Haeger & Schmidt Logistics (HSL) has restructured its container operations on the Rhine, preparing the ground for further growth and more flexibility in the trimodal network.
“We now serve a terminal every 100 km along the Rhine in intermodal transport,” says Felix Zocher, General Manager of HSL’s Intermodal Division, citing a key advantage. New intermodal rail connections are also being created. The underlying concept includes key innovations: the establishment of a container hub in Andernach, the inclusion of the Gernsheim terminal in the timetable and the permanent integration of the company’s own Themhof coupling association as a feeder in the Upper Rhine service.
Andernach as a hub for the Upper Rhine
“In order to map liner services with a high departure frequency on the Upper Rhine, we have now set up a hub in the inland container port in Andernach,” explains Zocher, specifying that “this is served by our own barge, the Themhof. The modern ship and its lighter operate a shuttle service between the Upper Rhine ports and Andernach. From there, there is a connection to the seaports of Rotterdam and Antwerp via our Middle Rhine service.”
HSL has thus created an additional option to the existing scheduled services between the Upper Rhine and the seaports of Antwerp/Rotterdam. In addition to the existing 14-day round trips, there is now a flexible and fast option for feeding containers into the intermodal network at even shorter notice. The container line has been operated under the name “Blue Aero Line” since January 1, 2024 together with the partner Ultra Brag from Basel. For the port of Andernach, Zocher expects container throughput to increase by around 20 percent as a result of the new hub function.
According to Zocher, the new concept with Andernach at the center will result in a further advantage. “By implementing hub traffic, we can influence ongoing transports, for example to buffer them if necessary if the ocean-going vessels are delayed. Or we can also speed up the transit time by reloading onto trucks or rail if delivery windows are shortened.” In view of the volatile conditions, this is an added value. The investment in the company’s own shipping space was also a conscious decision to guarantee shippers greater security and supply chain stability. “With the Themhof, which has a capacity of 336 TEU, we are making ourselves a little more independent of the market on the Middle and Upper Rhine,” explains Zocher.
Integration of the terminal in Gernsheim
In terms of network coverage, HSL has added an important location to its container service. The Gernsheim terminal is now firmly integrated into the timetable, which also includes Lauterbourg (FR), Kehl (DE), Strasbourg (FR), Ottmarsheim (FR) and Basel (CH). HSL has thus succeeded in closing an important gap along the Rhine. “The expansion was made possible by our close and long-standing relationship with the terminal operator GUT Gernsheim, which we were able to gain as a network partner,” says Zocher happily. For shippers in the associated catchment area with the chemical cluster (Ludwigshafen, Mannheim, Frankfurt), this opens up new opportunities for shifting transports to the waterway along the Rhine. “Another win-win situation results from the trimodal Gernsheim terminal, from which container trains run to the seaport of Hamburg three times a week, concludes Zocher. Additional rail connections to and from the northern ports of Kehl are being planned.
With the new concept, HSL is developing further in the direction of an intermodal integrator that fully maps transport chains from the first to the last mile. HSL moves around 350,000 TEU per year across the entire intermodal network.