May 24 - DB Schenker has been contracted to transport a laundry facility from Minden, Germany to Russian city of Sochi in preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

The company is working with rail logistics experts at DBSCHENKERrailog - as well as colleagues from its subsidiary firms TRANSA Spedition and OOO Tailion Russija Services - to move the EUR10 million (USD12.95 million) facility.

"Athletic mega-events are a welcome challenge for us. Our specialists start work long before the actual event takes place, making sure that everything is in place for the opening ceremony - down to every last washing machine," commented Christian Schultze, head of DBSCHENKERsportsevents, Schenker Deutschland AG.

DB Schenker organised the rail transport of 42 40-ft cubed containers to the Sochi construction site, sent as a block train to the border of Poland and Belarus; where after customs clearance, they are transferred on to broad-gauge cars in Brest, Belarus.

Several continuous batch washers and wash presses measuring 13 m in length will also be trucked to Brest, before being consolidated onto the train with the rest of the consignment.

Security forces will accompany the shipment to ensure that there are no safety issues along the route. Belarusian Railways and Russian Railways (RZD) will also give high priority to the train to ensure it reaches its destination on time.

Upon arrival in Sochi, DB Schenker will also provide secure storage of the laundry facility until they are ready for installation.

DB Schenker is executing the project on behalf of laundry technology company Herbert Kannegiesser.

www.dbschenker.com