Curtici | RailFreight.com

ÖBB RCG expands: “Particularly beneficial for chemical, steel, and paper industries”

Dennis van der Laan — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 12:42:14 +0000

The Austrian national rail freight operator ÖBB Rail Cargo Group (RCG) has launched new routes. The company strengthens its service offering between Austria, Germany and the Netherlands and adapts its intermodal offering to Romania.
RCG is introducing a new Duisburg-Rotterdam service, as well as a Salzburg-Offenbach connection. The company explains that this constitutes an expansion of its network for wagonload and container shipments.

The two new links run on fixed timetables. RCG also offers first and last mile services, forwarding services such as transshipment, warehousing and professional customs clearance. “Freight customers can easily and flexibly book conventional freight wagons or intermodal units such as containers or swap bodies onto the train connections”, the company writes.

Various industries benefit

“The further development of our TransFER connections shows how consistently we align our services with the needs of our customers”, says ÖBB Rail Cargo Group CCO Christoph Grasl. “With new direct and reliable connections, we are improving access to key logistics hubs and creating attractive conditions for the switch to rail.”

RCG explains that these services are particularly beneficial for the chemical, steel, and paper industries. “These sectors gain the most from the enhanced transportation options and simultaneously drive the demand for our services”, the operator says, while pointing out that rail services offer higher transport capacity and reliability than the road, especially for long distances.

The Duisburg-Rotterdam service offers a direct link, initially with three round trips per week, between the Rheinkamp logistics hub near Duisburg and the major terminals of the Port of Rotterdam (Waalhaven, Europoort, Botlek, Pernis, and Maasvlakte). By connecting to Duisburg, one of Europe’s most significant inland ports, the service allows for efficient onward rail transport to destinations in Europe, says RCG.

Image: © Rail Cargo Group

The Salzburg-Offenbach link runs twice weekly, connecting the Austrian railway hub to an important logistics and industrial center in the Rhine-Main area near Frankfurt am Main.

Image: © Rail Cargo Group

Romanian connection

RCG is also changing its Romania service offering. The previous connection between Genk (Belgium) and Curtici, on the border with Hungary, will now be a Liège–Curtici link and operate with seven weekly round trips. Liege offers strong connections to the North Sea ports of Rotterdam, Antwerp and Zeebrugge and serves as a powerful hub between seaports, industrial centres and inland markets, RCG explains.

At the same time, RCG is introducing a new Duisburg–Curtici connection with three weekly round trips. “This means that traffic to Curtici will now be consolidated via both Liège and Duisburg”, the operator says.

Hannibal to launch new Italy-Hungary-Romania connection

Marco Raimondi — Fri, 03 May 2024 09:06:12 +0000

Hannibal, the multimodal subsidiary of Contship, will launch a new rail freight service connecting Milan to Budapest and Curtici. The company expects to commence operations by the end of this year.
The service will connect the Rail Hub Melzo, east of Milan, with the BILK terminal in Budapest and the Arad terminal in Curtici. The plan entails two weekly journeys per direction, with a transit time of roughly 48 hours. “Eurogate Intermodal will handle traction in Hungary and Romania, and Oceanogate will manage the Italian route”, Hannibal explained.

Consolidating cargo flows from Türkiye

The main benefit of this initiative will concern traffic coming from Türkiye, as Andrea Spagnuolo, Contship’s Sales & Business Development Manager, pointed out. In other words, the Curtici terminal will become a hub for Turkish cargo destined for Italy. A somewhat similar initiative was launched in May 2023, with the start of a new connection between the Rail Hub Melzo and the port of Trieste. Just like the new Italy-Romania-Hungary link, this service aims to facilitate the entrance of Turkish cargo to Europe.

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RCG launches new connections to Germany and Turkey via Romania

Marco Raimondi — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 09:30:12 +0000

Austrian rail freight operator Rail Cargo Group recently launched two new connections from Munich, in southern Germany, and from Tekirdag, in northwestern Turkey. The centre of this initiative is Curtici, in western Romania, as the two new services are Munich-Curtici and Curtici-Tekirdag.
In other words, Curtici becomes the RCG gateway to connect Turkey and Germany. The company said that Tekirdag is “a key transshipment point for transit and the flow of traffic between Western Europe and Turkey”. More seamless connectivity to Turkey can now be expected also from Belgium. This is because, the frequency of the RCG service connecting the Romanian city with Genk, in Belgium, is also being increased from three to five roundtrips per week and is now open for non-cranable semi-trailers.

