Rail Cargo Hungaria has prepared for the transport tasks of the harvest, which will last for over four months, by providing the necessary rail freight wagons and traction capacity. According to the plans, Hungary's market-leader rail freight company is expected to transport 450,000 tonnes of crops to the sugar factory from almost 40 dispatch stations by the end of January 2025.
50% by rail
RCH transports nearly 50% of all harvested crops by rail, further reducing the share of road transport compared to last year, reducing thereby truck pollution and road congestion. Due to the experience of a good harvest in 2023, Hungarian farmers have sown 14,000 hectares of sugar beet for the factory, on a similar area as last year. Good weather that lasted until the end of June promised high average yields, but the extremely dry summer significantly reduced the yields of almost all crops. Also in respect of sugar beet, which was estimated to produce 56–60 tonnes on average per hectare. The sugar content of the crop is expected to be average.
25 sugar beet trains per week
The sugar beet is transported by RCH’s fleet of 440 Ea wagons and the vehicles are available exclusively to serve this traffic. On average, a sugar beet train consists of 25 –28 wagons and transports 1 300 tonnes of crop. During the planned 130–135 days of the campaign, the company's trains will run over 150,000 kilometres and will transport 24–25 beet trains on average per week on the Hungarian rail network.
Coordinated logistics
Rail track renewal works carried out on the railway infrastructure is making transport difficult, especially as the product has to be transported from all over the country, often up to 450 kilometres away. The campaign requires a high level of logistic organisation and cooperation between the specialists of Rail Cargo Hungaria and the factory.