Cargo transportation company LTG Cargo Polska is strengthening its position in Poland. The company has leased two locomotives for international operations, which will be used to increase the volume of intermodal freight transport from Kaunas Intermodal Terminal to the Netherlands.
LTG Cargo Polska plans to start transporting freight already at the end of January with two new locomotives and two additional wagon trainsets for transporting intermodal cargo by semi-trailers and containers.
An investment of up to €2 million is foreseen in 2022 to provide this service. In the coming years, the company expects to further expand its new rolling stock projects and to start transporting freight in new directions from Kaunas to Western Europe.
“The new locomotives will allow us to provide independent freight services abroad for the first time. We are planning and making the necessary investments, and the new locomotives are the first step towards becoming an international freight carrier, expanding our rail freight operations in Poland, and at the same time contributing to the diversification and expansion of LTG Cargo strategy towards the West. We plan that this expansion of the train fleet will allow us to increase the number of Kaunas-Tilburg trips to 5 weekly trips in each direction,” says Eglė Šimė, manager of LTG Cargo.
“PESA Bydgoszcz” locomotive Gama Marathon is leased from Polish company “Rail Capital Partners”. The four-axle electric-diesel locomotive built in Poland will ensure sustainable freight transport on electrified lines and will support efficient shunting and unloading of locomotives on non-electrified lines at ports or on freight sidings. Meanwhile, a second “Siemens” locomotive, Eurosprinter, has been leased from the international company MRCE. It will be used for freight transport in Western European countries with different electrification systems.
“Due to the fragmented European rail system, for a long time the trains we manage could only go as far as the first border station. The new locomotives are certified for the Polish market and are operated by a strong team capable of working in Poland. The freight trains reaching the border from Kaunas will be transported by the “Gama Marathon” locomotive throughout entire Poland, and by the “Eurosprinter” locomotive along the remaining sections of the route in Germany and the Netherlands,” says E. Šimė.
Intermodal freight transportation services will continue to be offered to customers in Lithuania and the Netherlands, however, in the future it is expected to offer these services to customers in Poland as well. The trips carried out so far will continue to be organised in cooperation with “BKP Cargo”, the largest rail freight company in Poland.