The first direct container rail service connecting the northern Adriatic port of Rijeka and its container terminal at Brajdica with the Austrian town of Enns has been established on 11 November, the company Jadranska Vrata, which manages the Brajdica terminal, reported on Wednesday, nearly three weeks after the initial shipment.

“The cargo train will run to the container terminal in Enns every week, and the first train departed from Brajdica on 11 November. The container block train is managed by Maersk Line, while the railway services are provided by CD Cargo Adria,” the company said in a press release carried by the state news platform Hina.

The CEO of Jadranska Vrata, Emmanuel Papagiannakis, said that large Austrian clients can now be directly connected to Rijeka by rail, adding that this is a “valuable and reliable alternative route” to transport cargo towards markets in central Europe.

“With the cooperation of all partners, including Maersk, CD Cargo, and CTE Enns, we believe that the new service will be successful and attract more clients,” Papagiannakis was quoted as saying.

He added that, after introducing the very first direct container trains towards the Czech Republic in May, the new service towards Austria “further contributes to the growing network of regular weekly container block trains that already includes routes to hubs in Serbia, Hungary, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

“This gives increasing importance to Jadranska Vrata as a container port for the markets of Central and Southeastern Europe,” Papagiannakis added.