International cooperation

Under the leadership of the Thuringian Ministry of Infrastructure and Agriculture, a 12-party project consortium – which includes besides other partners from Austria, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia and Italy our company Rail Cargo Hungaria as well – was formed to successfully participate in the Interreg Central Europe Programme Directorate's tender for the development of the Central European freight transport network, and thus to start project implementation from 1 February 2023.

The focus of the three-year project is on improving the accessibility of the main transport corridors, advancing regional development and promoting green transport in rural and peripheral regions.
In order to reduce CO2 emissions, more goods should be transported by rail. Currently, however, most goods in Central Europe are still transported by means of road transport, especially as deficiencies in the railway infrastructure affect the competitiveness of rail. Rail4Regions project supports transport planners in integrating regional railway lines into European freight transport networks. The partners develop solutions for the optimisation of regional railway lines and junctions and develop action plans to promote the application of their proposals in regional development programmes.

Three years, three work packages

Nowadays, the transport distances to the nearest rail freight junctions are too long for most companies, and consequently many goods that would actually be suitable for transport by rail are forwarded by road.  For this reason, Rail4Regions partners will work together during the three years of cooperation on solutions for transport and spatial planners to integrate regional rail routes into freight transport. Improving access to and the economic feasibility of rail freight transport contributes to the implementation of the European Green Deal objectives in the transport segment.
While previous analyses provide sufficient information on the general state of rail freight and its bottlenecks that hinder the substantial shift of freight transport to rail, little is known about the individual cases and consequently how spatial developers and transport planners could act at the local and regional level. The aim of the first action within the project is therefore to collect individual cases at the micro level (isolated industrial sites) using common approaches. These will be jointly processed and analysed to produce the White Paper on accessibility of freight transport in rural areas.

The task of the next project phase is then to develop innovative solutions for increasing the capacity of regional railway infrastructure and loading points. The aim is to raise awareness among the authorities and public institutions responsible for transport and spatial planning, as well as the owners and operators of railway infrastructure, for solutions to increase rail freight traffic in Central Europe. Within the framework of four transnational working groups working in parallel, the topics of accessibility of loading points, the issue of branch lines, the problem area of industrial tracks, and maintaining single-wagonload transport, respectively, are being addressed. On the latter topic, our company will be given an important leadership role: under Rail Cargo Hungaria’s leadership, the state support system for single-wagonload transport, or the other possibilities and approaches for promoting rail freight transport, will be presented – among other things through a short "film contribution".

The solutions developed by the working groups will be presented to the stakeholders in the third project phase in order to set up and implement pilot projects based on the jointly developed results and solutions. The project will be completed in 2026 within the framework of a large-scale international conference.

The Rail4Regions project has ended successfully – with Rail Cargo Hungaria’s active involvement

In January 2026, the Rail4Regions project, which started on February 1, 2023, ended with a closing conference in Erfurt. For three years, the project endeavoured to improve the accessibility and competitiveness of regional rail freight transport in Central Europe.  Rail Cargo Hungaria was an active and essential player in the international partnership spanning eight countries throughout the entire duration of the project.  The project was supported by the Interreg Central Europe Program, with the Thuringian Ministry of Infrastructure and Agriculture as the lead partner.

The aim of the project: shifting more goods to rail
The overall objective of the Rail4Regions project was to promote an increase in the share of rail freight, particularly in rural and peripheral areas.  In the Central European region, road transport still dominates today, partly due to shortcomings in infrastructure. The project was implemented through the cooperation of 11 partners, who worked on developing solutions to support the improvement of industrial sidings, branch lines, loading facilities and single-wagonload transport.  
In the context of Rail4Regions, the partners assessed the possibilities of regional railway infrastructure using a common methodology, based on which they then developed recommendations and prepared action plans for each participating country or region.

Rail Cargo Hungaria’s role and results
Within the project, RCH, with a focus on the Southern Great Plain region, examined the current status and utilisation of industrial sidings, the barriers faced by siding users, and the challenges of reactivating sidings that are currently out of use. 
These analyses, together with case studies from the other participating countries, were summarised in a comprehensive White Paper, which highlights development opportunities for rail freight transport in the Central European region.

International working groups, joint solutions
Within the framework of the Rail4Regions project, several thematic working groups were formed to examine, individually:
•    the possibilities for reopening closed branch lines, 
•    the role and development of industrial sidings, 
•    the issues related to loading facilities, and
•    the future of single wagonload transport, which overarches the above. 
The working group focusing on single wagonload transport was led by Rail Cargo Hungaria, actively contributing to international professional dialogue and to the development of joint recommendations. Based on a detailed analysis of the current situation, concrete development and support recommendations were formulated in each thematic area that provide practical guidance for strengthening rail freight transport at the regional level.

Hungarian action plan: unified industrial siding database and prioritisation
In the final phase of the project, all partners prepared national or regional action plans using the jointly developed recommendations.  Rail Cargo Hungaria once again focused on industrial sidings.  With the involvement of the ministry responsible for transport, infrastructure managers, and Hungrail, a plan was developed aimed at creating a unified industrial siding database and at developing a methodology for prioritising industrial sidings according to their importance. This approach may enable more efficient investment and development decisions in the long term.

Three years of active professional work and knowledge sharing
Over the three-year period, Rail Cargo Hungaria and the project partners regularly reported on the interim results.  As a part of this process:
•    a total of 12 project newsletters were published,
•    the completed analyses and proposed solutions were presented at international webinars,
•    workshops were held in all participating countries with the involvement of stakeholders and representatives of the rail sector, and
•    presentations related to the Rail4Regions project were delivered at several professional conferences.

The project has concluded – but the work continues
Although the Rail4Regions project has officially come to an end, the work initiated within its framework is far from finished.  The implementation of the action plans is now commencing, with a focus on delivering concrete developments. 
During the implementation phase, responsibility will gradually shift to the competent authorities, decision-makers and infrastructure managers.  However, Rail Cargo Hungaria will remain an active stakeholder, supporting implementation through professional expertise, administrative follow-up of progress, and the monitoring of processes.
This continued cooperation ensures that the results of Rail4Regions do not survive merely in documents, but are translated into real, tangible developments in the field of rail freight transport. 
The Rail4Regions project has demonstrated that the development and more effective utilisation of regional rail infrastructure are key to enhancing the competitiveness of rail freight transport.  For Rail Cargo Hungaria, the project has delivered not only valuable professional experience, but also tools and recommendations that contribute to the wider adoption of sustainable, green logistics solutions in the long term.