Wanne-Herner Railway and Port

What Wanne-Herner Railway and Port does

Wanne-Herner Eisenbahn und Hafen GmbH (WHE) is a privately held German logistics operator headquartered in Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of municipal utility Stadtwerke Herne AG. Founded in 1913, the company owns and operates 34 km of private railway network, 8 diesel locomotives, two inland port facilities (Westhafen and Osthafen) on the Rhine-Herne Canal totaling 880 m of berth length, and 100,000 m² of open storage space. It serves industrial customers in the Ruhr region — including steel (ArcelorMittal), chemicals, power generation, recycling, and logistics — through three service lines delivered via the parent and two wholly-owned subsidiaries: Container Terminal Herne GmbH (CTH) for intermodal handling and Eisenbahn Technik Zentrum GmbH (ETZ) for rail vehicle maintenance.

The business spans four core revenue streams: rail freight transport (traction, shunting, marshalling, regional and pre/on-carriage), intermodal terminal operations at CTH (250,000 annual loading unit capacity across 95,000 m² with two 45-ton portal cranes), bulk and general cargo handling/storage (coal, coke, fly ash, grain, scrap, steel pipes, plaster), and rail vehicle maintenance/repair at ETZ (DIN EN 15085-2 CL1 and DIN 27201-7 NDT certified). Annual throughput is approximately 3.5 million tons of goods, avoiding an estimated 100,000 truck trips per year. Strategic positioning is anchored by tri-modal connectivity (rail, inland waterway, road), proximity to major motorways, and international corridors including a Belt and Road rail link with Lianyungang Port Group and KTZ Express.

The company monetizes via transaction-based fees for transport, terminal handling, and storage, plus professional services fees for ETZ maintenance. Pricing for infrastructure access follows a published fee schedule (Entgeltgrundsätze und Entgeltverzeichnis), with public funding from Land NRW and the federal government supporting modernization capex. Go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales with dedicated account managers per service line and annual trade-show presence (Transport und Logistik Messe). The group employs approximately 150 people across WHE, CTH, and ETZ combined.

Name

Wanne-Herner Railway and Port

Legal name

Wanne-Herner Eisenbahn und Hafen GmbH (WHE)

Website

https://whe.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1913

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

WHE is a Herne-based, municipally owned German railway and port operator founded in 1913, running 34 km of private rail, two Rhine-Herne Canal ports, a 250,000-unit container terminal, and rail-vehicle maintenance services for industrial customers in steel, chemicals, power, recycling, and logistics.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rail Freight Logistics Services

NAICS

Short Line Railroads (482112), Rail Transportation (48211)

SIC

Railroad Switching & Terminal Establishments (4013), Railroads, Line-Haul Operating (4011)

akta.pro primary industry

Rail Freight Yard Operations (Classification, Hump & Flat Yards) (TLAJAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Intermodal Terminal Value-Added Services (Cross-Dock, Transload, Stuffing/Stripping) (TLAJAFAL), Rail Intermodal Forwarding (Container/Rail-Ramp) (TLACAEAC), Dry Bulk Rail Freight (Unit Trains) (TLADAKAB), Truck & Trailer Parking/Storage Yards (TLALAKAB)

Keywords

• Rail freight transport
• Intermodal terminal operations
• Bulk cargo handling
• Rail vehicle maintenance
• Inland port logistics

Headquarters

HQ city

Herne

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Rail Freight Transport Services: Railway transport services including traction from full train to single wagon, shunting, marshalling, regional railway sidings operations, pre- and on-carriage for regional and international routes. Revenue from haulage fees, wagon rental, and railway infrastructure usage charges.
2. Intermodal Terminal Operations: Container handling services at Container Terminal Herne with capacity of 250,000 loading units annually. Services include loading/unloading, depot storage for over 400 trailers, cleaning and maintenance.
3. Bulk Handling and Storage: Tri-modal cargo handling and storage for bulk and general cargo including coal, coke, fly ash, grain, scrap, steel pipes and plaster. Services include more than 100,000 m² of open storage space and warehouse facilities with rail siding access.
4. Railway Vehicle Maintenance and Repair: Maintenance, repair and overhaul services for rail vehicles (freight wagons, diesel and electric locomotives) through Eisenbahn Technik Zentrum (ETZ) subsidiary. Mobile teams handle minor repairs on-site.
5. Railway Infrastructure Services: Planning, construction and reactivation services for railway sidings. Charges for usage of service facilities based on published fee schedules.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

WHE operates an integrated tri-modal logistics hub in the Ruhr region, providing rail freight transport on its own 34 km rail network, intermodal container handling at Container Terminal Herne (250,000 loading units/year capacity), bulk cargo handling and storage (over 100,000 m²), and rail vehicle maintenance/repair via its ETZ subsidiary. The company connects industrial customers in the Ruhr metropolitan area to regional, national, and international rail networks through its combined rail, inland waterway (Rhine-Herne Canal), and road infrastructure.

