A direct link established by ÖBB Rail Cargo Group (RCG) between Belgrade and Rijeka will link the Serbian rail network to the Adriatic.

The new connection will allow goods coming into the Adriatic Gate Container Terminal (AGCT) in Rijeka, Croatia, to move directly onto the Serbian railway network.

AGCT is Croatia’s largest harbour and handles more than 70 per cent of freight transport into and out of Serbia.

The latest TransFER route joins similar connections opened by the Rail Cargo Group recently, including the link between Krusevac–Budapest–Duisburg, which provides direct freight services from the Serbian manufacturing centre, through Hungary and into Germany.

TransFER Belgrade–Rijeka uses the RCG’s own locomotives and rolling stock.

With a capacity of 76 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) per train, each carrying containers ranging from 20- to 45- feet, TransFER Belgrade–Rijeka aims to support Serbia’s growing economy by providing regular and quicker transport of goods to and from the country.

Carrying such a significant amount of freight by rail will also produce far fewer CO2 emissions than if it was transported by road.

There will be one to two round trips between Belgrade and Rijeka each week, with journeys taking up to 24 hours.

Part of ÖBB, the Austrian railway operator, the RCG has been developing its activity in Serbia in recent years.

It set up a carrier company in Belgrade in 2023 and has established a partnership with a major Western Balkan shipping organisation, Transfera d.o.o, in 2024 to create a railway shipping company.

Every year, the RCG moves more than 78 million net tonnes of freight across Europe and further afield into Asia, carried on 419,000 trains.

TransFER Belgrade–Rijeka is, therefore, the latest part of a huge, continent-wide network.