Voestalpine stays on the rail with ambitions for doubled volumes
The cooperation between DB Cargo, voestalpine and LogServ has been extended for another two years. The Austria-based steel technology company aims to increase the volumes of steel and scarp circulating via rail per year to one million metric tons by launching more shuttle trains and using new freight cars.
Traffic to and from automotive plants is voestalpine’s primary growth focus. Additionally, the company aims to increase the circulation of recycled scrap since it considers it vital for its green transition. With the current services, the steel giant can ship steel to three different locations daily and obtain scrap from three places just through a single roundtrip.
Shuttle trains and new freight cars
When it comes to voestalpine’s supply chain, it all starts from Linz in Austria. DB Cargo serves the site with several daily trains, which are synced to the production cycle and rhythm. The partners deploy a shuttle train model, with the most notable services being the Schwaben shuttle and the Bayern shuttle, both serving southern Germany. From there, the trains can also transport products to other German locations but also in France.
According to DB, the transport model can accommodate half a million metric tons of steel and scrap annually. However, to meet voestalpine’s needs and expand to a million tons per year, the company aims to launch more shuttle trains. On top of that, it will start using a new freight car–TransANT, which is lighter but can transport 15 per cent higher cargo volume. The TransAnt wagons are being developed jointly by the Austrian Rail Cargo Group and voestalpine. In fact, the companies have established a joint venture for this purpose.
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