Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG’s (HHLA) subsidiary Metrans is offering new rail connections between the Baltic Sea, Central Europe and Turkey, according to HHLA's release. As another terminal in the northern hemisphere, Gdansk is now served by Metrans trains. In addition, in the far southeast, already a few kilometres into Asia, the Halkali Terminal close to Istanbul was connected with the Metrans Network. Therefore, the complete rail network is now stretching from Gdansk, Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Wilhelmshaven and Rotterdam in northern Europe to Koper, Trieste, Piraeus and Istanbul in the south.
The new connection with Turkey was made possible by a cooperation with the Turkish logistic provider Omsan Logistics. The first train with containers left the Metrans Hub Terminal Dunajska Streda (Slovakia) on the 3rd of September in direction to Istanbul terminal Halkali. In the beginning, two round trip weekly train connections are planned.
More than other rail services, the connection with Turkey with its long rail distance contributes to the reduction of road traffic and underlines HHLA’s commitment to sustainability. Together with Omsan Logistics, it is a chance to reduce the carbon footprint on this important relation. As an inhouse logistics provider of OYAK group, they will support Metrans with their deep market knowledge.
In Poland, Metrans is closing a missing link on its European network map with a connection to the Baltic Sea. From 5th of September 2022, regular trains between the Czech Metrans terminal Ostrava and DCT container terminal in Gdansk are starting on a promising relation. Now the boxes of Metrans customers can cross Poland from the south to the north three times every week in each direction, with a stopover in Dabrowa Gornicza near Katowice.
Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) is one of Europe’s leading logistics companies. With a tight network of seaport terminals in Hamburg, Odessa, Tallinn and Trieste, excellent hinterland connections and well-connected intermodal hubs in Central and Eastern Europe, HHLA represents a logistics and digital hub along the transport flows of the future.