Allianz LOG4NRW Aims to Relieve Traffic in the Ruhr Area

A powerful alliance of several ports and railway operators aims to significantly alleviate the traffic situation in the Ruhr area and South Westphalia. DeltaPort, duisport, the Port of Dortmund, and the Kreisbahn Siegen-Wittgenstein will soon establish a rail and inland shipping system under the project name “LOG4NRW,” which will shift a substantial portion of truck traffic in North Rhine-Westphalia from roads to rail and waterways.

(Siegen) This was announced by the partners today in Siegen. The project is sponsored by Oliver Krischer, Minister for Environment, Conservation, and Transport of North Rhine-Westphalia. Up to 27,000 truck trips could become unnecessary due to the new transport offer. The first trains are expected to roll in the fourth quarter of 2023. The planned concept includes the following connection: Voerde-Emmelsum (Container Terminal Contargo) – Duisburg-Walsum logport VI (Multimodal Terminal Duisburg) – Port of Dortmund (CTD Container Terminal Dortmund) – Siegerland (South Westphalia Container Terminal in Kreuztal) and back. This will lead to immediate relief on the highways 2, 4, and 45, as well as the already strained traffic situation in South Westphalia, particularly in the Sauerland region. Furthermore, the combined rail and inland shipping system will enable transport between the terminals in Duisburg, Voerde-Emmelsum, Dortmund, and Kreuztal for the first time.

Minister Krischer welcomes this development: “I am very pleased that our logistics companies have succeeded for the first time in creating rail freight transport between important economic regions of North Rhine-Westphalia. This is particularly important for the region around the Rahmedetal Bridge. The future coalition of North Rhine-Westphalia aims to shift transport from roads to rail and waterways. That is why North Rhine-Westphalia has been promoting non-federal railways in infrastructure expansion for many years.”

DeltaPort, as the driving force behind the LOG4NRW project idea, has already addressed the issue of traffic shifting early on and has developed solutions in collaboration with the University of Duisburg-Essen. The regional networking through the use of inland shipping and rail to tap into traffic shifting potentials was the focus here. From this impulse, the project “LOG4NRW” was conceptually born. LOG stands for “Logistics” and “4,” pronounced as “four” or “for” in English, means “Logistics for North Rhine-Westphalia.” The goal of the project “LOG4NRW” is to shift source and destination traffic of the most populous German federal state to alternative transport modes (ship/rail). As part of the cooperation with the world’s largest inland port, the project partners are now aiming for the short-term realization of the concept idea.

Direct Connection to the North and West Ports

The Port of Dortmund, as a logistics hub for the Dortmund area, eastern Westphalia, Sauerland, and Siegerland, has strong daily rail connections to the German seaports. Numerous large shippers are supplied on the last mile from the two Dortmund combined transport terminals (KV = Combined Transport). The ARA ports (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp) are connected via the ports in Duisburg and Voerde-Emmelsum.

The South Westphalia Container Terminal of the Kreisbahn Siegen-Wittgenstein currently has no rail connection to the hubs Dortmund and Duisburg/Voerde-Emmelsum. Containers from this region are therefore currently transported by truck to the hinterland terminals Rhine/Ruhr or directly to the seaports. The Krombacher Brewery, as a large shipper, is only six kilometers or ten minutes drive from the terminal. The German beverage wholesale trade is already using the South Westphalia Container Terminal today to supply the regions of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg.

Cooperations Promote Sustainable Logistics Solutions

“With LOG4NRW, we are offering Germany’s third strongest economic region, South Westphalia, a cornucopia of maritime and continental rail transport options to relieve the traffic-choked alternative routes along the A45,” emphasizes District Administrator Andreas Müller, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Kreisbahn. “At the same time, we have now created the conditions for companies in the region to increasingly consider shifting transport from road to rail, as it is practical, economical, and makes ecological sense,” says Kreisbahn Managing Director Christian Betchen.

“We must advance and increase our efforts to provide our citizens and the economy with resilient and sustainable logistics solutions. As the District Administrator of the Wesel district, I am particularly pleased about the launch of the logistics concept LOG4NRW initiated by DeltaPort, which is now being implemented together with the Port of Duisburg, the Port of Dortmund, and the Kreisbahn Siegen-Wittgenstein. This will shift significant truck traffic from our roads to rail and inland shipping, thus making a significant contribution to the mobility transition and CO² reduction in North Rhine-Westphalia,” says District Administrator Ingo Brohl.

The booking management for all cooperation partners is handled by duisport agency GmbH as the central marketing and sales company of the duisport group. The traction of the trains will be jointly carried out by the duisport subsidiary duisport rail GmbH and the Dortmund Railway – from Emmelsum via logport VI in Duisburg, the Port of Dortmund, and the CTD to Kreuztal.

Stable and Resilient Supply Chains for the Strongest Economic Regions in NRW

“The LOG4NRW project is further proof of how sensible and effective cooperation within the logistics industry can be. A diverse win-win situation is emerging here, from which not only the participating partners but also the economy, consumers, and the environment in North Rhine-Westphalia benefit,” says duisport CEO Markus Bangen.

“Sustainability and resilience form the basis for mapping CO²-low and system-stable logistics chains that we want to jointly initiate as partners within the framework of the LOG4NRW project. We are therefore convinced that we can shift significant ‘last-mile’ traffic from road to rail on the route from Emmelsum/Duisburg to Dortmund and between Dortmund and Kreuztal, thus making a significant contribution to the environment and the economy,” says DeltaPort Managing Director Andreas Stolte.

Inland Ports Can Collaborate

“The cooperation of the three inland ports makes it clear that inland ports can and want to work together and make a significant contribution, especially in the area of traffic transition in NRW. LOG4NRW is a good example of future cooperation between inland ports to highlight and leverage the existing potentials of the waterways in combination with rail in the hinterland,” says Dortmund Port Board Member Bettina Brennenstuhl.

Photo: © KSW / Caption from left to right: Markus Bangen (CEO duisport), Andreas Müller (District Administrator Siegen-Wittgenstein), Bettina Brennenstuhl (Board Member Port of Dortmund), Oliver Krischer (Minister MUNV NRW), Andreas Stolte (Managing Director DeltaPort), Ingo Brohl (District Administrator Wesel), Christian Betchen (Managing Director Kreisbahn Siegen-Wittgenstein)