Arken Combi Terminal at the Port of Gothenburg celebrates its first anniversary
The Arken Combi Terminal at the Port of Gothenburg has just celebrated its first anniversary. The terminal links up sea, road and rail traffic effectively, resulting in a more efficient and more reliable logistics system, cleaner air, and a reduction in heavy goods traffic in the centre of Gothenburg.
At the 65,000-square-metre terminal, located beside the Ro-Ro Terminal and the Container Terminal in the outer port area, containers and trailers are now loaded and reloaded between road and rail for onward distribution to and from industrial enterprises throughout Sweden.
Moving the terminal from the centre of Gothenburg to the outer port area has produced a host of benefits: higher capacity, closer proximity to the industrial base, and a better-adapted road infrastructure to and from the terminal. More than 100 trucks each day avoid having to pass through the centre of Gothenburg, resulting in a more efficient transport system, reduced nitric oxide emissions, and less traffic on the road. The terminal also offers a level of coordination between sea, road and rail traffic that was previously not possible.
During the year, work has continued on converting the Port Line, the freight line serving the port and the Combi Terminal, into a double-track system. A key part of this process was the double-track Marieholm Bridge, completed back in 2016. A further section, Pölsebo-Skandiahamnen, has recently come into operation as a double-track line. These are just two of a number of initiatives on the Port Line that have improved system reliability considerably.
The terminal area is around 65,000 square metres in size with seven rail tracks. The whole facility is electrified and is located beside the Ro-Ro Terminal (Ro-Ro stands for roll on roll off and means that goods are rolled onto and off ships using trailers). Apart from domestic rail links, there are also links to other parts of Europe. It is estimated that by the end of the year almost 100,000 units will have switched mode of transport at the terminal.
