Hector Rail and Samskip have agreed to develop their partnership on Sweden and the continent further. The companies have been working together since January, 2008. As of the 1st of January six round trips per week between Helsingborg in Sweden and Duisburg in the Ruhr area in Germany, via Copenhagen in Denmark, will be added to the existing operations.

Hector Rail and Samskip do cooperate already between Duisburg and Malmö, Almhult, Nässjö, Katrineholm and Gothenburg. Both the old and the new operations are based on the same concept with through-going locomotives between Germany and Sweden via the fixed link through Denmark.

Today, the Duisburg-Helsingborg train is an overnight service, allowing for quick door-to-door transit times. Collections can be done in a 300-kilometre radius around Duisburg and delivered in the area of Helsingborg the next day.

Samskip's concept for door-to-door solutions is based on intermodal loading equipment and its own complete trains. The trains can carry all kinds of containers and trailers including mega-trailers.

“We are pleased and proud about the extended confidence that Samskip is exhibiting in Hector,” says Mats Nyblom, MD of Hector Rail AB. “Samskip’s forward-looking environmentally friendly concept focuses on quick and reliable rail services.

“Our offer to the market which combines cost efficiency and low environmental impact has proven successful and our operations continue to expand,” says Johan Logtenberg, MD of Samskip Van Dieren Multimodal. “We are happy to take this step with Hector Rail and together develop our intermodal concept further.”

Like all contemporary electric locomotives, those used by Hector Rail have electric brakes that generate power that can be re-fed into the railway's system and used by its other vehicles. Using this type of locomotive is the most environmentally friendly alternative to providing land-based transport.