Hannibal’s Swift Response to Gotthard Tunnel incident

Strengthening intermodal routes to guarantee uninterrupted logistics services.

Following the incident that occurred on August 10th within the Gotthard Base Tunnel, there has been an accumulation of trains and goods along the Rhine-Alpine corridor. In response to this critical situation, Hannibal swiftly implemented decisive measures to address the emergency caused by the tunnel closure and to ensure the continuity of its logistics services.

The solutions implemented by the multimodal transport operator of the Contship Group involve strengthening capacities along existing alternative intermodal routes (such as Melzo – Domodossola – Rotterdam) and activating new intermodal routes. Currently, the undertaken actions are in the process of optimization, with the aim of bolstering them operationally in the near term. Considering the anticipated increase in traffic volumes in the upcoming weeks after the summer break, further measures are also being evaluated to mitigate the impact of the disruption.

“Our priority has been to promptly inform our clients and activate our transport capabilities on alternative routes,” states Stefano Morelli, Director of Intermodal Operations at Contship. He continues, “In this critical phase, synergistic collaboration with our transport partners has been of paramount importance, enabling us to enhance the available connections. We are ensuring 70% of the services that traverse the Gotthard, albeit with some variations in delivery times. We will continue to dedicate our utmost efforts to support companies who need moving their goods along one of the primary North-South European corridors. I would like to thank the entire Operations Team for their extraordinary responsiveness and work carried out in the past two weeks to ensure a reliable rail transport service even in this complex situation.”