Maersk Polska, a branch of the transport company Maersk Line, is introducing a dedicated container rail connection between Gdańsk and Kąty Wrocławskie to its offer. Thanks to the new service, container transport on the land section will be significantly improved – especially for customers from the southern part of Poland.
On January 21, 2012, the first train connecting Gdańsk DCT with the Schavemaker terminal in Kąty Wrocławskie set off. The train, named “Maersk Amber Express,” runs twice a week. It departs from the DCT terminal in Gdańsk on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, and from the terminal in Kąty Wrocławskie on Monday evenings and Thursday afternoons. The train operating on this route exclusively handles containers transported by Maersk – unloaded from container ships from the AE10 service, which connects Gdańsk with Far East ports, as well as from feeder connections. The train schedule has been synchronized with the arrival times of Maersk Line vessels at the port of Gdańsk.
– Introducing dedicated rail connections to our portfolio is the next, very important stage in the strategy of creating a comprehensive intermodal offer that will meet the expectations of even the most demanding customers – says Thomas Bagge, CEO of Maersk Polska. – In addition to the obvious advantage of improving transport and providing full service to our customers, the ecological factor was of great importance when making this decision. Using rail connections is part of our long-term strategy of promoting environmentally friendly solutions.
The name of the train, “Maersk Amber Express,” refers to the Amber Road, a historical section of the route connecting Gdańsk with Wrocław, along which amber was transported in the past. Maersk’s partners in the project are Prokont Sp. z o.o. and Schavemaker Cargo Sp. z o.o. Maersk Polska plans to further develop rail connections to other regions of Poland, which will be an excellent complement to the AE10 service.