This eco-friendly mode of transport enables a significant reduction in emissions and contributes also to safety and efficiency of logistics processes by relieving the road network.
Forest management has special logistical needs. Harvested timber lies often scattered, in small quantities at the loading points. The most efficient solution for transporting wood is offered by one of the most complex branches of the rail freight transport, the single wagonload transport. This solution enables a single wagon to be delivered to its destination, with the flexibility to adapt to the needs of forestry companies as far as possible.
The ecological benefits of rail freight transport are unquestionable. Transporting timber by rail produces one tenth of the emissions compared to the road transport, thus making a significant contribution to cleaner forest air and climate protection goals.
In the last 5 years, trains of Rail cargo Hungaria forwarded over half a million tons of round timber by single wagonload traffic to Hungarian and foreign destinations annually. Thanks to this, Hungarian forestry companies and Rail Cargo Group relieved the road network of around 20,000 lorries per year and the forests of 13.5 thousand tons of CO2.
State aid system of single wagonload transport introduced in 2021 paved the path for the long-term preservation of the competitiveness of Hungarian timber, enhanced forestry companies’ involvement in international trade and protected thousands of jobs. This state aid facilitated a partial shift of timber transport from road to rail, and it is beneficial both, in ecologic and in economic terms.
A close cooperation between forestry and rail freight transport is essential to preserve our natural resources and sustain economic growth.