What ERS Railways does

ERS Railways GmbH is a Hamburg-based intermodal container transport company operating seaport-to-hinterland rail and road services connecting Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Rotterdam, and (from 2023) Wilhelmshaven with German and adjacent European inland terminals including Nuremberg, Munich, Kornwestheim, Mannheim, Ulm, and Regensburg. Founded in 1994 as European Rail Shuttle BV during rail freight liberalization, the company holds a 47% majority stake in boxXpress GmbH, a dedicated rail production JV with Eurogate Intermodal (EGIM) and TX Logistik that provides ERS with access to 37 VECTRON locomotives and 1,000 Sggns(s) 80ft container wagons; supplementary capacity is sourced via Freightliner GmbH and European Gateway Services. Following acquisition by Swiss intermodal operator Hupac AG in 2018, ERS operates as the German maritime-hinterland arm of the Hupac Group, accessing Hupac's continental terminal network.

The company's service portfolio comprises Terminal-to-Terminal and Terminal-to-Door container transport, with road pre- and on-carriage, customs clearance, empty container positioning, hazardous goods handling, and block train concepts. A proprietary CO2e Emissions Calculator integrated into the timetable enables per-shipment carbon footprint calculation per the EN 16258 Well-To-Wheel methodology. Rail production in Germany is 100% powered by hydroelectric energy (TüStrom Bahn Natur from Stadtwerke Tübingen, TÜV Nord certified), supporting the sustainability positioning to shippers and freight forwarders. Operational scale is ~50 staff handling 80-100 weekly round trips and 267,000-295,000 TEU shifted to railways annually.

ERS operates a sales-led enterprise GTM with regional sales managers (Western Ports, Germany Southeast & Austria, Benelux), an Inside Sales team handling inbound quote requests, and dedicated Customer Service operations. Revenue is generated on a transaction-fee basis via per-shipment rail and road transport rates, with floating surcharges for energy, diesel, and imbalances. Customers are maritime shipping companies and freight forwarders requiring door-to-door intermodal solutions; no public pricing tiers or named customer logos are disclosed.

Name

ERS Railways

Legal name

ERS Railways GmbH

Website

https://ersrail.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ERS Railways GmbH is a Hamburg-based intermodal container transport operator, wholly owned by Swiss Hupac AG, providing rail and road seaport-to-hinterland services connecting Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Rotterdam, and Wilhelmshaven with German inland terminals for maritime shippers and freight forwarders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Container Transport Services: ERS Railways generates revenue through maritime intermodal container transport services connecting seaports (Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Rotterdam) with German hinterland economic centers via rail and road. Services include Terminal-to-Terminal and Terminal-to-Door solutions, with full-service container handling.
2. Rail and Road Transport: Revenue from rail transport (main haul) and truck transport (pre- and on-carriage). Additional revenue streams include container positioning, customs documentation, dangerous goods transport, and individual special services.
3. Surcharges and Floater Charges: ERS applies various surcharges including Energy Floater Rail, Dieselfloater (percentage on truck costs), and Imbalance Surcharge to account for energy cost fluctuations and operational imbalances.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ERS Railways provides intermodal container transport services moving maritime containers by rail between the seaports of Hamburg, Bremerhaven and Rotterdam and inland German economic centers, with road pre- and on-carriage to deliver door-to-door. Its offering is bundled into Terminal-to-Terminal and Terminal-to-Door services, supplemented by customs documentation, empty container positioning, dangerous goods handling and block train solutions for individual customers.

