What It Is
The Southern Express offers a unique direct rail connection – without any stops for consolidation or deconsolidation - between Genoa Pra’ terminal and Frenkendorf station in Basel (Switzerland) with the possibility to reach Wolfurt in Austria with a regular service. The direct connection, operated with a block train that is fully controlled by PSA Cargo Solutions, runs three round-trips weekly and connects Central Europe via the Mediterranean to the Far East, Middle East and Americas. By routing your cargo from the Far East and the Middle East to Central Europe by rail via Genoa, you can benefit from lower carbon emissions due to a shorter overall route with reduced ocean navigation.
It is a reliable mode of transport, with 83% of trains arriving within an hour and 94% within two hours of the given Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA), and has a shorter transit time as compared to trucking.
As your single point of contact, you can rest easy and enjoy the seamless and agile operations run by us handling both rail and terminal segments, including for onward movement to Northern and Central European markets from Basel, as well as first and last mile services. You can also benefit from lesser Detention & Demurrage costs, as we can deliver the containers to the port on time and avoid long and costly storage or missing vessel connections. We also have a dedicated customer care office to support you in your operations.
To help you optimise your supply chain planning, we can provide you with full visibility of your shipment on both the maritime and hinterland legs.
Services
- Rail freight services
- Ocean freight services
- First and last mile services from Basel
- Shunting connection with all Genoa terminals, thus linking Switzerland with all ports included in services calling Genoa
- Asssitance on IMO authorisation process
- Customs clearance / assistance
Key Benefits
- Faster time-to-market with shorter transit time
- Greater schedule reliability as compared to trucking
- Single point of contact with seamless and agile operations as PSA handles both rail and terminal segments
- Optimised supply chain planning with maritime and hinterland visibility
- Minimise Detention & Demurrage costs as we can deliver the containers to the port on time and avoid long and costly storage or missing vessel connections
- Get access to alternative (and possibly cheaper) ocean freight via the Mediterranean ports as compared to the traditional Northern range routing, especially in times of supply chain or operations disruptions
- CO2 emissions savings on Europe-Asia connections
- Better customer service and support with dedicated customer care office
- Easy-to-use booking platform with real-time information
Testimonials
- Markus Helg, Head of International Transport at Migros
