Lithuanian Railways (Lietuvos Geležinkeliai) has signed a cooperation agreement with Hamburg seaport and freight forwarding company Metrans to enable intermodal cargo transport to the largest German port. This should boost traffic on the North Sea Baltic corridor and once complete, on the Rail Baltica.

The North Sea Baltic corridor connects the Baltic states with ports of the North Sea, situated in Northern Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Rail Baltica is part of this corridor, creating a European standard gauge railway connecting Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to Poland. From Poland, the traditional east-west corridor connects cities as Warsaw, Lodz, Poznań to the German hubs as Berlin, and Hamburg.

Important partner

Hamburg seaport, according to Egidijus Lazauskas, head of the Freight Transportation Directorate of Lithuanian Railways, is an attractive centre for logistics companies because it guarantees connection to the whole of Europe.

“We are constantly developing new business development opportunities abroad, and Germany is one of our most important foreign markets where we see great potential. We hope that cooperation with Hamburg port and Metrans will open up new opportunities for Lithuanian business, which is looking for a fast, efficient and environmentally friendly transportation of freight by the east-west transport corridor,” said Lazauskas.

Growth expectations

Lithuanian Railways recently approved a long-term strategy until 2030. The company intends to enter the top-5 of largest railway carriers in Europe. To reach this goal, Lithuanian Railways plans tp increase its freight traffic from 53 to 70 million tonnes per year.

“Lithuania is a constantly growing partner for Hamburg port. Relationships based on partnership are very important to us,” said Axel Mattern, CEO of Port of Hamburg Marketing. The port of Hamburg is the largest seaport in Germany and one of the most important freight ones in Europe. It handles cargo for the North Sea and the Baltic region. Container traffic in Hamburg is 15 million TEU per year. Every day the port processes 220 freight trains. Meanwhile, Metrans manages 14 freight terminals in Europe.