Gebrüder Weiss and the Rail Cargo Group continue their successful cooperation for another three years. The occasion is marked by the ceremonial launching of a locomotive in Wolfurt, Vorarlberg. Lauterach/Wolfurt, 5 June 2014. The successful cooperation between Gebrüder Weiss and the Rail Cargo Group was extended for another three years at the start of 2014. Thus, the shift in goods transport from road to rail will continue to be strengthened in the future. The focus is on container transports between Wolfurt and the German North Sea Ports Hamburg and Bremerhaven. Moreover, connections to the Benelux ports are to be established. “To strengthen rail freight services, the Rail Cargo Group builds on long-term partnerships in the field of rail logistics,” says Georg Kasperkovitz, Board Member of the Rail Cargo Group. The milestones in the existing cooperation between Gebrüder Weiss and Rail Cargo are the block train “Orange Combi Cargo” (OCC) with daily rail connections from Vorarlberg to Vienna and the “Hamburg-Bodensee-Sprinter” that commutes between Wolfurt and the German sea ports. The collaboration between Gebrüder Weiss and Rail Cargo means that each year more than 10,000 transports can be shifted from the roads to the railways. Locomotive launch as strong symbol of the collaboration The successful cooperation was celebrated on Friday, 23 May at the freight terminal in Wolfurt with the symbolic launching of the locomotive. From now on, the 10,000 PS tauris electric locomotive featuring a combined design of Gebrüder Weiss and the Rail Cargo Group will travel within the European railway network. “We are proud of ‘our’ locomotive – it is a visual sign that Gebrüder Weiss and the railways belong together. GW moves on the rails as well. Rail Cargo is our most important partner in Austria with regards to the shifting of cargo volumes to rail,” said Heinz Senger-Weiss in his speech on the occasion of the official locomotive launching. Approximately 100 guests followed the invitation to attend the celebration – among them long-standing customers of Gebrüder Weiss, representatives of the Rail Cargo Group as well as Mayors Christian Natter (Wolfurt) and Elmar Rhomberg (Lauterach). Prominent guests included not only the speakers Heinz Senger-Weiss (Board Member of Gebrüder Weiss), Georg Kasperkovitz (Board Member of the Rail Cargo Group) and Manfred Rein (President of the Chamber of Commerce Vorarlberg), but also Heidi Senger-Weiss (Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board of Gebrüder Weiss). Together with Georg Kasperkovitz, she christened the locomotive “Bodensee”. Expansion of the central freight terminal in Wolfurt As part of the celebrations, the guests were able to gain a picture of the upcoming rebuild of the Wolfurt freight terminal. Against the background of continuously increasing handling volumes in the Vorarlberg transport industry, the infrastructure will be suitably adapted as from the end of 2014. The terminal is one of the most important hubs for goods transport throughout Austria and supports the logistics chain of Vorarlberg’s export-oriented economy.