To date, German power stations have been supplied with around three million tonnes of coal since October 2022. DB Cargo freight trains have transported an average of 30,000 tonnes of coal a day from the North Sea ports to around 15 major power station sites across the country. This represents a doubling of the previous transport volume. The freight trains also made some use of 'energy corridors' and were able to travel mainly on the rail network. There were no significant interactions with other train traffic, such as ICE and others.
Sigrid Nikutta, CEO of DB Cargo AG, explains the situation: "Nobody had planned it - but then we implemented it quickly: With great commitment, we doubled the usual transport volume for hard coal within a few weeks. In times like these, the supply of power stations by DB Cargo is an important building block for European energy security".
As a result of Russia's decision to halt gas supplies to Germany, a number of reserve power stations were reactivated last autumn and put back into operation. As a response, DB Cargo AG had more than 1,000 coal wagons that had already been taken out of service technically repaired.
The ports of destination were mainly Rotterdam and Amsterdam, with a focus on routes to power plants in southern Germany and Saarland.
Deliveries to power stations will continue as required. In view of the current situation on the energy market, experts are currently assuming that power plant reserves will continue to be used during the coming summer and winter.
