TNT has launched combined rail-road transportation to move consignments between its Europeanroad hub in Duiven, the Netherlands, and Barcelona, Spain.
The new multimodal connection, launched earlier this month, will be used every weekend, thecompany said. First of all, TNT will truck the goods from Duiven to Bettembourg in Luxembourg fromwhere it will load the truck trailers onto a train destined for the south of France. In the finalstage, the goods will be delivered to Barcelona by truck.
A TNT spokeswoman told CEP-Research that the company is cooperating with Lorry-Rail forthe service, which accounts for approximately 20% of its ground volumes transported between Duivenand Barcelona during the weekends. The rail-road interface in the south of France is located in LeBoulou, near Perpignan.
TNT said the initiative will avoid weekend road restrictions in France, save costs, and reduceCO2 emissions. The company already uses the road-rail-road combination to connect Duiven and Milanin Italy.
For the future, TNT is considering using trains to deliver shipments to Madrid, San Sebastianand other European destinations as well.
