The railway tracks of the Hamburg port railway link the transhipment terminals to the German and European railtrack network. The network of the port railway offers train operating companies fast and reliable transports of goods to the ships or carriers for inland distribution. It is a vital part of the port infrastructure and plays a key role in keeping the port as a whole attractive.

In addition, the railway is an environmentally friendly mode of transport and as such strengthens Hamburg’s position as an ecological railway port. The strong increase in rail traffic not only necessitates the further development of track and signal technology but the modernisation and extension of existing shunting yards and the laying of new tracks in the port and hinterland area, including the IT systems that go with it. Optimising the efficiency and reliability of freight movements by rail is a joint task of all parties involved in the rail transport chain.