METRANS’ new rail links connecting its HUB terminal in Budapest with the port of Rijeka, Croatia and Indija, Serbia, have been activated. The connection with Rijeka commenced earlier in June, while the one with Indija received its second train on 25 June. Both links will become regular in the company’s timetable.

With Rijeka’s addition, METRANS now serves all three major Adriatic ports, including the ports of Koper and Trieste. As for Indija, the terminal in northern Serbia was taken over by METRANS in late March after acquiring the majority of shares of Adria Rail, the company previously operating the terminal. This is the first terminal operated by METRANS in Serbia.

An interesting feature of the three services is that they create a triangular network between Serbia, Croatia and Hungary. That is because apart from Rijeka-Indija linking to Budapest, they will also have a regular service running between them. Consequently, cargo from Indija can transit directly to Rijeka without crossing through Budapest and vice versa. Indija can also receive trains from Koper upon customer request.

More terminals in Southern Hungary

When it comes to Hungary, the company is also working on the construction of two new terminals. One of them will be located in Szeged, near the borders with Romania and Serbia and is expected to start operations in 2025. One will be in Zalaegerszeg, near the Hungarian borders with Austria and Slovenia, for which construction has already started in 2021. This terminal is expected to be up and running within 2023, and METRANS will invest roughly 40 million euros in the project.

With these two additions, the company will be able to soon rely on three facilities in Hungary since it already operates one in Budapest. “Countries in Southeastern Europe are experiencing dynamic growth. Therefore, new logistics solutions are required”, METRANS CEO Peter Kiss commented.