Schweizerzug began providing a direct train service between Basel (Frenkendorf), Zürich (Niederglatt), and Rotterdam on 1 January.
The 650-metre-long shuttle runs three times each week and can carry 96 TEUs between the two cities in Switzerland and the Dutch port.
Schweizerzug is a subsidiary of Swissterminal AG, which was created in 1972 and recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.
“Ever since Rotterdam has strategically been important as a hub for our activities,” pointed out Roman Mayer, chairman of the board and CEO of Swissterminal.
He added, “Since its foundation in 2016, Schweizerzug has had Rotterdam as its destination. We are proud that this year, in 2023, our direct train connection to and from the largest seaport in Europe has become a reality.”
CEO of Swissterminal also stated that Schweizerzug used to serve Rotterdam via Neuss in Germany but keeping a good schedule for them and clients in the past year proved to be quite a challenge due to a large number of rail works in Germany as well as by geopolitical factors and disruptions in container shipping.
Mayer noted, “We want to have the most stable timetable possible, and that is exactly what a direct connection via the TEN-T Rhine-Alpine Corridor between Switzerland and the Rotterdam World Gateway terminal can provide”.
