Tailwind Intermodal, the ‘neutral’ rail freight subsidiary of supermarket chain Lidl, will expand its Panther Shuttle service from the port of Koper, in Slovenia, to Graz, in Austria. Two months after the launch of the service, the company has increased the schedule to 10 to 12 weekly round trips on the Koper-Graz route.
On arrival at Graz, shipments are on-forwarded by rail to Enns, in Upper Austria and the Polish cities of Zduńska Wola and Poznań. Another connection to Upper Austria is planned in the near future. “Following the timetable change, we will be offering our customers up to two daily departures to Koper. This way, we will ensure maximum flexibility for our customers,” commented Christian Steindl, managing director of Tailwind Intermodal.
“We have gotten off to a successful and dynamic start. With a stable, high-quality railway system, the foundation has now been laid for us to further expand hinterland transports and frequencies for our customers,” he underlined. Tailwind Intermodal has also recently expanded its Sales department with two additional appointments and expects the team to grow further the coming year.
The company said it mainly transports high-value products imported to Europe which demand tight delivery deadlines and and also carries export goods bound for Asia, including raw materials for industry, such as machine-building components, wood, fibres and paper.
Tailwind Intermodal
Tailwind Intermodal is a sister company of Tailwind Shipping Lines, (TSL), Lidl’s own ocean freight operation, which it set up in April 2022 to take greater control of its shipping requirements, tackle supply chain problems, and reduce high container shipping costs. TSL transports non-food goods from Asia to Europe, calling at the ports of Barcelona and Koper.