Consulting services for companies

The advice is aimed at

• Companies with their own siding that require support in maintaining or expanding their infrastructure or want to make the siding available to third-party users
• Companies without a siding that want to use rail as a mode of transport in the future, either by setting up their own rail access or by using (public) loading points/tracks or combined transport facilities.

As there are major interregional links, particularly in combined transport, companies from neighboring districts can also take advantage of this advisory service to a limited extent and in justified cases.

The offer is intended as "coaching" - i.e. help for self-help - and cannot replace business consulting with profitability calculations.

Companies learn, among other things,

• which infrastructures exist or can be created to provide access to the rail mode of transport in the Hannover Region,
• which logistics service providers are active in rail freight transport and can organize pre-carriage and onward carriage in combined transport (road/rail transhipment), and
• which subsidies may be available.

The aim is to identify alternatives and supplementary options to truck transportation and to encourage more traffic to be shifted from truck to rail. This means maintaining the 41 existing rail sidings, expanding the range of combined transport services and increasing the volume of goods transported by single wagonload and combined transport.

The Hannover Region Economic Development Agency had previously commissioned a study to determine the potential for shifting freight traffic from truck to rail, the results of which can be found here.

New commercial areas for freight transport and logistics companies should - in addition to good highway connections - be linked to rail and/or waterways wherever possible.

Efficient logistics nodes

In order to (once again) make greater use of rail transport for freight traffic, the shipping industry needs access to efficient regional logistics hubs. In the Hannover Region, these include the four inland ports

• Linden harbor,
• North harbor,
• Misburg harbor and
• Brinker harbor

as well as the marshalling yard in Seelze and the airport in Langenhagen.

The Megahub Lehrte freight village is a modern transhipment facility (road/rail and rail/rail) that significantly improves the connection to the seaports. Information on public container loading terminals and private loading points can be found on the VDV (Association of German Transport Companies) online portal.

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The advisory service was funded by the European Union and the Hannover Region.