Railway In The 2021 Swiss Sugar Beet Campaign

During the harvest season, some of the sugar beet is loaded onto the railways to relieve the roads. As the national logistics partner of Schweizer Zucker AG, the Frauenfeld-based TR Trans Rail transported around 555,000 t of beet to the sugar factories in Aarberg and Frauenfeld in the past three months with over 500 trains. 

The beet harvesting and processing season begins at the end of September and lasts 80 to 100 days. During this time, a complex logistics project is ramped up for transport to the sugar factories. At the loading points, the wagons are loaded by the farmers and then sent by rail. Since the 2021 season, TR Trans Rail has been the sole national logistics partner for Schweizer Zucker (Swiss sugar) in the rail transport. 

During the last three months, 415 national beet trains with around 420,000 t of beet were moved to the sugar factories in Aarberg and Frauenfeld. In addition to the national orders, 12 international trains from Straubing (northeast of München) with 20,000 t  of organic beet and 73 trains with around 116,000 t of conventional sugar beet were also imported. 

Shortly before Christmas, the final load of beet reached the Frauenfeld sugar factory. For 100 days, the wagon inspectors were on site at the two sugar factories and checked more than 500 trains.