East-West Gate has received its first CMA CGM container train at Fényeslitke, Hungary, as the inland terminal expands its role in maritime logistics.
Announced 20 October, the arrival comes after the introduction of Maersk’s container depot and dry port services earlier this year. EWG Group said other major ocean carriers were also showing interest in the region. The terminal began trial operations in early 2022. Its original business model centred on Belt and Road Initiative rail freight between China and Central and Eastern Europe, routed through Ukraine.
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Disruption to rail freight routes through Ukraine left that intended transit corridor effectively unavailable, requiring EWG Group to find alternative markets and reshape the terminal’s role in European supply chains.
The group now identifies two sources of demand: container imports for eastern Hungary’s growing electromobility and battery industries, and interest in containerised agricultural exports from Ukraine.
According to EWG, industrial growth in eastern Hungary is generating substantial inbound container volumes. Comparatively limited exports, however, are increasing equipment imbalances and pressure on the cost of repositioning empty containers.
Changes to Ukraine’s established agricultural export routes have encouraged interest in using containers for grain and other agricultural commodities traditionally transported in bulk.
East-West Gate sits where Ukraine’s broad-gauge railway network meets Europe’s standard-gauge system. EWG said it was developing technological solutions to bring conventionally transported commodities into containerised supply chains and connect these different freight systems.
Alongside this work, the group coordinates the requirements of shipping lines, industrial shippers, agricultural exporters and freight forwarders. It aims to connect customers and cargo flows that have generally operated separately.
EWG intends to build closer partnerships with international shipping lines and other industry participants, with Fényeslitke serving as a connection point for maritime logistics, continental intermodal services and conventional rail freight.
The group said the terminal’s future no longer depended on the reopening of traditional Eurasian freight corridors, whose restoration remains uncertain.
Established in early 2022, EWG Group comprises the terminal business, railway undertaking and intermodal operator EWG Rail Plc, and EWG Customs Agency Plc.
The East-West Gate facility covers 850,000 square metres in north-eastern Hungary, near the Ukrainian border. EWG Rail operates 12 locomotives and more than 300 wagons, while the customs agency handles clearance and brokerage services.
Together, the three businesses provide terminal handling, rail transport and customs services as the group develops its activities beyond the transit traffic envisaged when East-West Gate was conceived.