HŽ Cargo and Railtrans International Sign Joint Venture to Push 500,000 Tonnes Yearly to Central Europe

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HŽ Cargo d.o.o. and Railtrans International a.s. (RTI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Zagreb on 30 July 2026 to create a joint venture company for intermodal freight transport. The deal aims to move more than 500,000 tonnes of cargo annually from Croatian Adriatic ports into Central Europe by 2028, a volume that would significantly reshape freight flows along one of Europe’s emerging southern corridors.

Dragan Marčinko, President of the Board of HŽ Cargo, and Alexandra Broszová, President of the Board of RTI, formalised the agreement alongside Roman Rapant, RTI board member. The partnership follows a decision by the HŽ Cargo assembly to establish long-term strategic cooperation for integrated logistics and transport solutions along key corridors, with a focus on improving operational interoperability between the two operators.

The European rail freight market is consolidating fast. National carriers are no longer growing alone; they are forming partnerships, absorbing capacity, and merging into regional players that treat Central and Southeast Europe as a single market. For HŽ Cargo, the joint venture offers immediate access to international corridors, clients, and standards that would take years to build independently. For RTI, which has been HŽ Cargo’s largest client for years, the deal secures a partner with deep knowledge of Croatian and regional rail networks, infrastructure presence, and decades of operational experience.

Robert Spišák, President of the AZC Group and co-owner of RTI, said the partnership applies the same model RTI has used across Europe: each partner keeps its strengths, and together they create what neither could achieve alone. He noted that global trade flows are shifting faster than ever, and Europe is looking for new entry points. “The Adriatic is no longer a side entrance; it is becoming one of the main arteries,” Spišák said. He added that Croatia’s ports and corridor position give it leverage that many other countries would want.

The agreement is explicit that this is not a privatisation, sale of shares, or recapitalisation of the Croatian national carrier. HŽ Cargo remains fully owned by the Republic of Croatia. Instead, the structure is a business linkage designed to let both companies compete jointly in a market where network size and end-to-end service reliability determine who wins contracts.

Marčinko framed the MoU as the start of a new phase rather than the end of a process. “We chose a model in which HŽ Cargo stays in state ownership while getting what it lacked most: access to the European market, international clients, and a partner who knows our network better than anyone,” he said.

The 500,000 tonne annual target is additional volume, not a replacement of existing flows. It would strengthen Croatia’s role as a logistics bridge between the Adriatic and the European continent, a position reinforced by broader infrastructure investments. Croatia and Hungary formally joined the Baltic-Adriatic Rail Freight Corridor regulatory framework in May 2026, expanding cross-border oversight and non-discriminatory network access for operators. The Port of Rijeka is also undergoing major modernisation, including the new Rijeka Gateway terminal and Brajdica intermodal terminal, backed by nearly EUR 6 billion in Croatian rail investment planned through 2030.

RTI, founded in 2011 and headquartered in Bratislava, holds rail transport licenses in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, and Germany. It is part of the AZC Group, a Central European logistics conglomerate, and specialises in petrochemicals, ethanol, biofuels, and general intermodal freight.

HŽ Cargo now faces the task of turning the MoU into an operational joint venture, integrating networks, and proving it can capture the targeted volume within two years.