The Swedish rail freight haulier has introduced a new type of oversized containers in order to handle the same load of woodchips, but with the use of fewer trains.

The new train sets - transporting woodchips to Söderenergi's new fuel terminal in Nykvern, located just next to Södertälje - will consist of a double heading and 27 wagons with 81 XXXL containers, making it possible to carry about 1.6kt of fuel at a load volume of 4.5k m3 (previously, when using XXL containers, the volume was 3.5k m3). Up-to-date, around 75 trains a year were handled at the Nykvern facility.

"A container upgrade gives us better matching between the total weight and the total volume we are transporting by this system. We have chosen to continue using load carriers from Innofreight, and are replacing the system's containers with the larger XXXL model," Johan Lorensson, Sales Executive, Green Cargo, said.

Olle Ankarling, Head of Logistics, Söderenergi, added, "For Söderenergi, this is a step further in the right direction, toward increased sustainability. With larger containers, we'll be more flexible, reduce the number of trains by 25%, and be more cost-effective. This means we'll also promote traffic reduction on an already heavily burdened rail network, freeing up track capacity for other traffic. We handle a total of 900,000 tonnes of fuel, equivalent to 3 TWh per year, and we are investing great effort into making all modes of transportation efficient and sustainable."

Photo: Green Cargo