Dornstadt, Germany, September 1, 2025. Road transport accounts for more than a quarter of all traffic emissions in Germanyⁱ. To change this for the future, Germany’s national rail operator, Deutsche Bahn, is expanding the transshipment railroad station in Ulm-Dornstadt. This station is a key element of the Rhine-Danube transport corridor, which extends from the city of Strassburg to the Black Sea. A new handling module is being built on an area of almost 80,000 square meters to the west of the existing terminal, on the Stuttgart-Ulm section of the route. A new handling module is being built on an area of almost 80,000 square meters to the west of the existing terminal, on the Stuttgart-Ulm section of the route. By shifting the transport of goods to rail, more than 16,700 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions can be saved every year. The transshipment capacity will also increase to 300,000 loading units per year. The symbolic ground-breaking ceremony on July 14, 2025 marked the official start of the construction phase. Stuttgart-based Drees & Sommer, a consulting firm that specializes in construction, real estate and infrastructure, manages the project. It is estimated that the new terminal will be operational by 2028.

Up to 14 freight trains currently arrive at and depart from the Dornstadt-Ulm transshipment station every day, with this figure set to rise. But with growing demand for more environmentally friendly transport routes, Deutsche Bahn (DB) intends to further expand its combined transport capacity. This is why a new module is being built beside the existing terminal. It will have four additional transshipment tracks, three fully automated cranes, five stabling lines to hold containers temporarily for handling purposes, each with a track for transporting, loading and reversing. Berthold Huber (Deutsche Bahn Board Member for Infrastructure), Andreas Schulz (Chairperson of the Management of Deutsche Umschlaggesellschaft Schiene-StraßembH) und Rainer Braig (Mayor of Dornstadt) attended the symbolic ground-breaking ceremony.

"By expanding the terminal in Dornstadt, we are creating more loading capacity and shifting freight traffic from road to rail, so that goods only have to be transported by truck over the last mile. This saves 22.4 million truck kilometers, 6.8 million liters of diesel, and 16.790 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year,” said Berthold Huber, Member of the Management Board of DB AG with responsibility for infrastructure.

Quieter Transshipment Thanks to Soft Landing Technology

Rail transport is considered the most eco-friendly mode of transport for goods. It produces 87 percent less greenhouse gas per metric ton-kilometer than truck transportⁱⁱ. In addition to the ecological added value, the extended combined transport terminal can create an economic benefit for the municipality of Dornstadt: 50 new jobs will be generated, and the surrounding industrial and commercial enterprises will benefit from reliable deliveries at economic costs.

The expansion does mean, however, that more trains and trucks will be going to the municipality of Dornstadt than before. Deutsche Bahn uses specific noise abatement measures to minimize noise exposure. “The cranes work with soft landing technology: automated laser scanners control the speed of the cranes when setting down the containers. This reduces noise significantly when loading the goods, a benefit to local residents in particular,” explained Andreas Witzel, project manager at Deutsche Bahn. For rail transport, the national rail operator is planning an additional connection to the Stuttgart-Ulm railroad line in a southerly direction. Until now, trains have had to switch at Beimerstetten station in order to be able to travel further south.

Digitalized Booking System Ensures Efficient Processes

In future, a booking system will ensure that truck drivers can reserve a fixed time slot for loading their goods in transit. Together with the 68 or so parking spaces for trucks, the system helps to avoid traffic jams on the A8 motorway and traffic congestion in the surrounding communities. And charging will be more efficient in future: three fully-automized cranes can be operated remotedly from a central office. This makes coordination easier and shortens the ways for staff.

LEAN Workshops Present Collaboration Tools

Drees & Sommer’s project head Felix Demuth and his team will coordinate all planning, approval and construction phases. And they will also be responsible for cost and schedule controls. ”We apply an integrated monitoring approach. We manage planning checks and supplemental performance processes in a structured and transparent way. All project participants must be able to track and actively take part. For this reason, we have organized workshops where we present digital tools and planning methods in order to enable the different teams to work efficiently, based on lean principles.“

Construction work has started with the symbolic ground-breaking ceremony. Commissioning of the second transshipment module, including the electronic signal box, is scheduled to be terminated by 2028.

ⁱCO2-Ausstoß Straßenverkehr EU - Statistisches Bundesamt
ⁱⁱEmissionsdaten | Umweltbundesamt