According to the shipping company, the number of weekly rail departures has risen from 11 to 16, enhancing connections between its maritime services, Phoenician Express, Bora Med Service (BMS) and Maestrale, and destinations in Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Germany, Serbia and Bosnia & Herzegovina.
The upgraded network offers two-day transit times to Budapest and Dunajská Streda, and three days to Prague, providing faster links between Asia and Central Europe through Adriatic gateways.
CMA CGM notes that the inclusion of Rijeka as the first Adriatic port on the Phoenician Express has allowed the company to increase massified rail transport capacity across the region. The enhanced services are part of the group’s strategy to strengthen the Adriatic as the “southern gateway” to Central Europe, combining maritime and inland transport within a single integrated solution.
The move comes shortly after Maersk officially opened its €600 million Rijeka Gateway terminal on 30 October 2025, with a handling capacity of 650,000 TEU per year. The new terminal is designed to serve as a major intermodal hub for Central European markets and reinforces the growing strategic role of Adriatic ports as an alternative to Northern European gateways.
