Port of Gdansk closes 2016 with a record
in the use of land transport

28.02.2017

Last year, the Gdansk port handled a total of nearly half a million trucks and almost 240,000 railway wagons. In comparison to 2015, it was a leap of 43% in the case of trucks, and of 24% in terms of the intensity of rail traffic. This data regarding land transport traffic are the best result ever for the Port of Gdansk.

After summarising the 12 months of 2016, the Management Board of PGA can announce record data relating to the use of overland transport. Last year, on average, one loaded truck was handled in the Port every 1 minute, and a goods train every 1.5 hours. Regarding the average load of both means of transport, it is estimated this was slightly lower than last year, but the differences are relatively small.

In comparison with the data from four years ago, truck traffic in the port in 2016 increased by 100%, and rail traffic recorded an increase of nearly 40%. The current dynamics confirms the large increase in the importance of Gdansk in the operation of overland transport.

Most traffic in the Outer Port

In 2016, the Outer Port accounted for three-quarters of the traffic. The share of individual means of transport in overland freight handling in Gdansk was 31% for railways, 29% for trucks and 40% for pipeline transport. The latter has seen an 8 percent drop in the share structure, with an increase of 5 percent in truck traffic and 3 percent in the share of rail transport in overland freight handling.

Truck traffic was mainly used to transport general cargo (containers) as well as bulk cargo such as aggregates, chemicals and grain. Rail was used to transport primarily coal, containers and loads of chemicals, including fertilisers.

Regarding coal, it should be noted that in the past year a change in the directional structure of freight handling took place. Although rail transport still dominated, the number of trucks picking up raw materials from the port and transporting them into the country increased by as much as 45%.

Benefits of the new railroad bridge across the Martwa Wisla

According to estimates collected from port operators, the newly built railway bridge over the Martwa Wisla was crossed by a total of more than 5,600 trains, which equates to more than 220,000 wagons. In making the calculations, the operators did not take into account trains which crossed the bridge without goods. Average daily rail freight traffic amounted to ca. 15 trains a day, or more than 620 wagons a day.

The achievement of such a result is pleasing, all the more so because during two quarters only one track was in operation on the bridge. The second track was opened in the third quarter of 2016.

The bridge was most intensively used for the transport of containerised cargo, which in the past year increased by more than half in terms of tonnage in overland traffic. This automatically led to a rapid increase in the amount of land transport used to handle freight at the port.

Port of Gdansk as a logistics hub

Detailed analysis of overland traffic in the port clearly demonstrates the growing importance of Gdansk as the logistics hub of the country. Each day it handles over 1,300 trucks loaded with goods, and more than 650 full wagons, most of which usually travels to or from the port without load. Thus, in practice, this means almost double the traffic compared to average daily levels.

This year, the Management Board of PGA expects consistent growth in land traffic and is taking action to stimulate further development in this field. The aim of the Management Board of PGA is to create favourable conditions for the further development of logistics operations in the port, which will translate into higher growth of transshipments, resulting in strengthening the position of the Port of Gdansk.