Blum expands rail connection: Dornbirn traffic center on the rise!

Blum expands rail connection: Dornbirn traffic center on the rise!

In a pioneering step to promote sustainable logistics, Blum is investing in the expansion of its railway siding at its Dornbirn location. Loud vol.at Construction work to lay a second track at Plant 7 has been carried out since the beginning of June 2025. This measure is intended to almost double the capacity of the Stöcken connecting line, which will enable Blum to make a significant part of its logistics operations more efficient.

The project plans to increase the current track length from 210 meters to 410 meters. This enables the handling of up to 16 40-foot sea freight containers daily and also the loading of truck trailers and swap bodies (WABs). The construction work will be carried out in collaboration with Rhomberg Bau GmbH and is scheduled to be completed by the end of October 2025. In this context, the existing track will be removed and the ballast substructure replaced.

Sustainability in focus

A particularly sustainable aspect of the project is the recycling of a large part of the gravel base, which is to be washed and processed. In addition, old rails are reused. During the construction period, container transport will temporarily be handled by truck between Dornbirn and the Wolfurt terminal. Biogas-powered shuttles and regional transport service providers are used. Traffic disruptions around the factory site cannot be ruled out during construction work.

The Stöcken connecting line is one of the most active in Austria and handled over 220,000 tons in 2024. Blum is aiming to significantly increase the proportion of sand, gravel and building materials transported by rail. Corresponding collaborations, especially with Rhomberg Bau GmbH, are to be further expanded. In addition, an expansion of the Wolfurt terminal is necessary in order to exploit the further potential in rail logistics.

Particular attention is paid to the demand for rail expansion and the improvement of the track infrastructure in Germany and Switzerland in order to optimize transport capacities. Blum's goal is to increase the proportion of goods transported by rail to over 50 percent.

Rail logistics in numbers

The relevance of rail logistics is manifested not only in the local projects, but also in the national trend data. In Austria there are a total of 56 rail transport companies in freight transport. Private freight transport has increased its market share in traffic volume from 39.6% to 40.9% in 2022, underlining the growing importance of rail transport, as the WKO reported.

In the same year, freight transport performance totaled 23.8 billion net tonne kilometers, which represents an increase compared to previous years. However, the market also shows fluctuations, which requires flexible transport solutions. An example of an innovative solution in rail freight transport is the collaboration between Loacker Recycling and the ÖBB Rail Cargo Group, which makes it possible to transport 200,000 tons of valuable materials annually in an environmentally friendly manner, thus replacing more than 8,000 truck journeys railcargo.com describes.

These developments make it clear that the demand for sustainable logistics solutions continues to increase and that rail transport is playing a central role as an environmentally friendly alternative in freight transport.