In terms of transport geography, Czechia lies in the heart of Europe. Its economy is one of the EU’s most rapidly developing growth markets. Being only a short distance from there, the Port of Hamburg offers a host of opportunities for transporting Czech imports and exports, handling these rapidly and reliably. Around three million tons of freight to/from Czechia are handled through the port every year. “For the Port of Hamburg, Czechia is one it’s most important markets in Central Europe. We are delighted that Hamburg should be Gateway to the World for the Czech economy. This is underlined by the growth in container traffic, last year achieving an increase of around 8.6 percent, and also progressing well this year,” said Vladimir Dobos, head of Port of Hamburg Marketing’s Representative Office in Prague. In 2018 more than 480,000 containers were handled between the Port of Hamburg and Czech container terminals.
In welcoming more than 250 guests, Ingo Egloff, Joint CEO of Port of Hamburg Marketing - HHM, emphasized that more than 90 percent of import and export containers to and from Hamburg are transported by environment-friendly rail. “There are 120 weekly container block train services between handling terminals in Czechia/Slovakia and Port of Hamburg container terminals. These are operated by METRANS, in particular, to many destinations, underlining the high performance of our seaport-hinterland transport. On the Czech market, the Port of Hamburg has established itself as the leading seaport. Shippers in Czechia and Slovakia profit from the high number and reliability of train services. We are really delighted that railborne container services, especially, should be ensuring further growth,” said Ingo Egloff. Apart from goods for the Czech market, transit cargoes are also despatched via Czechia onwards into Slovakia, Austria and Hungary.