With this solution, the products of Hungarian factories reach their Western European markets safely and in an environment-friendly way, without utilising drivers, while making almost the same transport time possible as road transport.
The traction of the trains is organised with modern locomotives of Rail Cargo Hungaria which, in the course of braking, convert the train’s kinetic energy into electricity. On the Rail Cargo Terminal - BILK the trailers are lifted on the wagons by cranes and after completing their 1200 km long journey, in the rail logistics terminal in Neuss they are placed back on the road. From here the trailers reach their desired destination conventionally on the road. With this solution, Ekol Kft. was the first in Hungary to realise the planned, scheduled transport in Hungary combining the modalities road and rail, and hence reducing the greenhouse gas emissions by hundred thousand tons.
László Mosóczi, State Secretary for transport policy highlighted on the event that the government strives for increasing the competitiveness of rail freight in comparison with road transport, as the latter burdens the environment – with regards to consignment units –with 21 times more CO2 than rail freight. As a reminder, he also mentioned that the European Union aims to increase rail freight's share of the modal split to 30% by 2030. Hungary, with its approximate 20% rail freight share occupies an average position within the European ranking, but significant developments are planned in the next decade in order to achieve the goal. According to expert estimate, the more effective cooperation of rail, water and road transport would unburden the Hungarian road transport sector of fifty thousand trucks. The cooperation between Ekol and RCH marks an important progress in the field of combined transport.
Ákos Kovács, Managing Director of Ekol Kft. stated that more and more large companies of the Hungarian manufacturing industry realise the advantages of the combination of road and rail freight transport. To fulfil the demands, the company acquired 150 craneable trailers and established capacities in Germany. Almost 75% of the transports in the direction of the Ruhr area, France, the Netherlands and Belgium are handled this way. Starting from this year, Ekol organises the majority of their transports from the Rail Cargo Terminal - BILK to Turkey by intermodal means. In 2018, 28% of its full revenue was comprised by combined traffic.
Imre Kovács, Member of the Board of the Rail Cargo Group, Chairman of the Board of Rail Cargo Hungaria stated on the event that the subsidiaries of the Rail Cargo Group work together in order to successfully fulfil this transport assignment. Loading takes place on the Rail Cargo Terminal - BILK, the trains are handled by Rail Cargo Hungaria and organised by Rail Cargo Operator. By transporting 33 million tons a year, RCH is the market leading rail freight company in Hungary – 80% of its transports are handled in an international relation. The unaccompanied trailer transports represent only 6% within the intermodal segment of RCH, but their percentage is perceptibly increasing. Eco-conscious and environmentally-friendly aspects play an increasingly important role for clients while they also consider the crowdedness of the roads and the cost-effective and safety requirements as well. These point to the advantages of combining the modalities road and rail. Imre Kovács highlighted that environmental awareness is the fundamental value of the company and as such, during its everyday activities it pays particular attention to minimising environmental contamination and noise pollution.