfelden and Muttenz-Au are situated in
the Canton of Basel-Land, only the Port of Kleinhüningen is in Basel City. In
2008 these three ports together were amalgamated as the Port of Switzerland. Today, more than ten percent of
all Swiss imports from all over the world are handled here, after completing
their journey along the Rhine from the seaports of Rotterdam, Antwerp and
Amsterdam.
Contargo SüdCooperation in the Border Triangle
Basel
occupies a very special position in Central Europe, directly on the Swiss
borders to Germany and France. Around 1.3 million people live in this border
triangle. Here Contargo Süd (Contargo South) has been founded, a cross-border
alliance of Contargo’s terminals in Basel (Switzerland), Ottmarsheim and Strasbourg
(both in France) and Weil am Rhein (Germany). Together they offer not only
trimodal transports in the region, but also a comprehensive, coordinated range
of container services.
Contargo AGFull range of container services
In the port
of Kleinhüningen Contargo AG operates a trimodal container terminal. Here all
types of goods are handled in containers, including dangerous goods and temperature-controlled
goods. If the customer requires stuffing and stripping (loading and
unloading the contents of containers) it can be carried out here. If sea carriers
wish, they can keep their empty containers in the depot here and Contargo will also
organise pre- and on-carriage to the seaports.
Trimodal transportsReaching the destination faster
The
terminal in Basel is an important handling point for transferring containers
delivered by rail or barge to trucks which will drive them to their final
destination. In order to reduce the pressure on this potential bottleneck in
combined transport, Contargo has developed an online login system that enables
truckers to identify free slots and book them for themselves. By using this
system Contargo has been able to speed up truck handling times and increase
throughput in Basel.
Contargo Wörth-Karlsruhe
The customersFrom Baden and the Rhineland-Palatinate to the world
Nowadays,
agriculture and winegrowing are no longer the only characteristic features of
the southern Rhineland-Palatinate and its neighbouring regions. As well as the
truck manufacturer, many automotive suppliers have settled in the European region
of Pamina (South Palatinate, Baden and Alsace). From the ports in Wörth and
Karlsruhe wood, mechanical engineering products, paper, printed products and
building materials set out to destinations all over the world.
The servicesBy barge, rail or truck ...
The
trimodal terminals of Contargo Wörth-Karlsruhe organise the transport of
containers by barge, rail or truck. A total of four berths for barges and six
rail sidings are available for handling, including the handing of dangerous
goods and reefers (temperature-controlled containers). Both terminals act as
official depots for many sea carriers. Container maintenance and repair can be
carried out if required. Contargo Wörth-Karlsruhe also offers stuffing and
stripping , and keeps suitable handling equipment and trained personnel
available for this purpose.
Heavy loads and rolling cargo... things get moving here
A service
that is unusual for Contargo is provided here: the loading of heavy items and
rolling cargo. These can be loaded aboard barges fast and safely via RORO ramps.
Heavy, oversize crates can be brought to the terminals by road on low-loaders. Once
there, they are loaded onto special containers and secured in place as
necessary for sea transport later on. The versatile range of services offered
by Contargo Wörth-Karlsruhe is completed by the loading and unloading of
trucks onto trains. The trucks are mounted on “pans” which are transferred onto
open wagons using special loading equipment.
Speyer
A special projectClose to the customer
In Speyer, Contargo
Wörth-Karlsruhe GmbH operates a Container Yard for Daimler AG. This is the
first project in which Contargo has gone to a customer’s location and has
provided a team, equipment and special IT applications specifically for this
assignment.
Automotive logisticsPunctual and cost-optimised
The
manufacture of a single automobile requires up to 20,000 different parts, and
these need to be in the right place at the right time. Another complicating
factor is that manufacturers’ stocks are increasingly being cut to a minimum. This
steps up the pressure on logistics to supply individual parts and modules just-in-time.
Thus when it comes to optimising logistics processes, automotive logistics is very
apt to innovate, and is an important giver of impulses for other areas of
logistics.
Transport and handlingThe tasks in Speyer…
South of
Speyer, Daimler AG has a Logistics Center in which production material from
suppliers is bundled and sent abroad to Mercedes-Benz’s big automotive works in
China, South Africa and the USA. Every week several hundred sea containers need
to be transported by barge or rail to the seaports of Antwerp and Bremerhaven.