Improving the rail links between Europe and Turkey might also be fruitful for Eurasian transport along the Middle Corridor. For example, this month the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line, running through Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan, is expected to restart operations after a major upgrade. With the new connections and the already existing ones from Budapest and Bratislava to Istanbul, RCG seems to be willing to play an important role along this axis. This is especially true considering that the company also added destinations in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to its network.

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Arcese launches ‘triangular’ service to connect four countries

Marco Raimondi — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 04:05:13 +0000

Italian intermodal company Arcese has inaugurated a new rail freight service that will connect Italy, Austria, Germany, and Romania. The innovative aspect of this circular, or rather triangular, service is that it will connect four different markets, whereas traditional services only link two.
For its first phase, the service has one weekly roundtrip scheduled, but, as an Arcese spokesperson told RailFreight.com, the frequency will be doubled in the third quarter of 2023. The four destinations touched by this service are the Terminali Italia in Verona, the TSSU terminal in Hall, the Samskip Terminal in Duisburg, and the Trade Trans Terminal in Curtici. Most of the traction operations are carried out by TX Logistik, except for the sections in Romania and Hungary, entrusted to Hungarian company Gysev Cargo, as a spokesperson from TX Logistics specified.

As the Arcese spokesperson pointed out, the service is an example of modal shift from road to rail. It will be suitable for trailers and swap bodies and will involve “all sorts of goods, from automotive to e-commerce, general cargo, coils, and home appliances”, the spokesperson added. Below is the timetable for the new services.

Image: © Arcese

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TX Logistik will increase frequency on Instanbul-Cologne route

Marco Raimondi — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 05:07:51 +0000

TX Logistik, the European subsidiary of Mercitalia Logistics (Group FS), will increase the number of trips between Cologne and Instanbul. The Instanbul-Cologne service was launched in June. “One advantage is the transit time between Cologne and Istanbul, which averages nine days and ideally only seven”, said TX Logistik.
TX Logistik did not yet specify what the increase will be. The route for this service connects Germany and Turkey via Romania, more specifically Curtici, on the west of the country. The Cologne-Curtici service is operated directly by TX Logistik, which already operates seven weekly rotations on the route.

Image: © TX Logistik

The section between Curtici and the Halkali Terminal in Instanbul will be operated by a traction partner, not yet made public, with three weekly roundtrips. To have a better insight into the needs of the Turkish market, TX Logistik will be present at Logitrans Instanbul, Eurasia’s largest transport and logistics trade fair. Here, the company will present once again the NiKRASA system, which allows for the loading of non-craneable trailers on trains, in an attempt to attract more customers.

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Rail Cargo Group brings Benelux and Turkey closer with shorter transit times

Nikos Papatolios — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 09:25:15 +0000

Rail Cargo Group’s latest addition to its TransFER network is a connection between Genk in Belgium and Curtici in Romania. The new link offers a direct and regular link between one of Europe’s most significant economic centres and Europe’s fastest-growing transport hub for 2022. However, and most importantly, it provides direct access to Turkey by combining with the existing Curtici-Istanbul rail freight connection.
RCG’s new Genk-Curtici service will have an intermodal profile “for containers (20 to 45 feet), swap bodies and cranable semi-trailers including dangerous goods.” It will run three times per week, and its route will go through various European hubs. For instance, apart from the Benelux, the Genk-Curtici link will pass through the Ruhr area in Germany and other locations like Linz, Vienna and Budapest.

Shorter transit the key

The Curtici-Istanbul service has been in place since June 2021. It started as a project to connect Central Europe directly with Turkey, attempting to seize the transport momentum of the South-Eastern European country and use Budapest and Brno as the hubs to distribute cargo to European destinations.

