The move marks the first time Hermes Germany has transported consignments by rail across borders. The service sees parcels transported from Magdeburg in Germany to Lodz in Poland.
“The aim of our pilot test is primarily to gain experience with rail transport and to explore possible scaling,” explains Andreas Schuchardt, Division Manager Transport & Operations Management at Hermes Germany. “We look forward to continuing to work with DB Cargo AG and are curious to see how rail transport affects cross-border traffic.”
Once a week, the transport is carried out in each direction with swap body bridges. On the German side, Hermes has booked the DBeco plus green electricity variant through DB Cargo, to save around 57 tons of CO2 per year for the entire route.
This solution is not yet feasible on the Polish side.
“However, we are using the DBeco neutral offer from DB Cargo and can thus probably achieve CO2 compensation of a further 47 tons of CO2,” says Michael Peuker, Sustainability Manager at Hermes.
The courier company is examining other possible inner-German rail transports – especially with regard to the transit time requirements. The experiences from the current pilot are particularly important for a possible expansion of rail transport.