Rail subsidiary Metrans to expand network through investment in Hungary
The HHLA intermodal company Metrans is building another rail terminal in Hungary in order to expand its transport services along the Adriatic Corridor and to-wards Southern and South-Eastern Europe, according to the company's release. A corresponding agreement has been signed between the subsidiary of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) and the Hungarian government. The hub terminal will be built in Zalaegerszeg, which is lo-cated on the transport axis to the Adriatic ports of Trieste, Koper and Rijeka.
The foundations will be laid in autumn of this year after the necessary legal framework has been created. The first section of the facility shall go into operation as early as 2023. The total investment of over € 40 million includes a grant from Hungarian institutions amounting to approx. € 11 million. Metrans expects that approximately 120 new jobs will be created in Zalaegerszeg.
The volume of containers transported by rail in Hungary has grown steadily in recent years. Metrans has benefited from this, especially through the hub terminal in Budapest which opened in 2017. In the first year, approximately 250,000 standard containers (TEU) were handled at the facility, and this in-creased to 425,000 TEU in 2019. Despite the restrictions in place as a result of the coronavirus pan-demic, the number of containers handled in 2020 has remained stable overall.
Regular block trains operated by Metrans connect Hungary, via Budapest and the Slovakian city of Du-najska Streda, to the North Sea ports of Hamburg, Bremerhaven and Rotterdam as well as to Duis-burg, and the Adriatic ports of Trieste and Koper. The entire European intermodal network of Metrans now comprises 17 of its own and other associated terminals. This network, and specifically the Buda-pest terminal, are also a key component in the New Silk Road.
