Single wagonload transport

Container

Single wagonload transport: flexible and all-encompassing

For small and large volumes. For customers with their own private siding and those without. In Germany or anywhere in Europe. We have Europe's largest fleet of rolling stock, so we can accommodate your batch sizes.

Single wagonload transport: flexible and all-encompassing

  • Largest European rail network with daily departures
  • Access even without a private siding
  • Flexible ordering with regard to times, cargo volumes and routes
  • Large wagon fleet with special equipment
  • CO2-reduced transport solutions
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Blick auf den Rbf in Nürnberg

  • 3400 freight terminals

  • 500000 trains in the network

  • 12000 freight wagons a day

  • 1/4 transported internationally

What is single wagonload transport?

DB Cargo single wagonload transport is particularly suited to small and medium-sized consignments. Wagons from different consignors and bound for different consignees are assembled to form a complete train.

Why is it good for the climate?

Single wagonload transport is flexible and in many cases can replace a heavy goods vehicle – up to 40,000 HGV journeys a day to be precise.

In this way, we save 2 million tonnes of CO2 a year on the 230,000-kilometre-long network, which is the largest in Europe.

Einzelwagenverkehr bei Ostercappeln

The benefits of single wagonload transport

How is a transport organised?

We use a wide range of access points so that all companies can benefit from rail.

Some companies have their own private siding and load on site. Other companies access single wagonload transport with our door-to-door solutions.

Container

The goods are collected in containers or semi-trailers by HGV and lifted onto freight wagons by crane. The journey continues by local train to one of the 140 train formation yards.

Kornwestheim 2020

After arriving at the train formation yard, the individual freight wagons from different consignors are assembled to form complete trains.

Rangierbahnhof Maschen aus der Sicht von oben.

The trains travel to one of nine large marshalling yards in Germany. There, DB Cargo breaks them up into individual wagons again.

RSC Rotterdam

The wagons are then combined into cross-regional trains according to the region they are bound for. When they reach their destination, they are disassembled again, and the freight is delivered to the recipient either by local train or HGV.

Blick auf den Rbf in Nürnberg

In this way, DB Cargo runs up to 900 trains a day in single wagonload transport.

No sidings? No problem!

Companies don't necessarily need their own private siding for single wagonload transport: containers or semi-trailers can be transported by HGV over the first and last mile and loaded onto the train by crane at a railport. That's how we get the goods on track.

RSC Rotterdam

What freight do we transport?

Our single wagonload transport is an important building block in the supply chain of many industries, e.g.:

We deliver foods to large distribution centres in overnight services for the retail trade.

We deliver automotive parts to manufacturers or scrap to steelworks for medium-sized companies.

We move goods that are too heavy or too dangerous for road transport for large-scale industry: for example, steel coils weighing a tonne or more or tank wagons with chemical precursors and end products.

Stahl in Großaufnahme

The key routes in single wagonload transport

From Scandinavia to Italy and from the Atlantic to Asia: the network map provides a good overview of the numerous DB Cargo routes.

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Get in touch with our experts.

New customer service for transport enquiries

DB Cargo AG