Tata Steel Nederland and Deutsche Bahn (DB) Cargo have signed a contract to transport steel coil by trains powered by green electricity, the steelmaker tells Kallanish.
Every year, 1.2 million tonnes of steel goes by train from IJmuiden to the production sites of Tata Steel Nederland, and to customers in the Netherlands and the rest of Europe. This is largely done via DB Cargo’s wagons. “One freight train pulled by an efficient electric locomotive replaces at least 50 trucks,” says DB Cargo Nederland chief executive Nanouke van ’t Riet.
More than 80% of the transport by train that DB Cargo carries out for Tata Steel Nederland is CO2 free, the company claims.
Tata Steel Nederland has also entered a collaboration with transshipment company RCT Stevedoring and inland shipping cooperative PTC for its subsidiary Tata Steel Duffel, a maker of laminated packaging steel. Steel coil has hitherto been transported by truck from Duffel to IJmuiden for final processing.
In future, the steel coils will be transported by inland barge. This results in a 91% reduction in truck transport between Duffel and IJmuiden, eliminating 1,400 to 1,800 truck movements and reducing road travel by 320,000km, Tata notes.
“This logistical adjustment is not only beneficial for the climate but also for other road users,” says Martin van der Meer, director of Outbound Logistics at Tata Steel Nederland. “The trucks used to travel daily via the Antwerp, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam rings, through the Velsertunnel to IJmuiden. This has now come to an end.”
Christian Koehl Germany
