COBANTUR BOLTAS with connection between Munich and Halkali

The Turkish-German logistics group COBANTUR BOLTAS is expanding its service offerings to include intermodal rail transport. A Company Intermodal train, managed by Kombiverkehr KG, started its first journey from Munich to the Turkish Halkali on January 21 on behalf of the freight forwarding company.

(Allersberg/Munich) The traction of the COBANTUR BOLTAS train is provided by DB Cargo AG on behalf of Kombiverkehr along the continuous route. The train will initially operate once a week in both directions. The second round trip is already in preparation.

The train will cover a distance of approximately 2,000 kilometers and cross six national borders – without the need to transship the transport containers. Another advantage: Compared to continuous road freight transport, the new Company Intermodal train saves almost 80 tons of CO2 per round trip, which corresponds to a reduction in emissions of 70 percent.

“We have been combining the train connection over the Alps with the ferry in Trieste on the Turkey-Bavaria route for years – and we will continue to do so,” says Iskender Cobanoglu, Managing Director at Boltas – the German part of the logistics group. The new Company Intermodal train complements this offering: Customers of the COBANTUR BOLTAS group can now choose which of the two transport routes is better for them. Depending on the destination in Turkey, the transit time, or for example the transport of special hazardous goods, the land route, which is handled 100 percent by rail, may be the more suitable solution. “This clearly sends a message in favor of rail, we are decoupling ourselves to a good extent from the shortage of truck drivers and are traveling in a more climate-friendly manner,” says Cobanoglu.

Intensive negotiations with all partners

COBANTUR BOLTAS initiated the intermodal train with the help of Kombiverkehr KG. Both companies have been successfully working together for years – and have now put a Company freight train on the rails for COBANTUR BOLTAS for the first time. “To make this ambitious project possible, we conducted intensive negotiations with traction providers, terminals, and authorities,” says Alexander Ochs, Managing Director of the Frankfurt operator. “It is all the more gratifying that today, here at the DUSS terminal in Munich-Riem, we are sending the first train on its journey together with our customer and in the presence of the Bavarian State Ministry for Housing, Construction and Transport.” Kombiverkehr is responsible for the leasing of cars and replacement cars, terminal services, round-the-clock train monitoring, and order management. “An efficient complete package,” says Ochs.

Photo: © Cobantur Boltas / Caption: (from left): Alexander Ochs, Managing Director of Kombiverkehr KG, Karl Schumacher, Head of the Department of Networked Mobility and Public Transport at the Bavarian State Ministry for Housing, Construction and Transport, Iskender Cobanoglu, Managing Director of Boltas, Andreas Schulz, Managing Director at DUSS Deutsche Umschlaggesellschaft Schiene Straße mbH, and Marijo Pesic, Head of East and Southeast European Transport at Kombiverkehr KG, send off the first Company Train for COBANTUR BOLTAS towards Halkali.