Port of Gothenburg is becoming a true rail freight port. The Swedish hub handled 828,000 containers in 2021, 3 per cent more than the previous year. This is because Swedish container transport is increasingly concentrated there, and the port’s rail freight operations play a central role in that.

Earlier this year, the port of Gothenburg announced that it broke a record of containers handled by rail in 2021. 458,000 containers were transported by rail to the Swedish port, more than 50 per cent of the overall handled containers and the highest number in the port’s history.

Gothenburg gains traction because of rail

The fact that more and more container traffic is increasingly concentrated in the port of Gothenburg was highlighted by the statistics of the Swedish government agency Transport Analysis and the Swedish confederation of transport Enterprises.

“More and more goods owners choose the port of Gothenburg for their container transports no matter where they are in the country. The port’s growing railway system, Railport Scandinavia, has played a crucial role in that. The system has been expanded gradually with more departures, new inland terminals and destinations. It is a result of a strong will among railway partners around the country to respond to market demand and invest”, said Elvir Dzanic, the port’s CEO.

A Scandinavian hub

Ole A. Hagen, a specialist in Scandinavian transport and business and policy director at the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO), has highlighted how the port of Gothenburg can become the central hub of a synchronised Scandinavian railway network and a gateway to other markets.

“The Nordic countries have a great potential in synchronising their networks, utilising their hubs and improving infrastructure with a cross-border perspective,” said Hagen. “Gothenburg is the logistics hub for Scandinavia. From Gothenburg, we can distribute cargo to all countries effectively. It is a platform serving all modes of transport with enough capacity to handle volumes from all the Nordic countries”, he explained.

Also read:

• A synchronised Nordic network can do miracles

• Port of Gothenburg reaches rail growth ‘others can only dream of’