Plant transportation to Sweden by train continues

A diesel-electric container filled with plants was transported by train to Stockholm, Sweden. This Thursday 6th of August was a successful continuation of the GreenCHAINge pilot route to Helsingborg earlier this year. It is an initiative of the Dutch plant exporter Noviflora from Westland, says the VGB. Transport by train saves approximately 65% CO2 and is also cheaper.

They use the Dutch-German cargo train from Samskip, it leaves in the afternoon from Duisburg and goes through Kopenhagen over the bridge to Zweden. The container will be unloaded the next day at the rail terminal at Katrineholm, below Stockholm. From there it will go to the customers by truck.

43 carriers filled with plants fit into these special train containers, the same amount as in a normal truck. The transport is organized by Samskip the logistics provider specialized in multimodal transport. Because a cargo train does not have any electrical connection, the conditioned container is provided with a diesel generator which keeps the potted plants at exactly 15 degrees celsius. Unit 45 adapted this Flora Unit to the different 'Danish' measurements, the standard for transporting plants in the horticultural industry.

Noviflora is specialized in plant exports to Scandinavia. The experiment with plant transportation by train is supported by GreenCHAINge. This project is focused on finding other ways of transport than trucks and planes for floricultural products. Numerous organizations in the sector, government and research institutions are working together. Such as: VGB LTO Glaskracht Netherlands, Wageningen University, growers, exporters and importers. In addition to the train, the partnership also focuses on transportation over sea. Also, how the entire chain is viewed, for example, think and learn what types of product lends itself to other ways of transport and long-term transportation.

The Objectives of GreenCHAINge are to be more sustainable and cost saving in logistics. But that requires optimal quality. The ambition is to be on destinations beyond 800 km, 20% export multimodal transport (train or ship), to have (15% less CO2 emissions) and 40% per ship (36% less emissions).

Source: VGB