On behalf of the worldwide operating steel producer Tata Steel, DB Schenker Rail has set up a shuttle service connecting the company's steel works in IJmuiden, the Netherlands, with the works in Llanwern, Wales (UK).

The trains, with a total weight of up to 1,800 tons, convey steel rolls for the British packaging industry four times a week. The route leads through Belgium, France and the Channel Tunnel to the delivery destination, the Tata Steel works in Trostre, a town in the southwest of Wales. From there, the empty wagons proceed to the Tata Steel works in Llanwern - also in Southwest Wales - where they are loaded for their return journey through Wales, England, the Channel Tunnel, France and Belgium to their final destination in IJmuiden. DB Schenker expects to transport a total of some 220,000 tons of steel during a six-month period.

"DB Schenker Rail presented a transport concept in line with our current requirements for a swift and reliable means of transport between the various works of our European organization," explained Derk Triezenberg, General Manager Logistics and Transport of Tata Steel in IJmuiden. The concept is based on a carefully considered combination of goods flows from the Netherlands to Wales and back. A new type of wagon with a capacity of 68.5 tons will be used for transport. These wagons are equipped with hoods to keep the steel rolls dry at all times and are also fitted with a special rubber lining, which offers the added advantage that the rolls require no further exterior packing.

Thanks to the Channel Tunnel, DB Schenker Rail is able to achieve a transit time of less than 24 hours. "During the past few years, DB Schenker has invested heavily in the development of a seamlessly organized European transport offer," says Karsten Sachsenröder, Member of the Management Board Sales of DB Schenker Rail. "This enables us to respond swiftly and adequately to the latest market demands such as those of Tata Steel. The use of the Channel Tunnel is naturally a unique feature of this concept."

Tata Steel Ltd. is the second-largest producer of steel in Europe.