The intermodal transport company Metrans aims to expand its network and will invest US$47.1 million in the construction of a new hub terminal in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary.
The first foundations for the project were laid on 9 September, while the total cost for the hub construction includes support from the Hungarian government as well as from Hungarian institutions amounting to approximately US$13 million.
The first construction phase will be operational with the first trains to be handled at the facility in early 2023.
The location of Zalaegerszeg can meet the growing demand for transloading and distribution of containers arriving at ports of Koper, Rijeka, Trieste, and Pireus, according to the Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) intermodal subsidiary, Metrans.
“We see strategic potential in the Zalaegerszeg location for the expansion of transport services to the Adriatic and to Southern and South-Eastern Europe,” stated Angela Titzrath, Chairwoman of HHLA’s Executive Board, who added that “The new hub terminal will ensure that Hungary can strengthen its position as a logistics hub in the heart of Europe.”
From the new Hungarian terminal, regular train connections will be provided to the rest of Europe while the hub will mainly serve the south and south-eastern Europe as well as the Adriatic corridor, estimated to further increase the upward trend in container volumes transported by rail in Hungary during the recent years, according to a statement.
“There won’t just be a Metrans hub terminal in Zalaegerszeg – it will also be a central point for the entire European rail freight transport,” pointed out Peter Kiss, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Metrans Group.
