Intermodal connection between Turkey and the EU launched via the port of Chornomorsk

Polish carrier Laude Smart has launched an intermodal connection with Turkey via the port of Chornomorsk.

Laude Smart Intermodal has opened a new connection between Turkey and the EU via Ukraine, using Chornomorsk as a key transit link. This is reported by Nakolei.

This is one of the first projects that directly connects Turkish ports with the Ukrainian and Polish railway networks.

The company’s first train, consisting of 50 specialized 20-foot Laude containers, departed from the port of Chornomorsk on November 5, 2025. The carrier’s partners were the companies of the Ukrzaliznytsia group, which provided the Ukrainian section of the route.

According to Marcin Witczak, CEO of Laude Smart Intermodal, the new route reduces the time for delivering cargo from the Turkish port of Aliaga (Izmir region) to the Polish terminal in Zamość to 10 days. This is twice as fast as traditional land routes through Bulgaria or Romania.

“We have created a working alternative to road and sea transportation. One train from the port of Chornomorsk can transport twice as much weight as a similar train from Turkey or Romania. This solution reduces logistics costs, shortens transit time and increases the efficiency of international trade,” Vitchak emphasized.

The Laude Smart Intermodal project became the first stage of forming permanent routes between the EU, Ukraine, the Caucasus and Central Asia – in particular, to Georgia and Azerbaijan. Such a direction opens up additional opportunities for Ukrainian and Polish exporters interested in entering the markets of the Middle East and Asia.

Experts emphasize that Turkey remains one of Ukraine’s key trading partners, and strengthening logistics ties will contribute to the development of the Trans-Caspian international transport route, which connects Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Laude Smart Intermodal already has regular intermodal flights between Poland, Germany and the ports of the Benelux countries, and the new connection via Chornomorsk lays the foundation for expanding the network of transit routes with the involvement of Ukrainian infrastructure.

 USM previously wrote that a subsidiary of UZ is launching a route between Ukrainian cities and the Polish port of Gdansk.