RUTGES CARGO PUTS ITALIAN AIR FREIGHT ON RAILS
European air-cargo trucking company, Rutges Cargo, will transfer its Italy-bound shipments from the Netherlands onto the rails.
The new service, OverNight Express, will reduce delivery times between Milan and Amsterdam by up to 50 percent. The transit time to Italy by road from the Netherlands is 28 to 30 hours using one driver. The new rail service takes only 16 hours.
“The trains being used are actually passenger services so they operate to strict time schedules and offer great reliability for cargo customers,” the company said. “There is also an important environmental benefit from reducing the number of trucks on the roads, especially through Switzerland, and further improved levels of security.”
For this service, Rutges has acquired special temperature-controlled swap body cargo containers with rollerbed systems, each capable of handling up to 20 tons of cargo. The boxes can be lifted from the company’s road trailers directly to the railway system.
“We have been evaluating rail opportunities for the last three years and if this launch service is a success, we’ll be looking for further intermodal opportunities in other regions,” said Jason Breakwell, commercial manager at Rutges. Other destinations considered for the service include cities in central Europe and Spain.