Hungarian terminal on the border with Ukraine received the first CMA CGM train

Earlier, the site was used for container depot and dry port services from Maersk.

The East-West Gate intermodal terminal in Feneslitka near the Hungarian-Ukrainian border has received the first CMA CGM container train. This was announced by the operator East-West Intermodal Logistics.

Earlier this year, Maersk container depot and dry port services were used there – that is, some of the functions usually performed in seaports were transferred to the inland terminal.

Initially, the terminal was created for rail transportation between China and Central and Eastern Europe. Logistics was supposed to pass through the territory of Ukraine within the framework of the One Belt, One Road initiative. The facility began trial operation in early 2022, when this transit corridor effectively ceased to operate due to the Russian invasion.

The current model is based on an imbalance in cargo flows. The production of electric vehicles and batteries in eastern Hungary generates significant volumes of incoming containers, while exports from the region are small. Because of this, empty containers accumulate, and their return costs money.

At the same time, the war has disrupted traditional routes for Ukrainian agricultural exports, and grain, which was previously transported in bulk, is increasingly being transported in containers.

Reference. EWG Group, established in early 2022, unites three companies: the East-West Gate terminal, the railway carrier EWG Rail with a fleet of 11 locomotives and over 300 wagons, as well as the customs operator EWG Customs Agency.

The terminal itself stands at the junction of the Ukrainian broad-gauge and European standard railway networks. Its area is 850 thousand sq. m, and the capacity is up to 1 million TEU per year.

USM also previously wrote that HHLA does not plan to reduce employees at the container terminal in Odesa.