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Ocean Rail Logistics S.A., member of the COSCO SHIPPING group, is buying a stake around 15% in Rail Cargo Terminal – BILK Zrt., a member of Rail Cargo Group (RCG) in Budapest.
The acquisition contract was signed by the parties in the presence of László Mosóczi, State Secretary for Transport Policy and Duan Jielong, Chinese Ambassador to Hungary.
In his speech underlining the importance of the contract László Mosóczi State Secretary for Transport Policy highlighted: “It is a primary intention of the Hungarian government to make Hungary capable of turning the opportunities arising from its geographical position into concrete advantages by improving the transportation network and the logistics services.” He pointed out that the government aims on strengthening the country’s transit role by all means, especially regarding the increasing freight transport between the Far East and Europe. He also added that due to the continuous improvement of the rail infrastructure in Hungary and Central Europe the rail logistics companies transporting goods between China and Europe – like Rail Cargo Group and Ocean Rail Logistics – are able to provide a more attractive range of services.
Following the signature of the contract, Thomas Kargl, Member of the Board of Rail Cargo Austria AG pointed out that the agreement is an important milestone in the Eurasian strategy of Rail Cargo Group. He also stated as a reminder that the two companies are working together for years now on establishing a strategic cooperation based on mutual advantages. The benefits are guaranteed by the know-how and experience of the terminal operator in Budapest and by the skills and competences of the international logistics company connecting European ports with the industrial centres of Eurasia. All customers of RCT - BILK will profit from the increase of efficiency – highlighted Thomas Kargl.
Ocean Rail Logistics S.A., a fast-growing intermodal operator has been an important customer of the terminal for several years and for the long term, shall contribute to improving the efficiency of it with the terminal operation experience from its Group company. RCG remains the majority owner of the company, which will continue to do business with all of its existing customers unchanged, and will further on welcome new customers to the major logistics hub in the CEE region. A closer relationship between RCG and Ocean Rail Logistics S.A. will bring benefits to both parties as Ocean Rail Logistics S.A. has high distribution needs in CEE to which RCG can provide ideal logistics solutions due to its international network covering 18 countries.
Rail Cargo Terminal - BILK – Hub for European strategic combined traffic
Rail Cargo Terminal - BILK Zrt. is the leading combined transport terminal of Hungary. The main activity of the terminal operating on the territory of BILK (Budapesti Intermodális Logisztikai Központ – Intermodal Logistics Centre in Budapest) is the handling of combined transport consignments, namely the transhipment from rail to road and vice-versa. The terminal is located at a 22.3-hectare area with seven, 750-meter long and two 250-meter long loading tracks and one 50-meter long havaria track. Two gantry cranes and nine reachstackers (6 for loaded and 3 for empty containers) together with 2 terminal tractors and 1 terminal semi-trailer move the consignments of combined transport. 72 electrical connectors are provided for the handling of refrigerated containers. Furthermore, there are two certified weighbridges for all kinds of weighing services. Regarding the combined rail transport network, the Rail Cargo Terminal - BILK Zrt. provides direct connection to the significant European ports (Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Koper, Rijeka, Piraeus, Halkali) and terminals (Neuss, Duisburg, Curtici, Ploiesti) with regular container trains handled by its cooperating railway operator partners. Besides the regular container block trains, they also handle irregular block trains and combined wagonload consignments on rail.