Just outside Hanover, a new era for environmentally friendly freight transport is beginning: At the innovative MegaHub Lehrte rapid transshipment facility, freight transshipment between trucks and trains is set to begin after approximately two years of construction. The federal government and Deutsche Bahn have invested approximately 170 million euros in the facility. The first freight train left MegaHub Lehrte on Monday evening around 11:00 p.m. Hans Pieper, Managing Director of MegaHub Lehrte Betreibergesellschaft mbH: “With the MegaHub Lehrte, DB has laid another foundation for transporting even more freight by environmentally friendly rail in the future. With this facility, we aim to further advance the European combined transport network. The MegaHub Lehrte is a true driver of innovation for rail and, above all, will bring new customers and new markets to rail.” As the first facility of its kind in Germany, the MegaHub Lehrte uses numerous innovations to speed up the transshipment of loading units, such as containers and semi-trailers. Instead of shunting individual cars to reconfigure freight trains, the MegaHub Lehrte handles individual loading units. This efficient method saves time and energy compared to shunting cars and also reduces noise pollution. Following today’s launch of rail-to-road transshipment, loading units will also be transferred between different trains using this technology starting this fall. Since the groundbreaking in May 2018, six transshipment tracks—each approximately 720 meters long—and three gantry cranes, among other structures, have been built on the approximately 120,000-square-meter site of the former Lehrte marshalling yard. In addition, the entire transshipment area was sealed with a liquid-impermeable coating to protect the groundwater. Further information, images, and a live webcam of the MegaHub Lehrte are available online at bauprojekte.deutschebahn.com/p/megahub-lehrte.
Knowledge Base on Rail Freight Transport