Lineas and PCC Intermodal will increase the frequency of their regular connection between Belgium and Poland. From 1 February, the Poland Xpress connecting Antwerp and Poznan travels five times per week. Currently, the service runs three times per week.

Lineas and PCC Intermodal started their partnership a year ago, and it was an immediate success. With services having started just before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the train proved to be a fast and reliable solution and alternative for border closures, traffic jams and congestion.

The service runs via Frankfurt Oder, and on both ends, meets an extensive existing network of both partners. While PCC Intermodal ensures coverage in the most important Polish regions and Far East destinations, Lineas offers rail solutions to the rest of Europe such as Italy, France and Spain.

Over the course of 2020, more than 200 trains transported goods between the countries. The continuous increase in demand led the partners to intensify the route. Lineas will offer 50 per cent more capacity for conventional wagons per train, and PCCI’s container capacity will increase to 600 TEUs per week.

Poland Xpress

The Poland Xpress is part of both Lineas’ European Green Xpress Network and PCCI’s regular rail network connecting the Netherlands, Germany, Poland and Belgium. Goods coming from the East via Poland can connect in Antwerp to over 20 key destinations in Europe, and vice versa.

PCC Intermodal CEO – Dariusz Stefański: “We have launched regular intermodal services between Poland and Belgium just in the right moment, when the market needed a reliable solution. It was quite risky, especially since no-one expected the Covid-19 pandemic and it was difficult to predict what would happen in the market. It was a big test for all of us. I am very proud that we passed it with flying colours and that our intermodal solutions work well in the market.

As half of the volumes on the Poland Xpress previously moved by road, the service is a prime example of Lineas’ modal shift ambition, notes Olivier Deprez, Head of Network Management & Alliances at Lineas: “The success of our Poland Xpress shows the appetite of our customers to bring their goods even further by rail. We are pleased that through the increased frequency of our service with PCC Intermodal, we allow companies to connect their goods from all over Poland to Europe, thereby optimising their supply chain even more.”