Product overview

ERS Railways operates as an intermodal container transport company offering a unified service portfolio centered on port-to-door logistics. The core offering comprises Terminal-to-Terminal rail transport (operated via boxXpress partnership) and Terminal-to-Door services with road integration. The company runs regular shuttle services from seaports Hamburg, Bremerhaven, and Rotterdam to inland German terminals. Supporting services include a CO2e Emissions Calculator integrated into the timetable system, access to the Hupac continental network, block train concepts for customized transports, and comprehensive customer service. The company positions itself as a quality, port-to-door provider with focus on sustainability using 100% green energy for rail production in Germany.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Terminal-to-Terminal Container Transport
• Terminal-to-Door Container Transport Door-to-door intermodal container transport combining ERS rail main haul with road pre- and on-carriage, plus customs documentation, SOLAS services, empty container positioning and hazardous goods handling, sold to shipping lines, forwarders and industrial shippers that need a single-source intermodal provider.
• Intermodal Shuttle Network Connections Scheduled intermodal shuttle services connecting the seaports of Hamburg, Bremerhaven and Rotterdam to inland German terminals, with defined weekly round-trip frequencies, providing customers with reliable capacity and fixed connection timetables.
• Block Train Concepts (Ganzzugskonzepte) Customized dedicated block train solutions for individual customer transports covering both maritime and continental intermodal freight, sold to customers with high-volume or specialized container flows that need a tailored rail solution.
• CO2e Plan Emissions Calculator Online emissions calculator integrated into ERS Railways' timetable that lets customers calculate CO2e emissions per container by selecting a connection and entering freight weight, with values per EN 16258 and Well-To-Wheel methodology, used by shipping lines and forwarders for sustainability reporting.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% CO2-compensated rail transport through hydroelectric energy purchase
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Hupac AGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Hupac AG acquired ERS Railways in summer 2018. Through merger with Hupac Maritime Logistics GmbH, Duisburg, ERS Railways GmbH was formed. ERS operates as member of Hupac Group, accessing continental network and European terminal infrastructure. Hupac provides strategic direction and network partnerships.
• boxXpress (boxXpress.de)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerERS Railways is main shareholder (47%) of boxXpress GmbH. BoxXpress operates as private rail transport company providing: 37 VECTRON locomotives, 1000 Sggns(s) 80ft container wagons, professional train operation management, and active CO2 management. BoxXpress produces maritime and continental rail connections for ERS.
• Eurogate Intermodal GmbH (EGIM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of three shareholders of boxXpress. Contributes to joint production partnership for intermodal container transport services.
• TX Logistik AGcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of three shareholders of boxXpress. Contributes to joint production partnership for intermodal container transport services.
• Freightliner GmbHminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorERS Railways accesses additional rail connections for maritime and continental intermodal transport units through Freightliner GmbH, rounding out their intermodal portfolio.
• European Gateway ServicesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorERS Railways produces additional rail connections for maritime and continental intermodal transport units through European Gateway Services.
• Stadtwerke TübingencoreTechnology or IntegrationSupplies 'TüStrom Bahn Natur' - 100% hydroelectric energy certified by TÜV Nord for rail transport production. This clean energy enables CO2-compensated rail transport.
• Port of RotterdamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerERS Railways was founded 30 years ago in Rotterdam. The company maintains close partnership with Port of Rotterdam Authority, with CEO Boudewijn Siemons visiting ERS Hamburg headquarters in April 2024 to discuss connecting Europe's largest port.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kombiverkehr: Frankfurt-based intermodal operator specializing in combined road/rail transport across Germany and into neighboring countries. Closely comparable business model focused on container/Trailer piggyback services linking seaports to inland terminals.
• Hupac AG: Swiss intermodal rail operator and parent of ERS, operating trans-Alpine and continental intermodal services between North Sea ports, Germany, Benelux, Italy and Switzerland. Directly comparable on rail intermodal and overlaps with ERS on Germany–Benelux corridors.
• TX Logistik AG: European rail freight and intermodal operator owned by the Italian FS Group, active in Germany, Benelux, Austria, Italy and Switzerland. Co-shareholder of boxXpress with ERS, comparable in intermodal port-hinterland services.
• Freightliner GmbH: German rail freight arm of Freightliner Group, providing intermodal and block-train services on North Sea port-hinterland corridors. Already a channel partner to ERS and a directly comparable intermodal rail operator.
• Samskip Multimodal B.V. Dutch multimodal logistics provider combining rail, barge, road and sea container services across Northwest Europe. Comparable customer base (shippers, forwarders) and product overlap on Rotterdam-hinterland intermodal flows.
• Eurogate Intermodal GmbH (EGIM): Intermodal arm of Eurogate, the German container terminal operator, providing hinterland rail connections from Bremerhaven and Hamburg. Co-shareholder of boxXpress and a directly comparable port-hinterland intermodal player.
• HHLA Intermodal: Intermodal subsidiary of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG operating rail and inland barge services from Hamburg port to German and Central European terminals. Direct comparable on Hamburg-hinterland container flows.

Broad incumbents

• DB Cargo: Deutsche Bahn's freight rail subsidiary—largest European rail freight operator with broad intermodal, single-wagon and block-train capabilities. Competitor for German seaport-hinterland flows with broader geographic scope.

Emerging players

• Contargo GmbH & Co. KG: German inland waterway and intermodal operator running container logistics on the Rhine and connecting seaports to inland terminals. Comparable in intermodal port-hinterland container flows but with a barge-led model.

Others

• Hutchison Ports ECT (Rotterdam): Major container terminal operator at Rotterdam, ecosystem counterpart serving as a key origin/destination node for ERS's Rotterdam shuttle. Adjacent rather than directly competitive but central to ERS's network.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ERS Railways