New Rail Shuttle To The Göteborg Port

On 9 April 2021, the new rail shuttle from Piteå, just south of the Arctic Circle, started service with a round trip to the Göteborgs Hamn (Port of Gothenburg). The 500 m long trains carry 72 containers of Swedish forest products, destined primarily for Asian markets. After making the 1,400 km journey, the trains roll directly into the Göteborgs Hamn’s container terminal. From there, the freight can be loaded directly on ships for further transport out into the world.

These additional volumes at the Göteborg port were previously shipped from Piteå via the Baltic Sea using smaller feeder vessels. Transloading then took place at ports in central Europe. The new solution will result in considerable time savings and reductions in carbon emissions. In combination with frequent feeder services from the Göteborg and direct services to Asia, the transport time will be cut by 5 - 7 days, and the carbon footprint will be reduced by 87 % compared with the previous arrangement.

The new service is operated by CFL Cargo Sverige, which is also responsible for several of the 25 rail shuttles linking the Göteborg port with the rest of Scandinavia. “The port of Göteborg has been a major destination for us for many years and we are extremely pleased to be able to add yet another new, long distance route,” said Mikael Nyman, Senior Sales Manager at CFL Cargo Sverige.

At present, there are nine destinations operated CFL Cargo Sverige to and from Göteborg port, totalling 25 services a week: Piteå (1 service), Gävle (1), Karlshamn (1), Insjön (5), Hallsberg (4), Avesta (3), Jönköping (5), Nässjö (5) and Sundsvall (5 services weekly).