• First train to depart on 3 September 2024
• CO2 emissions cut by over 80 per cent compared with road transport
• Faster than short-sea connections
   

(Frankfurt/Main, 24 July 2024) Kombiverkehr KG is expanding its European intermodal network with a new service between Belgium and Spain. The first train to run on the Atlantic route between Antwerp Combinant and Madrid Abronigal will depart on 3 September 2024. That gives forwarders and logistics companies looking to transport their consignments on climate-friendly rail the new option of using this important corridor, which is about 1,600 kilometres long. To give an example, a round trip for a loading unit with a laden weight of 25 tonnes will save 5.1 tonnes of CO2 (84 per cent). Initially the trains will run twice a week: from Antwerp on Tuesdays and Fridays and from Madrid on Wednesdays and Sundays. Containers and swap bodies can be carried, as well as dangerous goods of all classes except 1 and 7. The transit time will be between 48 and 72 hours, depending on the day of the service. “That means Kombiverkehr offers the shortest and fastest intermodal connection between these two economic centres, even when compared with current short-sea services,” said Sébastien Eisner, Head of Western Europe in the Sales department of Kombiverkehr KG, commenting on the special product benefits. From Madrid Kombiverkehr offers onward connections in the Spanish network to and from Zaragoza, Valencia, Murcia, Sevilla and San Roque. 

With the new product, the Frankfurt-based company is increasing the number of services to and from Spain to a total of 38 train departures a week. On its Atlantic and Mediterranean routes the operator connects Barcelona, Madrid and five other industrial centres of Spain with a large number of terminals, including destinations in Germany, Benelux, Scandinavia and eastern Europe. The new product allows the frequency of the existing shuttle train between Irún and Madrid to be increased from six to eight departures per week in each direction. This will deliver further advantages for forwarding customers shipping between Cologne or Ludwigshafen and Madrid.