MSC Expands North-West Europe Rail Services with New MEDWAY Belgium Branch
MSC is pleased to announce the opening of a new branch of MEDWAY in Belgium, which commenced operations late last week. Falling under MSC’s inland logistics partner MEDLOG, the new rail enterprise will operate as a licensed freight rail operator in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and Austria.
Servicing clients shipping to and from the northwest of Europe, the new enterprise ensures the quality of MSC’s intermodal options in the region. From launch, the branch will operate daily connections between the port of Antwerp and four destinations in Germany: Neuss, Frankfurt, Germersheim, and Wörth Am Rhein. In the mid-term it will also connect the other major key ports in Northern Europe; Bremerhaven, Rotterdam, and Hamburg, with inland areas in central Europe.
The region is a critical trade area, with vital ports for global logistics and transport services, transporting a wide variety of goods. While the service remains open to all types, this service will mainly facilitate the movement of white goods, chemicals, automotive, and foodstuffs.
Salvatore Prudente, MEDLOG Executive Director, explains what a milestone this is for Medway and MEDLOG: “The new MEDWAY Belgium branch expands our rail freight operator footprint in Europe. Establishing rail services in the northwest of Europe enables us to guarantee links with our own assets, as well as expand our offerings to current clients.
We’re incredibly proud of the work our dedicated teams have done to get us to this point and look forwards to continuing to grow in the rail freight operations space.”
The rail transit branch launches with 4 electric interoperable locomotives currently in the fleet and more to be supplied at a later date. The locomotives are supplied by MEDWAY partner Alphatrains and railcars by VTG.
Connecting more ports in the European region with inland services is important for successful intermodal offerings and is an objective for the company’s growth in the future. Providing on-demand services to customers remains a key strategic goal, and MSC and its partners aim to expand and grow in ways that accomplish that task.
MEDWAY is currently a rail operator in Portugal, Spain, and Italy and owns rolling stock, operated by partners, in Turkey and India. MEDWAY runs 40,000+ trains yearly, covering over 7 million km, with a global fleet of 110 locomotives and 4,700+ railcars.
