Expert forum "Importance of the Rhine-Danube corridor as a central transport axis in Europe"

An event organised by the former GermanEastForum Munich in Nuremberg harbour on 23.06.2015 met with a great response: The topic of the informative expert forum was the east-west connecting topic:

"The importance of the Rhine - Danube corridor as a central transport axis in Europe".

Dr. Michael Fraas, Economic Officer of the City of Nuremberg, Managing Director, Forum Economy and Infrastructure of the European Metropolitan Region Nuremberg and Chairman of the German Waterways and Navigation Association Rhein-Main-Donau e. V., spoke on this topic. (DWSV).

Jochim Zimmermann, Managing Director bayernhafen GmbH & Co KG Regensburg, Member of the Presidium of the Federal Association of Public Inland Ports e. V. (BöB) spoke about "Inland ports as trimodal nodes in the Trans-European Network (TEN-T)". In addition, Martin Staats, chairman of the board of directors of Main-Schifffahrt-Genossenschaft eG (MSG), Würzburg and president of the Federal Association of German Inland Navigation e. V., explained. (BDB), why inland navigation plays an indispensable role in the functioning of modern economies.

At the beginning of the event, Managing Director Harald Leupold presented the bayernhafen Nuremberg during a bus tour. The guests were welcomed by DOM President Uwe H. Lamann.

The Bayernhafen Group includes the 6 sites in Aschaffenburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg, Roth, Regensburg and Passau. The locations are characterised by their location at economically important geographic intersections combined with an efficient connection of water, rail and road transport routes. Around 29 million tonnes of goods are handled annually by ship, rail and truck. 800 hectares of total area and around 500 companies with more than 12,000 employees make the bayernhafen Group one of the most efficient logistics networks in Europe and one of the most important economic engines in Bavaria. The Bayernhafen Group itself employs over 200 people.

The Bayernhafen Group is an active facilitator for the development of logistics solutions and networks. It acts as a location architect who develops strategies across companies and locations, invests in highly flexible infrastructure and, in close cooperation with the port settlements, opens up new value-added potential. The aim is to further strengthen the position of ports as logistics locations and hubs for the worldwide exchange of goods. Strategic space management guarantees a mix of transport, storage, logistics, services and production.

With an annual handling capacity of more than 15 million tons, the bayerhafen Nürnberg is the largest and most important multifunctional freight transport and logistics centre in southern Germany. 260 companies have settled here on an area of 337 hectares, providing jobs for about 6,000 people. The trimodal freight transport centre is directly linked to the road, rail and water transport modes and links these infrastructures in an ideal way for multimodal transport chains. The site is located at the intersection of the Trans-European Networks (TENs) and is regarded as a gateway for South-Eastern Europe. The trimodal transshipment level for "combined transport" (CT) guarantees smooth transshipment of containers, swap bodies and semi-trailers between rail, road and water. In addition, it enables further growth in container transport and opens up loading potential from road to the more environmentally friendly transport modes of rail and water.

Report: Werner Haala, journalist