Cargo from the Benelux used to find its way to Romania and Turkey by combining shorter and regional services with trains from Central Europe to Curtici and then Istanbul. Now, with the new dedicated solution, the Benelux market will have a direct gateway to Turkey with an effect on transit times that will reduce by a day, according to RCG.

Curtici and Romania

Turkey’s importance as a market and a Silk Road gateway for RCG has been analysed before. It is Curtici and Romania grasping the attention in this case. The Austria-based company explained how “Curtici is increasingly becoming a freight transport hub for local volumes from Romania and Turkey towards the Benelux and Ruhr regions.”

The Romanian town, right next to the border with Hungary, uses the Trade Trans Terminal to connect with other important European hubs. Apart from Brno, Budapest and Istanbul, the town also connects with Cologne, Duisburg and Herne in Germany. The service to and from Cologne is offered by TX Logistics, while LKW Walter is responsible for Duisburg and Herne.

But Romania as a whole has undoubtedly developed and transformed transport-wise from March 2022 onwards. The war in Ukraine and the race for alternative Eurasian routes put the Balkan country on the transport maps with a new reinforced and crucial position. Romania expects many rail-related investments, with companies like DP World building new terminals and rail infrastructure improved substantially.

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Curtici in Romania becomes key for transit to and from Turkey

Nikos Papatolios — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 10:49:29 +0000

The connection between Curtici in Romania and Istanbul will operate with two weekly roundtrips starting from this month. The service is offered by Rail Cargo Group and is part of the connection between Istanbul and central European destinations like Budapest and Brno. Trains operating in this route will station at the Halkalil terminal, which also offers opportunities for intercontinental transport.
The connection will have a transit time of 72 hours, linking two very competitive economic regions, as Rail Cargo Group underlines. Turkey’s emerging transport role has been mentioned many times. However, Curtici is also an essential component of the Romanian economy, making the connection between the two countries an “ideal logistic solution for the continental flow of goods”.

Curtici a key in South-East Europe

The Romanian town of Curtici, right next to the border with Hungary, uses the Trade Trans Terminal to connect with other important European hubs. Apart from Brno, Budapest and Istanbul, the town also connects with Cologne, Duisburg and Herne in Germany. The service to and from Cologne is offered by TX Logistics, while LKW Walter is responsible for Duisburg and Herne.

The town also has an industrial production site making it understandable why companies prefer it as an entry-exit point for the Romanian supply chain. The town’s terminal is also part of the Rail Freight Corridor 7 and a member of major European rail networks, such as Lineas’ Green Xpress. The latest development from the Rail Cargo Group confirms that Curtici is here to stay in South-Eastern Europe’s supply chain and become a linking point for continental rail transport.

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TX Logistik adds two weekly roundtrips between Cologne-Curtici

Nikos Papatolios — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 07:04:02 +0000

The Cologne-Curtici rail connection will depart daily starting from 10 May. The service, operated by TX Logistik, has been in place since 2018. It started with three weekly roundtrips, then it upgraded to five. According to the railway company, the latest development derived from the growing demand on both routes’ ends.
The service has a solid intermodal profile contributing to the transportation of semi-trailers and mega trailers. The train can carry up to 44 loading units per trip, transporting mainly car parts towards Curtici and consumer goods on its way back.

One of its potent characteristics is the use of the NiKRASA transhipment system that allows non-cranable semi-trailers to be loaded on trains. In this way, it saves considerable time during loading-unloading procedures and allows more cargo to move from road to rail.

Curtici acquires importance

The Romanian town of Curtici, right next to the border with Hungary, uses the Trade Trans Terminal to connect with other important European hubs. Apart from Cologne’s link, the city also connected with Duisburg and Herne in Germany in early March. LKW Walter was then responsible for launching a service to transport household and personal care products for the company Dalli.

The town also has an industrial production site making it understandable why companies prefer it as an entry-exit point for the Romanian supply chain. The towns terminal is also part of the Rail Freight Corridor 7 and member of major European rail networks, such as Lineas’ Green Xpress and Rail Cargo Group’s TransNet.

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LKW Walter puts Romanian products on rail