Supplying containers on-site ...and the solution
Contargo
Wörth-Karlsruhe GmbH operates the Container Yard on a two-shift system. The
service provider organises the depot on-site and is responsible for supplying
containers punctually to the 50 hall gates of the Consolidation Center. There, import
containers are unloaded with empty load carriers and export containers are
loaded. Contargo also carries out the transport of the containers by truck from
the Consolidation Center to the barge and rail terminal in the region, as well
as trucking particularly urgent deliveries direct to the seaport.
Contargo Rhein-Neckar
Contargo Rhein-NeckarTwo terminals for one region
Where Rhine
and Neckar meet, one of Germany’s largest industrial areas has grown up. This
is where Contargo Rhein-Neckar GmbH operates– close to its customers with its
terminals in Ludwigshafen’s Kaiserwörthhafen and Mannheim’s Handelshafen. These
terminals link the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region and the European hinterland
with the western and northern seaports.
The equipmentThe modern infrastructure…
There is a
lot of room for containers at the Contargo terminals in Mannheim and Ludwigshafen:
each site has depot space for 8,800 TEU. Handling is performed at present by a
total of seven cranes.
The services…enables a comprehensive range of services to be offered
Contargo
Rhein-Neckar provides customers with a complete service for their containers: the
enterprise not only organises handling, storage and multimodal transport
services; it also arranges round trips and deals with customs formalities. And
container maintenance and repair can be carried out on the spot.
Dangerous goods and reefersSpecial containers are nothing unusual here
The handling
and interim storage of dangerous goods of almost all classes is part of
day-to-day business at Contargo Rhein-Neckar – and dealing with reefers, too,
is just part of a day’s work. Reefers carry temperature-sensitive goods like
pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, or foods such as fruit, potatoes,
deep-frozen meat, pizza and ice-cream. Because the transport of temperature-controlled
containers is on the increase, additional reefer slots are being constructed in
Mannheim just now.
DIT
A short history Once steel – always steel
For more
than 100 years, steel and slag from the Krupp steel mill were shipped in the
port of Rheinhausen. After the mill closure in 1993, a state-of-the-art
logistics centre arose here in 1999. In 2002 the Duisburg Intermodal Terminal opened
its gates. The most important cargo here is still steel – but now it’s steel in
the form of containers, laden with all kinds of goods.
The infrastructureJourneys to distant lands: point of departure and arrival
The
Duisburg Intermodal Terminal connects the European hinterland trimodally with
the western seaports of Rotterdam and Antwerp, but it also provides a rail link
with South-Eastern Europe and China. Six
rail sidings and three barge berths, four
cranes are used to handle the
containers arriving there – including dangerous goods containers and reefers.
The servicesComprehensive services in the hinterland
In the hinterland
behind the big North Sea ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp, Duisburg Intermodal
Terminal has plenty of room for all services to do with containers. There is
space here for more than 12,000 TEU, meaning that Contargo is able to operate a big empty
container depot for numerous sea carriers. If required, customers can get
additional services here like maintenance and repair, or the stuffing and
stripping of containers.
Rhein-Waal-Terminal
The locationAmple room for logistics
Today the
land between the Ruhr and the Dutch border, previously characterised by coal,
steel and agriculture, benefits from its advantageous position between the
Benelux countries and the metropolitan region of Cologne, Düsseldorf and the
Ruhr. The well-developed road, water and air infrastructure, and the many
available sites for new developments and relocation make the region interesting
both for the manufacturing industry and for logistics. Contargo is present here
with Contargo Rhein-Waal-Lippe GmbH at two locations: Emmerich and Voerde-Emmelsum.
Short routesIn the hinterland of the ARA ports
Situated
close to the Dutch border, the Contargo Rhein-Waal-Lippe terminal in Emmerich is
closer than any other German inland port to the western seaports of Rotterdam,
Amsterdam and Antwerp. The main catchment area includes the Lower Rhine, Münsterland,
the western Ruhr region and the neighbouring areas of Liemers and Achterhoek in
the Netherlands.
