TNT has officially inaugurated its new road transit hub in Madrid and launched deliveries with cargo bikes in Turin city centre in Italy.
In operation since August, the Madrid facility is located 8.7 km from Barajas international airport, the busiest airport in Spain. Located on a 40,775 sqm site, the hub features about 11,000 sqm of warehouse space, 204 loading docks and a sophisticated automated sortation system capable of handling 8,500 parcels per hour. The facility also uses check weigh cube equipment to determine the weight and cubic dimensions of palletised freight with speed and accuracy.
The new hub brings together international and domestic operations which were previously handled in separate depots – Getafe, for domestic, and Barajas, for international. The hub provides direct road connections to TNT’s main operational facilities in the UK, France, Italy, the Netherlands and other key destinations across Europe. Initially, it will handle 140 international and domestic linehaul movements.
Paloma Romero-Salazar, director general of TNT Spain, said: “We’re very pleased with and proud of this new facility which allows us to increase our capacity significantly and handle up to 40,000 pieces a day.”
Built to accommodate growth, the facility will allow future service extensions to more locations in central and western Spain and Portugal. About 340 staff, including drivers, are employed at the site. The investment in the new hub is part of TNT’s Outlook strategy, which focuses on increasing operational efficiency and excelling at customer service. TNT has 64 depots across Spain.
Meanwhile, TNT Italy has introduced five cargo bikes to make small parcel deliveries in Turin’s city centre. The bikes are replacing three vans previously used for delivery in the restricted traffic area of the town’s centre. The solution is expected to provide the same level of productivity, while cutting CO2 emissions by 50 kilo a day, or 12.6 tons a year.
Each bike can carry up to 180 kg including the rider. Each rider has been trained to cycle an average of 28 km per day and make about 90 daily deliveries. The cargo bikes have been designed and are operated by Pony Zero, a Turin start-up.
Elsewhere in Italy, TNT has made bike deliveries in Milan since April 2015 and also uses electric tricycles in Padua and Vicenza as part of its city logistics solutions.
