ÖBB’s freight subsidiary Rail Cargo Group (RCG) is expanding its services to Türkiye. RCG calls the country “essential for intermodal trade between Europe and Asia.”
RCG’s expansion of its Turkish services comes in several parts. Firstly, it is introducing a new regular connection from Sopron (Hungary) to Istanbul. That route replaces the earlier Sladkovicovo – Istanbul line that RCG had in place. The frequency of the new connection will be doubled to two round trips per week. “Customers will benefit from improved planning, optimised first and last mile organisation and extended storage and handling options throughout Eastern Europe”, the ÖBB subsidiary says.
Besides the new Sopron – Istanbul service, RCG is expanding in other areas as well:
– Budapest – Istanbul: This route will now run five times instead of just four times a week. Zeebrugge, Ludwigshafen, Duisburg, Wels, Vienna and Budapest are also connected via antenna links.
– Curtici (Romania) – Tekirdağ: RCG has worked on an optimised timetable. With its direct connection to the port of Tekirdağ, this route remains an important hub for transit traffic between Europe and Asia, says RCG.
– Genk (Belgium) – Curtici: RCG also offers “flexible transport options” between Belgium and Romania with five round trips per week between Genk and Curtici and shorter transit times for transports to Turkey.
Asia – Europe traffic
With rail freight traffic from Asia increasing, Türkiye’s position as a logistics hub is growing in importance. “Türkiye is a central logistics hub and forms the bridge between Europe and Asia, especially for intermodal trade”, says RCG. “Istanbul plays a central role as a hub for transport to the STAN countries and onwards to China. That’s precisely where RCG comes in with its improved offering.”