Southwest

Your benefits at a glance

Expansion of the European standard-gauge network enables rapid transport by our UIC locomotive fleet to Barcelona
Direct connection to DB Cargo Logistics’ Europe-wide Automotive RailNet
Hub in Einsiedlerhof for consolidating volumes into high-frequency block trains to Spain
Transport to various Spanish economic centres by transshipment, axle adjustment or onward carriage by truck
DB Cargo Iberia, DB Cargo’s Spanish subsidiary, offers door-to-door multimodal transport throughout Spain and across its borders
A national, cross-industry rail network connecting production centres, ports and consumer markets

Your strong rail connection to Spain

The Southwest route has repeatedly proven its value for the automotive, consumer goods, steel and chemical industries. It offers customers efficient transport options for a wide range of goods.

Since the European standard-gauge network was extended to Barcelona several years ago, there has been an additional fast option for transport to and from Barcelona alongside axle changing or transshipment at the Spanish border. Valencia, Tarragona and Martorell are also set to be connected to the European standard-gauge network in the future, enabling continuous rail connections to these locations without re-axling or transshipment.

DB Cargo Iberia offers the option of crossing the border via either the Atlantic corridor or the Mediterranean corridor, with an axle change.

Einsiedlerhof as the central hub

DB Cargo Logistics uses the hub in Einsiedlerhof as the centrepiece of its logistics solution for finished vehicles on the Spain corridor. This is where block trains departing for Spain are assembled. The freight wagons travel to Einsiedlerhof either in single wagonload services or via existing train systems from the various plants and ports in Germany and Europe. The key advantage of the hub concept is that consolidating volumes from the respective plants into a direct train enables even smaller consignments to be handled more quickly and significantly reduces overall transit times.