NEW FREIGHT TRAIN CONNECTION TO NORWAY: DB CARGO SCANDINAVIA PILOT PROJECT

DB Cargo Scandinavia and its Danish partners ran their first freight train to the port of Hirtshals. The new rail link between Norway and continental Europe opens up new eco-friendly routes for intermodal service, including hydrogen and CO2 transports. The service will go into full swing in early 2025.

Trial run successful, impressive demonstration of potential
There has been an intermodal terminal at the port of Hirtshals since 2015, an ideal location for ferry connections to Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. In spite of its potential, Hirtshals has not been served by rail freight transport until now, but that is set to change in 2025. The first step has now been taken with an initial trial run, which saw an intermodal train for potential customers travel from DB's intermodal terminal in Taulov to Hirtshals. The corridor's potential was confirmed in practice and customer processes were tested. The pilot project was carried out by DB Cargo Scandinavia, the Norwegian freight operator CargoNet, the railway company Nordjyske Jernbaner, the Green Jutland Corridor network, and the ports of Hirtshals, Kristiansand and Larvik.

Direct intermodal rail link to Norway
This corridor is of particular interest for intermodal transport from Europe to Norway. The Hirtshals intermodal terminal's ideal location very close to the ferry terminal is another plus point; trailers can be unloaded from the train and towed straight to the ferry. The crossing to Kristiansand, Larvik or Stavanger via the Skagerrak takes around four hours. In Norway there are connections to various destinations such as Oslo, Narvik and Trondheim.

DB Cargo Scandinavia is responsible for the route as far as Hirtshals, and CargoNet takes over the onward transport in Kristiansand. CargoNet offers direct links to 12 Norwegian terminals.



The intermodal terminal in front, the harbour in the background: a perfect symbiosis

Hirtshals making an ambitious contribution to decarbonisation
Hirtshals offers more than its role as Denmark's northernmost freight yard, especially when it comes to energy decarbonisation: "Greenport Scandinavia", a hub for CO2 emissions from European industry, is being developed at the Port of Hirtshals. From 2025 it will be possible to transport liquefied CO2 to Hirtshals, where it will be temporarily stored and then transported to a storage facility in the North Sea. Intensive logistics solutions are being developed in cooperation with DB Cargo BTT for customers who transport CO2 by rail. The corridor can also be used in the other direction for climate protection by transporting green hydrogen from Norway to Europe using tank wagons and tank containers.

Of course, a requirement for both projects is that the freight line runs as far as Hirtshals, which makes the little Danish port town an important actor in the fight against climate change.