Novelis signs strategic rail logistics contract to strengthen its European freight network 

Strategic partnership with LINEAS involves more than 1,000 freight trains per year. 

Novelis is continuing its strategic partnership for its European rail logistics network with LINEAS, a European rail freight operator. In January 2026, the two companies signed a contract that will ensure the transport of aluminum ingots, coils and scrap by rail between Novelis’ European locations.  

“In total, Novelis, in cooperation with LINEAS, moves over 1,000 trains per year across the rail network in Germany, ensuring freight transport between the company’s European production sites,” emphasizes Roland Leder, Vice President of Supply Chain for Novelis Europe. “Compared to road transport, rail transport is estimated to save approximately 78 percent of CO₂e emissions.”  

Rail is the most important means of transport for material deliveries between Novelis’ European production sites, accounting for 95 percent of intercompany shipments. Due to weight restrictions for truck transport, long aluminum ingots weighing up to 25 tons from Novelis’ Nachterstedt, Germany, plant, which is the largest aluminum recycling/casting plant in Europe, are mainly transported by rail and sent for further processing to the company’s Alunorf joint venture plant in Neuss, Germany, one of the largest aluminum rolling plants in the world. The Novelis site in Göttingen, Germany, is the central hub for the company’s European rail logistics network, where trains are assembled to ensure optimal material distribution between all locations. 

“Our long-standing cooperation with Novelis shows how rail freight can support large-scale industrial supply chains in a reliable and sustainable way,” says Alban François, COO at LINEAS. “We are proud to support Novelis’ European logistics network, ensuring efficient transport between its production sites.”