Combined Transport and Rail Cargo Optimize Traffic Between Hungary and Germany

Combined Transport and ÖBB Rail Cargo Group optimize their traffic between Hungary and Germany. From now on, there will be six round trips per week on the Budapest-Neuss connection. Three of these round trips will stop at terminals in Wels and Vienna South. The traffic includes a connection to Rotterdam, Southeast Europe, and the New Silk Road.

(Frankfurt am Main/Vienna, June 23, 2021) The Combined Transport Deutsche Gesellschaft für kombinierten Güterverkehr mbH & Co. KG (Combined Transport) and the ÖBB Rail Cargo Group (RCG) have further optimized their existing rail freight connection between the Hungarian capital Budapest and Neuss in Germany for their customers. From now on, six round trips per week, spread over six working days, will connect the two important economic centers in Europe by rail.

Three connections operated in partnership by Combined Transport and Rail Cargo Operator will also connect the terminals in Wels and Vienna South in both directions. The other three connections will be operated directly and without intermediate stops by RCG from Budapest to Neuss and back. In total, around 180 loading units can be transported weekly in an environmentally friendly manner by rail, avoiding around 17,000 truck trips per year.

International Intermodal Network

The two connections Budapest–Vienna–Wels–Neuss v.v. and Budapest–Neuss v.v. are crucial corridor connections in the intermodal network of the two partners, especially regarding incoming and outgoing shipments at the shipping and destination terminals. “The Neuss Trimodal terminal, due to its location directly on the Rhine, is not only an important local access point for our customers from freight forwarding and logistics to our extensive intermodal network, but also provides excellent conditions for handling particularly long transport routes with transitions to the deep-sea and short-sea offerings of various shipping companies,” explains Alexander Ochs, Managing Director of Combined Transport.

The development of the Southeast European region is possible from Budapest, among other things, with the daily connection to Turkey. Additionally, three times a week, China is connected via the New Silk Road through the hub in Budapest. Furthermore, the stops in Wels and Vienna South offer additional networking opportunities to the respective economic areas and their connections to international transport networks. “With the direct connection to our largest terminal BILK in Budapest, we not only offer comprehensive terminal services but also efficient redistribution in our extensive network across the entire Eurasian continent,” says Bernhard Ebner, Head of the ÖBB RCG Business Unit Intermodal.

Rail is Environmentally Friendly and Systemically Relevant

Currently, around 10 percent of all CO₂ emissions come from the transport sector. Every ton of freight on the road generates about 40 times more CO₂ than by rail. To achieve European climate protection goals, more transport must be shifted from road to rail. Intermodal freight transport, such as that between Budapest and Neuss, significantly supports these shifting goals and demonstrates the potential of collaboration among logistics service providers.

Even at the peak of the Corona crisis, RCG and Combined Transport maintained intermodal freight transport and thus the flow of goods on this important connection between Budapest and Neuss. This once again shows that transport by rail is not only environmentally and climate-relevant but also systemically and supply-relevant.

Photo: © Combined Transport