Stora Enso Contracts Hector Rail to Continue Timber Transport Until 2022

 

Hector Rail (Stockholm, Sweden) and Stora Enso (Helsinki, Finland) have agreed to continue cooperation to transport timber from Norway to mills in Skoghall (Karlstad) in Sweden and Grums, Sweden until the end of 2022. The cooperation began in 2008 and the business has since then tripled the volumes. As part of the modernization of the business, Hector Rail will insert freight wagons with larger profile and introduce new locomotives, which means better environmental adaptation and more streamlined operations.

The service means transports of approximately 1.5 million cubic meters of timber from a number of terminals in Gudbrandsdalen and Østerdalen. The new arrangement will be introduced by 2018 and means that Hector Rail is developing the wagon fleet with larger profile. The new arrangement has a strong focus on the environment, rationality, and quality.

A large part of the production will be done by completely new electric locomotives. The new locomotives mean a better environmental profile since they can create feedback electricity when braking. New locomotives with high reliability are designed for robust and high quality production. The new locomotives are also equipped with a so-called "extra mile" function. This means that the locomotives with the help of an installed diesel engine and radio remote control can effectively shunt wagons to and from terminals.