May 26 - DB Schenker is connecting its road and rail services with a new DB SCHENKERhangartner service, offering a combination of rail and truck services from one source.

Pick-up and delivery services are handled by truck, with freight consignments using unaccompanied combined transportation services on rail for the main section of the transport.

"The idea behind this new service is to provide a simple link up of road and rail transportation modes, which industry and politicians favour, as an integral part of our European product portfolio," said Karl Nutzinger, CEO Europe responsible for European Land Transport at Schenker.

To launch the new service, the company has integrated the services offered by its subsidiary Hangartner into DB Schenker's country organisations, combining the flexibility of road transport with the benefits of rail.

DB Schenker offers the new service on the North - South corridor through the country organisations of Finland, Sweden and Norway via central Europe down to Italy and vice versa.

For this purpose, the company's intermodal operating centre, which is headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, will operate around 4,000 block trains a year, providing regular scheduled services several times a week on fixed routes.

The company operates its own terminals in Domodossola and Verona in Italy and also has around 4,300 company-owned loading units available to provide reliable handling from a single source, plus additional logistics services.

An extension of the service to the West is being prepared, and it will soon offer a shipment tracking option as well.

An integral part of DB Schenker Logistics' European Land Transport services, the new intermodal service offers flexibility where trucks cannot be used, for example where there are weekend driving bans or tunnel restrictions for certain types of hazardous goods and heavy loads.