Samskip, the globally operating logistics provider and the Rail Cargo Group, the cargo division of the ÖBB – Austrian Federal Railways, will launch joint rail services connecting Curtici, Romania and major logistics centres in Sweden from January 2017. The new service will effectively join two existing, fully operational routes to form the first continuous rail connection between the East European nation and Scandinavia.
Taking advantage of Samskip’s state-of-the-art railway hub in Duisburg, Germany, the transport connects Curtici on the western border of Romania, providing an ideal connection to the railway network, and forwarding options to Eastern Europe.
“Until now, shippers wanting to transport shipments between the two regions have had little choice but to use road haulage, running the risk of road congestion, delays and unpredictable delivery times”, says Frank Gielen, Rail Development Manager Samskip Van Dieren Multimodal. “The rail connection offers shippers a more reliable alternative, as well as achieving substantially lower emissions per unit load.”
“Rail Cargo Group is delighted to enter into this broad cooperation with Samskip Van Dieren, as the two companies will be the first to offer an end-to-end connection between Turkey and Scandinavia, combining Rail Cargo Group connections between Turkey and Romania, and Romania and Germany, with Samskip’s network from Duisburg to various destinations in Scandinavia. The new offer to the market comes in high frequency, in very competitive transit times and at attractive price levels”, says Max Kindler, Business Unit Manager Rail Cargo Group Intermodal.
According to Samskip and the Rail Cargo Group the new multimodal freight service will offer competitive transit times compared to road, allowing shippers to transport cargo from Curtici to Stockholm within 96 hours.
The initially scheduled four round trips per week offer customers a more attractive alternative to road haulage. Samskip and RCO envisage ramping up frequency to five roundtrips later in the year. The new route from Curtici extends the network of Rail Cargo Operator in Central and Eastern Europe, connecting Sweden and Denmark to Italy and Turkey.
Samskip is offering pan-European, environmentally friendly transport combining rail, shortsea, road and inland waterways. Highly frequent services are connecting destinations in Europe, the Baltic States, Russia and Central Asia by Door-to-Door and Quay-to-Quay services using own railcars, containers (including ISO containers and 45ft units), trucks and trailers.
