DHL and Stinnes Intermodal transport more goods by rail
Parcel InterCity starts up with new East-West connection
With immediate effect, even more parcels and goods are being transported by rail. Parcel InterCity (PIC) – a joint project of DHL, the express and logistics service provider of Deutsche Post World Net, and Stinnes Intermodal, a company of Deutsche Bahn AG – has been operating a second route since February 7. Now the company transports goods between Bönen/Unna in Westphalia and Wustermark near Berlin five times per week, in addition to its established route between Hamburg/Hanover and Munich/Nuremberg.
The successful implementation of the project is facilitated especially through the partnership between DHL and Optimus Logistics, which are bundling their trade volumes. As a result, customers obtain a much better range of services compared with the rail service previously run solely by Optimus, particularly in terms of speed. PIC takes roughly five and a half hours – thanks to top speeds of 140 km/h – for the new East-West connection, which is about 450 km in length. Using 8,700 HP locomotives of the 101 series, Railion, the freight train unit of Stinnes AG, connects the commercial centers on a night-time route. Over its total length of 700 m the freight train has an annual loading capacity of 160,000 t per route.
PIC combines the flexibility of road transport with the speed and reliability of express trains. Besides the 95% punctuality, another advantage is the precisely timed loading and unloading operations, which take place late in the evening and early in the morning with no waiting times. PIC transports 280,000 t of goods per year on the North-South and East-West connections, and moves 70 truckloads to the railway each day.
