Traffic Infrastructure

INLAND WATERWAY ELBE RIVER

Saxony has direct access to the North German seaports and, thus, international trade through the Elbe River, a federal waterway. The Elbe River flows through Saxony with a length of 180 km. Together with the Rhine River, it is the busiest waterway in Germany.

With Dresden, Riesa, and Torgau, the Federal State of Saxony has efficient and effective trimodally operating inland ports where more than 70 companies that rely on the ports have set up their business. Together with Děčín and Lovosice (Czech Republic) as well as Dessau-Rosslau (Saxony-Anhalt), the three ports in Saxony are part of the Sächsische Binnenhäfen Oberelbe GmbH (SBO) inland port corporation. With its six ports, the SBO provides highly competitive shipping services along the Upper Elbe River from one source.

The Alberthafen port in Dresden-Friedrichstadt is a universal port. The port’s central location and its direct access to federal highway B6, federal expressway A4, and the DB AG’s core rail network all provide optimal locational conditions for trimodal transport. Dresden’s Alberthafen port provides high volume facilities for the transshipment of general, bulk, and heavy cargoes as well as containers with cranes having a maximum lifting capacity of 85 tons (tandem operation). Ultramodern quay facilities permit the easy transshipment of heavy goods with mobile crane technology. In addition, a ro ro facility is available at the port for the loading and unloading of goods weighing up to 370 tons.

The inland port Riesa has direct access to the federal highways B6 and B69 as well as to the DB AG’s core rail network. Cranes having a maximum lifting capacity of 50 tons (tandem operation) are available for the transshipment of containers as well as general, bulk, and heavy cargoes. 

The port in Torgau, which provides direct access to the federal highways B87, B182, and B183 as well as to the DB AG’s core rail network, excels with its superb location right in the heart of the business region Leipzig/Halle. Cargo handling and transshipment are carried out with cranes having a lifting capacity of up to 35 tons. Since 2007, the Torgau port has been linked directly to the North German seaports via the inland waterway shipping line ETS Elbe (Ecological Transport Service).

AIR TRAFFIC

With Dresden and Leipzig / Halle, the Federal State of Saxony possesses two highly efficient commercial airports which have been organized under one roof by the Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG holding corporation since 2001.

Leipzig/Halle Airport is one of the five largest freight hubs in Europe. With annual freight volumes totalling more than 1.38 million tonnes, Leipzig/Halle Airport is Germany’s second-​largest cargo hub. The DHL Express, Aerologic, Antonov Logistics Salis as well as CargoLogicGermany logistics companies have their main base at Leipzig/Halle Airport. At the beginning of November 2020 Amazon Air have taken up their operations at their first-​​ever regional air hub in Europe. In total more than 60 cargo aircraft use the airport round the clock to handle freight from all over the world. Thanks to its excellent connections, 532.690 of passengers from the Leipzig/Halle urban region and beyond use the airport in order to travel to destinations all over the world, either on non-​stop or feeder flights.

The catchment area of Dresden Airport covers two of the most important urban areas in Eastern Germany – i.e. Dresden and Chemnitz/Zwickau. Passengers from the south of Brandenburg, the north of the Czech Republic and the Silesia region in western Poland also use Dresden Airport to travel to destinations all over the world, either on non-​stop or feeder flights.

For general aviation with smaller aircraft, 22 commercial and special-purpose airfields as well as one glider airfield are available in Saxony.