TRIESTE – The Port of Rijeka has taken another step forward in the development of its automotive traffic. Following the arrival in recent months of the first train carrying imported vehicles, the first rail shipment destined for export has departed, thus completing a two-way intermodal connection between the Croatian port and the European hinterland.
The first outbound train was organized by Emil Frey Logistics (EFL) in collaboration with Luka Rijeka, Stellantis, and Bertani Trasporti. The train is carrying 80 vehicles bound for Kolín, in the Czech Republic. The Bertani railcars, which arrived in Rijeka for the first time from Gliwice with a shipment of imported vehicles, are now departing loaded with vehicles for export, completing a full logistics flow via sea and rail.
The new train is part of the initiative launched in 2025 with the return of Ro-Ro ships to Rijeka after more than twenty years of absence. The relaunch began with the arrival of the Ulusoy 5, which unloaded approximately 400 Stellantis vehicles from Spain, followed by additional calls that consolidated the new automotive traffic. In the fall, the first export shipments by sea also began, with the loading of cars manufactured at plants in Central Europe and destined primarily for the Turkish market.
In recent months, the project has continued to grow. In May , the port welcomed the Abu Samrah, the largest Ro-Ro ship ever to call at Rijeka’s new automotive terminal, carrying 682 vehicles destined for the markets of Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, confirming the port’s growing role as a regional logistics hub.
According to Emil Frey Logistics, the departure of the first export train represents not only a new rail shipment but also the start of a new phase in the development of automotive logistics through the Port of Rijeka, based on increasingly integrated intermodal connections between road, rail, and sea.
