Geodis, a leading intermodal operator, has expanded its rail freight services by introducing a new fixed schedule connection.
The first direct rail link between Łódź, Poland, and Barcelona, Spain, became operational on 11 June.
On its inaugural journey, the freight train transported customer goods in 44 containers and/or swap bodies, each with a payload capacity of 26 tons, from Łódź to Barcelona in just three days.
Upon arrival, ‘last mile’ distribution will be handled by road. The same day, the train returns to Poland with imported goods from Spain. Successive trains will continue to carry 44 units each, effectively replacing an equivalent number of trucks.
This service showcases Geodis’ ability to provide a comprehensive multimodal solution that seamlessly integrates road and rail transport, ensuring a secure flow of goods and offering greater flexibility in managing demand peaks.
Transporting goods by rail emits five times less CO2e than by road and 12 times less than by air. The new rail link can deliver up to 1,000 tons of goods from various industries. Although the rail route between Łódź and Barcelona is nearly 160 km longer than the road journey, it reduces CO2e emissions by up to 79% and lowers energy consumption by approximately 57%.
In the initial phase of this project, the schedule includes one train per week, departing from Łódź every Tuesday and returning from Barcelona on Fridays.
“The launch of the new Łódź – Barcelona rail connection provides customers a large number of benefits, as it will enable punctual transportation of shipments, while considerably limiting CO2 emissions. GEODIS is one of the leading intermodal operators, and we are proud to continue in this vein by developing this road-rail solution in Europe, enabling our customers to benefit from even more solutions and optional routings. We have great ambitions for this new line, as we plan to increase the frequency to two trains per week soon,” stated Marc Vollet, chief operations officer at Geodis European Road Network.
