At the Port of Hamburg, an increasing number of empty containers are being transported by rail to the hinterland. Hamburg Container and Chassis Repair (HCCR), a subsidiary of port operator HHLA, transported approximately 20,000 TEU by rail in 2025 from its depot on Altenwerder Damm. According to the company, this trend is set to continue in 2026, thereby avoiding large numbers of lorry journeys in and around the port.
As Transport Online reports, based on information from HCCR, customers of the HHLA subsidiary are increasingly making use of the option to consolidate large quantities of empty containers at the depot. From there, they are dispatched in bulk via block trains to the hinterland. TEU stands for twenty-foot equivalent unit, the standard size of a twenty-foot container; 20,000 TEU therefore corresponds to thousands of train loads that would otherwise have been transported largely by road.
Refurbished rail link as the basis for growth
The growth in rail transport was made possible by the reactivation of a rail link on the HCCR site that had previously been taken out of service. The track was brought back into use in 2015 and fully refurbished in 2022. Since then, the number of containers handled by rail has been steadily increasing.
The fact that an existing, disused connection proved to be the key illustrates a wider trend in European ports. Capacity for the modal shift does not always need to be built from scratch; sometimes it is already in place and simply needs to be utilised again. This observation is separate from the news item itself, but fits with the picture that ports are keen to shift hinterland transport decisively from road to rail and waterways.
Block trains up to 720 metres with 100 containers
HCCR is now able to handle block trains up to 720 metres in length. Each train can carry 100 containers. A block train travels as a single unit from its point of departure to its final destination, without being split up or shunted en route, which makes transport faster and cheaper.
By consolidating empty containers at the depot, the company says they can be transported cost-effectively to the hinterland. At the same time, this significantly reduces the number of lorry journeys required in and around the port of Hamburg. HCCR director Jens Gutsch states that the company is thereby relieving road traffic in the port and on German motorways, helping to reduce emissions and strengthening the sustainability of the link between Hamburg and the hinterland.
Mainly to southern Germany and Austria
The rail transport is carried out on behalf of shipping lines, freight forwarders and container leasing companies. The main destinations are southern Germany and Austria, regions with a strong export industry situated some distance from the seaports.
Before the containers are loaded onto the train, they are inspected at HCCR and repaired where necessary. In the hinterland, they are used, amongst others, by companies in the automotive industry and their suppliers to load export goods. The filled containers then head back to Hamburg, where they are loaded onto seagoing vessels bound for destinations all over the world. In this way, the flow of empty containers by rail connects directly to the export chain.
Fewer lorry journeys, broader service provision
By expanding rail transport, HCCR aims to contribute to the shift of freight transport towards more environmentally friendly modes, whilst at the same time making the logistics chain of the Port of Hamburg more efficient. The company specialises in container-related services: it inspects, repairs and cleans containers and is also involved in, amongst other things, tank containers and road transport tanks. HCCR is also one of the larger providers of services for reefer containers in the Port of Hamburg.
Implications for importers and exporters
The news from Hamburg confirms a broader trend: increasingly, more can be transported by rail. What began with loaded containers on fixed corridors is now expanding to include the repositioning of empty containers – a flow that traditionally took place almost entirely by road. For shippers, this means that rail is increasingly a serious alternative when considering transport options, even for routes where this was not a given just a few years ago. Anyone wishing to explore the possibilities for a specific lane can include this in a request for quotation.
Furthermore, the availability of empty containers in the hinterland directly affects exporters. If empty equipment is positioned closer to production sites via block trains, this improves the likelihood of the right containers being available on time and reduces reliance on individual road journeys from the port. After all, smooth container handling begins with the question of whether a suitable, inspected container is even available in the first place.
Finally, the sustainability argument comes into play. More and more clients are asking their logistics partners for demonstrable reductions in CO₂ emissions throughout the supply chain, and the shift from road to rail is one of the most tangible ways to achieve this. Importers and exporters who wish to make their supply chains future-proof would do well to systematically consider intermodal options. More information about the possibilities can be found on the page about our services.
…a single block train at HCCR can be up to 720 metres long and carry 100 containers per journey? Each full train thus replaces, in one go, a long series of individual lorry journeys between the port and the hinterland.