Product overview

WHE operates as an integrated logistics provider combining rail freight transport, intermodal terminal operations, bulk cargo handling/storage, and rail vehicle maintenance. The company owns 8 diesel locomotives operating on 34 km of private rail network serving two port areas on the Rhine-Herne Canal. Core offerings include: Transport services (Transport) connecting regional rail infrastructure with Wanner Westhafen and Osthafen; Container Terminal Herne (CTH) handling up to 250,000 loading units annually; Bulk Handling & Storage (Umschlag & Lagerung) for coal, coke, fly ash, and other bulk goods; and Eisenbahn Technik Zentrum (ETZ) providing rail vehicle maintenance and repair. The subsidiaries CTH and ETZ operate as distinct brands under the WHE corporate umbrella.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 3.5 million tons of goods transported annually, avoiding approximately 100,000 truck journeys per year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• RheinCargocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Joint operations at ArcelorMittal Kokerei Bottrop for coke and coal logistics. Partnership involves 4 new DE 18 locomotives (90 tons, 1,800 kW), 30km of tracks with 80 switches, and annual transport of approximately 4.5 million tons. Locomotives named after former mining shafts: Prosper, Zollverein, Nordstern, and Unser Fritz.
• Lianyungang Port GroupflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Strategic partnership to establish regular rail connection between Lianyungang (China) and Herne via Container Terminal Herne. Part of China's Belt and Road Initiative. Test train arrived in 2016 after 17 days and 11,300 rail kilometers via Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, and Poland. Lianyungang Port handles approximately 200 million tons and 5 million TEU annually.
• KTZ ExpresscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Kazakh logistics company (subsidiary of Kazakh state railway KTZ) played key role in establishing the Lianyungang-Herne rail route. KTZ Express operates rail, road, and air transport with subsidiaries in China, CIS countries, Baltic states, and EU.
• Container Terminal Herne GmbH (CTH)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSubsidiary company (WHE as shareholder) operating intermodal container terminal at Westhafen Herne. CTH offers handling capacity of 250,000 loading units annually on 95,000 m² with 5 tracks of 725m each and 2 portal cranes.
• Eisenbahn Technik Zentrum GmbH (ETZ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWHE subsidiary providing railway vehicle maintenance, repair, and overhaul services. ETZ operates 2,000 m² + 2,400 m² external hall facilities with 800m dedicated tracks, certified for DIN EN 15085-2 welding and DIN 27201-7 NDT certification.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Duisburger Hafen AG (duisport): World's largest inland port, operating multimodal container and bulk terminals with adjacent rail network in the Ruhr. Comparable scope and customer base but at significantly larger scale than WHE.
• DB Cargo Deutschland: Dominant Class I rail freight operator in Germany and Europe. Comparable in rail freight services and customer base, though WHE's NE-Bahn positioning is differentiated by industrial shunting/sidings and tri-modal scope.

Direct peers

• Captrain Deutschland GmbH: Germany's largest private rail freight operator (part of SNCF group), running regional industrial and intermodal services across Germany. Comparable in serving industrial shippers via regional rail, though at substantially larger scale.
• Rurtalbahn Cargo GmbH: Regional freight rail operator in NRW serving industrial customers with short-line services. Closely comparable to WHE in market, customer profile, and NE-Bahn positioning.
• Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln AG (HGK): Cologne-based municipal port and rail freight operator combining short-line rail, inland port terminals, and logistics services. Closely comparable to WHE in tri-modal structure, municipal-utility ownership, and NE-Bahn regulatory status.
• Mindener Hafen GmbH: Mid-sized inland port and rail freight operator on the Mittelland Canal in NRW. Directly comparable as a regional tri-modal hub serving bulk and container cargo with rail siding connections.
• Eisenbahnen und Verkehrsbetriebe Elbe-Weser GmbH (EVB): Regional German NE-Bahn operating freight rail, port handling, and passenger services in northern Germany. Directly comparable as a regional railway with integrated port and logistics operations.

Emerging players

• Kombiverkehr Deutsche Gesellschaft für kombinierten Güterverkehr mbH & Co KG: Intermodal rail-road transport operator coordinating container and trailer movements across Europe. Comparable to CTH in intermodal terminal role, though operating on partner rail networks rather than owning infrastructure.
• BoxXpress.de GmbH: German intermodal rail operator running container trains between seaports and inland terminals. Comparable to CTH-related intermodal activities, particularly relevant to Lianyungang/Asia–Europe volumes.

Regional players

• Triangel Logistik GmbH: NRW-based rail freight and shunting services provider serving industrial sidings. Comparable to WHE in regional NE-Bahn industrial-switching focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wanne-herner-eisenbahn-und-hafen-gmbh

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Wanne-Herner Railway and Port