Port of Gothenburg nearly doubles Arken yard capacity without new construction

A five percent gain in available space has delivered close to a doubling of yard capacity at Arken Intermodal Terminal, after the Port of Gothenburg rebuilt one of the terminal's through tracks to free approximately 4,000 square metres of yard for trailers and other units.

The arithmetic is the story. Arken, one of Sweden's largest intermodal terminals and a key transfer hub between rail, road and sea, had seen growing cargo volumes push certain flows close to their limit. Yard space, not track or gate capacity, was identified as the primary constraint on further growth.

Rather than commission new construction, the port reconfigured the railway track layout, converting one through track into additional yard area. The result: usable stacking and parking capacity for trailers nearly doubled from a five percent expansion in physical footprint.

What does the change mean operationally?

The gain comes from geometry, not concrete. Rebuilding the through track released a contiguous block of roughly 4,000 square metres that the terminal can now work as flexible yard space — space that previously sat under rail infrastructure the terminal no longer needed for that purpose.

Carl Johan Andersson, Senior Logistics Developer at the Port of Gothenburg, described the result as an example of capacity development through intelligent use of existing land rather than simply building bigger, noting that a five percent increase in space has delivered close to a doubling of yard capacity.

For shippers and forwarders routing trailers and swap bodies through Gothenburg, the practical consequence is headroom. Flows that were running close to their ceiling now have slack, which matters at a hub handling transfers across three modes. Intermodal volumes in Scandinavia have grown steadily, and terminals that hit yard limits typically respond with queuing, rehandling and longer dwell — costs that land on carriers and their customers.

Why yard flexibility matters at peak

Emma Meltin, Bridge Manager Intermodal at Gothenburg RoRo Terminal, highlighted the operational benefits of greater yard flexibility, saying it enables better flow planning, more effective peak management and reduced unnecessary cargo movements — ultimately delivering more efficient and reliable service to customers.

That is the quiet half of the capacity story. A bigger yard is not just more parking; it is more options. Flexible space lets a terminal absorb arrival surges, stage units closer to their departure points, and cut the number of shunts a trailer undergoes between rail discharge and vessel loading. Fewer moves mean fewer hours, lower handling cost and a more predictable product for the shipping lines and rail operators using the terminal.

A template for capacity-constrained terminals

The project carries a message beyond Sweden. Many European intermodal terminals face volume growth they cannot answer with land purchases or multi-year construction programmes, particularly in port cities where expansion space simply does not exist. Arken demonstrates that track-layout reconfiguration — rebuilding infrastructure the terminal has outgrown in one configuration — can unlock disproportionate capacity gains.

A near-doubling of yard capacity from a five percent space increase sets a benchmark other terminal operators will study. The Port of Gothenburg, for its part, has signalled that capacity development at Arken will continue through smarter use of existing land, with the terminal now positioned to absorb further intermodal volume growth across its rail, road and sea flows.

By James Calloway, Waybill Wire