The infrastructureTrimodal connections
The terminal
in Emmerich has two berths for barges, two rail sidings, and space for 4,500
TEU. Dangerous goods containers and reefers are also handled. The terminal acts,
for instance, as the hub for the Basel Multimodal Express, which connects Basel
with the seaports of Rotterdam and Antwerp on a fixed schedule of three round
trips per week. Barges provide a shuttle service between the western seaports
and Emmerich. The containers are transported in fast overnight rail transit
between Emmerich and Basel. Transports between Basel and the hinterland are carried
out by truck.
Rhein-Maas-Delta
Contargo Waterway LogisticsReliable and flexible
With a
fleet of 40 motor vessels and push barges, Contargo transports large volumes of
containers between the North Sea ports and the European hinterland. Contargo
Waterway Logistics in Zwijndrecht is responsible for the coordination of barge
activities. Regular, scheduled barge lines link the sea terminals in Rotterdam
and Antwerp with the terminals along the Rhine. Under the name Contargo Transbox,
Contargo also offers container transport between Antwerp and Rotterdam as well
as in the three Benelux countries. Barge transport is reliable and flexible. In
the event of low water, Contargo can deploy vessels on other shipping routes or hire
additional tonnage. If water levels make inland navigation impossible, consignments
are transported by road or rail in consultation with the customer.
Contargo Road LogisticsThe fastest way to your destination
Forwarders
who want their containers to be directly at their disposal often decide in
favour of direct trucking. Trucking from the seaport to the customer is a fast,
flexible solution. Thanks to its extensive network and loading volume, Contargo
can offer this service on a one-way basis. The fleet of approximately 130
modern trucks is currently being expanded. The direct trucking services from
the western seaports are coordinated by Contargo Road Logistics in Zwijndrecht.
Contargo Network ServiceTrimodal Solutions
Whatever
the customer’s requirements regarding the cost and speed of transport, Contargo
has the right solution. The team in Zwijndrecht is the contact point for container
transports to and from the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp. Our employees regulate
all transport activities within and outside the Contargo network. They coordinate
barge and truck transports, make bookings for Contargo rail shuttles and deal
with the complete documentation.
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The Rhine
Linking the Alps with the North Sea
The Gateway to Europe...
...for industry and logistics
On along the Rhine Canal
Trucks for the world
Small but excellent
Industry with export power
Slow but steady
Europe’s largest inland port
The river approaches the delta
From the North Sea – to everywhere in the world
Legal Notice
One river – three ports
Cooperation in the Border Triangle
Full range of container services
Reaching the destination faster
From Baden and the Rhineland-Palatinate to the world
By barge, rail or truck ...
... things get moving here
Close to the customer
Punctual and cost-optimised
The tasks in Speyer…
...and the solution
Two terminals for one region
The modern infrastructure…
…enables a comprehensive range of services to be offered
Special containers are nothing unusual here
Once steel – always steel
Journeys to distant lands: point of departure and arrival
Comprehensive services in the hinterland
Ample room for logistics
In the hinterland of the ARA ports
Trimodal connections
Reliable and flexible
The fastest way to your destination
Trimodal Solutions
The Rhine
Linking the Alps with the North Sea
The Gateway to Europe...
...for industry and logistics
On along the Rhine Canal
Trucks for the world
Small but excellent
Industry with export power
Slow but steady
Europe’s largest inland port
The river approaches the delta
From the North Sea – to everywhere in the world
Legal Notice
One river – three ports
Cooperation in the Border Triangle
Full range of container services
Reaching the destination faster
From Baden and the Rhineland-Palatinate to the world
By barge, rail or truck ...
... things get moving here
Close to the customer
Punctual and cost-optimised
The tasks in Speyer…
...and the solution
Two terminals for one region
The modern infrastructure…
…enables a comprehensive range of services to be offered
Special containers are nothing unusual here
Once steel – always steel
Journeys to distant lands: point of departure and arrival
Comprehensive services in the hinterland
Ample room for logistics
In the hinterland of the ARA ports
Trimodal connections
Reliable and flexible
The fastest way to your destination
Trimodal Solutions