On May 15, 2024, Hannibal, part of the Contship Italia Group, announced an increase in the frequency of its service on the Melzo-Rotterdam route. From June 10, 2024, daily round-trip services will be operational between the Rail Hub Milano and the Rotterdam Botlek terminal. Trains will depart from the terminals daily from Monday to Saturday, increasing weekly rotations from five to six.
The increased service frequency will provide more flexible connections for Hannibal's customers, meeting the growing demand along one of Europe's most important economic corridors. The Rotterdam-Botlek terminal offers strategic links to Great Britain and Ireland, facilitating direct embarkation for maritime services without the need for truck transfers between the rail terminal and the maritime terminal.
The service is available for containers of various sizes (Tank, 20’, 23’, 25’, 30’, 40’, 45’) and semi-trailers with P400 profile. Hannibal states that the increase in operations will remove the equivalent of 240 trucks per week from the roads, approximately 11,500 annually, with emission savings of over 50% compared to all-road transport.
