Behind the scenes with Homam Mansour: "Rail solutions are moving all of Sweden closer to the world market"

APM Terminals Gothenburg is receiving more goods by rail than ever before. Join Rail Planner Homam Mansour behind the scenes to gain insight into what is driving this success.

Demand for rail solutions to APM Terminals Gothenburg is increasing more and more. What is APM Terminals doing to meet the need?

The key is that we are constantly one step ahead in creating capacity before the need arises. We do this by continuously working to reduce the total turnaround time for trains, streamlining handling time and increasing track capacity, both inside and outside APM Terminals gates. As rail solutions grow, the start-up time for activating more departures is significantly shorter.

Why is rail so popular for freight transport?

First and foremost, the sustainability perspective and the Port of Gothenburg's optimal location are attractive. I would also like to emphasise the flexibility and simplicity of booking and rebooking at short notice, both whole extra trains and individual containers. Our customers are quick to see all the advantages rail solutions entail. Old solutions just do not compare. I think it's safe to say that the railway brings the whole of Sweden closer to the world market.

According to our customer survey, our rail customers are extremely satisfied. What do you think the reason for this is?

We place great emphasis on constantly speaking with our customers to identify needs and close up any gaps before they arise. In my opinion, our customers feel a great sense of security when working with us. It’s like getting together with your best friend, they trust us and know we have their best interests in mind. We share the same ambitions and solve problems together. As an example, we have the ambition to never refuse extra trains. We kept this promise throughout 2022 as seen as in how we received and handled all 84 extra trains our customers requested at short notice.

What will our focus areas for further developing our rail solutions and service be?

The main focus will be on proactively creating capacity and resources in order to continue to grow at the same high rate and to meet customer needs. We will also work even more intensively to create tailor-made solutions for, e.g., goods that require special handling. Together with customers, we will also develop our API solutions to increase visibility and the ability to track goods by rail, something that is increasingly in demand from our customers.