ÖBB Rail Cargo Group (RCG), the freight transport division of Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), has extended its operations to Turkey by running freight services from Genk in Belgium and Munich in Germany to Curtici in Romania, from where it operates five trips a week to Tekirdag in Turkey.

One train a week operates between Munich and Curtici, whilst the frequency of services between Genk and Curtici is being increased to five times a week.

The use of non-crane able semi-trailers is also being trialled in a pilot project.

Curtici to Tekirdag

With the support of Pasifik Eurasia, Rail Cargo Group has been operating five round trips per week with its TransFER between Curtici and Tekirdag since February.

The service replaced three weekly round trips by road from Curtici to Istanbul.

The direct link to the port of Tekirdag provides the advantage that it is a port and a key transhipment point for traffic between Western Europe and Turkey via Curtici.

Munich to Curtici

The introduction by Rail Cargo Group of a TransFER freight service between Munich and Curtici makes it the first logistics company to provide a regular service from southern Germany to Curtici, and links in with the new connections between Curtici and Tekirdag.

Genk to Curtici

With five round trips per week by the TransFER service between Genk and Curtici, there has been a corresponding increase in connections between Belgium and Tekirdag.

Plans are now in place for non-craneable semi-trailers to be transported on these services, with the facility also being planned for the TransFER service between Budapest in Hungary and Neuss near Dusseldorf in Germany.

Budapest to Istanbul

The new services will be in addition to the existing four round trips per week TransFER service between Budapest and Istanbul in Turkey, and the one round trip per week TransFER service between Bratislava in Slovakia and Istanbul.

TransFER services

TransFER services have 60 connections that provide over 1,500 TransFER combinations over many individual routes.

The service carries across the entire Eurasian continent, from complete wagonloads and intermodal shipments to individual customised solutions.

It also has the facility to provide freight forwarding services, including transhipment, warehouse logistics, and customs services, depending on the place of departure and destination points.

Earlier this year, Rail Cargo Group extended its TransFER network with Rotterdam to enable direct connections to be made between Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Last December, ÖBB Rail Cargo Group was awarded a gold medal by the International rating platform EcoVaid for its corporate social responsibility for the third consecutive time.