The VTG railway undertaking will now operate under the name Retrack. The new company, Retrack GmbH & Co. KG, headquartered in Hamburg, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of VTG Rail Logistics which replaces the former companies Bräunert Verwaltung GmbH and Bräunert Eisenbahnverkehr GmbH & Co. KG. The Retrack network connects the most important economic centers within Europe. Thanks to its own locomotive pool, consisting of both diesel and electric trains, VTG Rail Logistics can carry out freight transportation just as flexibly on the network as single wagonload traffic as it can with groups of wagons or block trains.
In 2007, an alternative concept to the national railway’s single wagon system was devised within the context of an EU project – what emerged was Retrack. Multiple RUs joined forces with the aim of simplifying single wagon transport and offering customers a new cross-border European portfolio with a reliable running schedule.
“In 2014, after several partners had withdrawn from Retrack, VTG decided to take control of the project. With our Bräunert RU, which is approved through a railway operations management license, we, and the partners that remained, organized the trains and assumed all the entrepreneurial risks associated with the business,” explains Günther J. Ferk, Managing Director of VTG Rail Logistics. The change of name will allow the full extent of Retrack’s strong presence in the market to be felt.
Safety credentials and certification as a specialized waste management company
For the VTG-owned RU, part A of the SiBe safety certification has been applied for in Germany. Acquiring the national certification will make it possible for the RU to apply for approval for international transit (SiBe part B).
In addition, after a successfully completed audit, carried out by TÜV Rheinland, VTG Rail Logistics now possesses certification as a “specialized waste management company as a carrier of hazardous waste, pursuant to the EfbV (the German Ordinance on Specialised Waste Management Companies)” and may now also transport hazardous waste within Germany. This applies to all classes of hazardous goods, barring 1, 6.2 and 7 (explosive, infectious and radioactive materials).
About VTG Rail Logistics:
The Rail Logistics Division of VTG Aktiengesellschaft specializes in the pan-European rail transportation of liquid, agricultural and industrial goods via private and state-owned rail carriers. The planning and execution of each and every shipment – by single wagon, blocktrain or as a wagon pool solution – is tailored perfectly to the needs of the individual customer. Rail Logistics handles every aspect of fleet management, from capacity checks to fleet monitoring and administration to maintenance and repair work, for the 5,500 rented wagons in its care. It also organizes upstream and downstream transportation by sea and road and provides access to the rail network for companies with no sidings of their own.