DB Schenker to invest record amount in locos and freight cars

Monday, 06 September 2010

DB Schenker Rail is to invest €410 million (US$525m) in 1,472 new freight cars and 71 locomotives in Europe this year after volumes jumped during the first half of 2010, writes Katerina Kerr.

Around €190 million will be spent on new freight cars and repairing the existing fleet. A further €167 million will be invested in locomotives and the remaining funds will be spread between various investments in facilities and IT equipment.

The company is concentrating primarily on freight cars for the coal and steel sector and for the chemicals and automotive industries.

By the end of the year, some 1,472 new freight cars and 71 new locomotives will have been purchased for DB Schenker Rail, including 700 cars especially for coal and steel transports.

Karl-Friedrich Rausch, a member of the Management Board of DB Mobility Logistics said: “This is a record amount which we plan to invest at exactly those points where there is increasing customer demand for our transport services and where modern equipment is required.”

DB Schenker Rail saw volumes of transported freight rise to 203 million tonnes in the first half, an increase of 40.1% year-on-year.

Its traffic performance also increased 18.8% to 52.6 billion tonne-kilometres.