The business unit’s move is tied to an effort to meet current market developments, the company said in a statement this week. The unit of Deutsche Bahn Group also plans to start a key account management system.

DB Intermodal CEO Hans-Georg Werner said each of the unit’s customers will have a single contact person, effective immediately. “This is a decisive step that will allow us to deal with our customers' specific needs faster than has been possible to date, to offer them solutions from a single source and thus operate more effectively on the market," he added.

DB Intermodal’s sales operations had previously been tied to geographic transit corridors. By focusing on the market activities of operators, freight forwarders and shipping companies that offer services throughout Europe, DB Intermodal will enhance sales operations, the company said.

Said Werner: "The prerequisites we have on the intermodal market are very different today than they were just a few years ago. The important thing now, in an extremely dynamic and continually changing competitive environment, is to secure the entire intermodal system and to be ready for the growth phase that is expected to follow the current economic turmoil."

Also, the company named Andreas Schulz the new head of sales management. He takes over from DB Intermodal CEO Werner, who has also overseen sales since October 2008. Schultz, who previously managed the central corridor, has also held management posts at DB Schenker Rail.