TRIESTE – The first train from Railport Kartepe (Turkey) has arrived in Europe, operated by Metrans.
There is also a Trieste angle to the launch of the Turkish intermodal terminal, created through a partnership between Arkas Holding and duisport (which owns 15% of Interporto Trieste). The first train departed on 21 November 2025 and successfully reached Dunajská Streda (Slovakia) on 26 November. The service was operated by Metrans, HHLA’s rail operator, which manages the logistics platform at the port of Trieste through HHLA PLT Italy.
The link between Turkey and Europe thus takes a concrete step forward with its first operational run. Bound for Slovakia, the train left the new interporto at Kartepe, in Kocaeli province, and reached its destination after 4 days and 11 hours of travel. Metrans sees it as a key building block in the development of a more stable Euro-Asian corridor, able to provide a fast and regular service with dedicated equipment and first- and last-mile solutions already active at the Turkish terminal.
Railport is Turkey’s first private intermodal terminal. The infrastructure covers more than 265,000 square metres and is designed to handle containerised cargo, general cargo, trailers and vehicles. Once fully operational, the planned capacity is 360,000 TEU, 1.5 million tonnes of general cargo, more than 120,000 vehicles and over 120,000 trailers per year. The interporto features large storage areas, dedicated warehouses, internal rail connections, inspection and scanning zones, truck parking and spaces for logistics and customs operations.
The operating company is Railport Terminal Isletmeleri, owned 66.7% by Arkas Holding and 33.3% by duisport. Arkas is one of Turkey’s leading logistics players, active in maritime transport, distribution and intermodal services. Duisport brings to the project the know-how developed at Europe’s largest intermodal hub, with the aim of integrating the new Turkish terminal into continental networks.
Geographically, Railport is in a strategic location, close to the industrial areas of the Gulf of Izmit and with easy access to the region’s ports. It is directly connected to the national rail network and, in the medium term, aims to capture flows from the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars corridor, expanding connections to and from Central Asia and the Caucasus. The terminal has been designed to enable fast rail-road transfers and to offer handling services for mixed cargo types.
With the arrival of Metrans’ first train, the terminal moves beyond its opening phase and starts a regular connection to Central Europe. The project fits into a context of growing logistics cooperation between Turkey and Europe and opens up a new option for freight transport, with more reliable transit times and greater integration into Europe’s intermodal networks.
