To improve transit times for shippers moving cargo between Asia, the Mediterranean and Europe, Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. (MSC) is enhancing intermodal connections via the port of Trieste, Italy. The new “MSC Graz-Trieste Runner” shuttle train, operated together with Cargo Center Graz, connects Trieste with Werndorf, Austria, once a week. The service is the first direct connection between Trieste and Werndorf and its schedule is coordinated with MSC’s Far East Phoenix ocean-liner service to ensure optimal timing for intercontinental cargo delivery. Depending on customer demand, the service may become more frequent in the future.
MSC collaborated with leading European retailer Lidl, a key partner for MSC in the region, to devise a tailor-made transport solution for containers shipped from the Far East to Lidl’s warehouse hub near Graz. As Christian Stangl, Lidl Managing Director Procurement International, says: “It’s a win-win operation for MSC and Lidl. We are enhancing our supply chain with a sophisticated new port of entry, as well as supporting an innovative intermodal product. Simultaneously, Lidl is contributing to MSC’s sustainable growth ambitions in this area. By supporting the MSC Graz-Trieste Runner, we are also certain to provide additional value to the Austrian export market via Trieste to worldwide destinations.”
The MSC Graz-Trieste Runner schedule will also be coordinated with the arrivals and departures of other sea-freight services making direct calls at Trieste, providing ideal connections for the European hinterland with the eastern Mediterranean, Greece, Turkey and the Red Sea, as well as Asia.
