Connecting Inland Supply Chains: Inter-Europe and International Trade

As supply chains evolve, inland terminals and intermodal networks are becoming essential to closing the gaps between Europe’s inland networks and international trade routes.

This reflects a fundamental shift in logistics. Linear transport chains are giving way to interconnected systems, where cargo moves seamlessly across road, rail, and inland waterways. By strengthening how cargo flows beyond the port, we can enable our customers to respond more effectively to disruption, reroute shipments with greater flexibility, and reduce emissions across their supply chains.

These gaps continue to drive costs, delays, and complexities for businesses, but addressing them will define the future of logistics, one that is shaped as much in the hinterland as it is at the coastline.

Inland Terminals as the Backbone of Resilience

Building on this shift, inland terminals are no longer secondary nodes in the supply chain. They are becoming critical to addressing the fragmentation between Europe’s inland networks and global trade routes, and to improving how efficiently goods move between industrial centres and international markets.

Today, our network spans 15 inland terminals across Europe, supported by more than 60 weekly barge services and over 70 rail connections linking key ports with industrial centres. By directly connecting these hubs with major seaports via rail and inland waterways, alongside integrated warehousing and logistics services, we’re creating reliable, high frequency corridors that reduce reliance on congested road networks and improve overall cargo flow.

For our customers, this can deliver clear advantages:

• Flexibility: Multiple transport modes allow shipments to be rerouted quickly when disruptions occur
• Efficiency: More predictable flows support better planning and help control costs
• Sustainability: Increased use of rail and waterways can reduce carbon emissions

Inland terminals, therefore, play a central role in closing the gap between inter-European flows and international trade, enabling supply chains that are not only faster, but more resilient by design.

Connecting Europe Through an Integrated Intermodal Network

Inland terminals are critical, but it’s the way they’re connected that really makes the difference. Our intermodal network links ports, inland terminals, rail services and logistics hubs across key European trade corridors into a single, coordinated system. This allows cargo to move seamlessly across borders and between modes, reducing friction at every stage of the journey. Across this network, regular barge and rail connections ensure consistent, high frequency flows between locations, enabling cargo to move efficiently across regions and borders.

By taking a network-wide approach, we enable end-to-end visibility, integration between sea, rail, barge and road, and scalable capacity to respond to changing demand, ensuring supply chains remain predictable, even in the face of disruption.

This level of integration is essential in a fragmented logistics landscape. It transforms disconnected movements into continuous flows, helping customers move cargo more reliably from inter-European networks to international markets.

From Concept to Reality: Delivering Integrated Solutions Across Europe

The shift towards intermodal logistics is widely recognised, but implementation across Europe remains uneven. Infrastructure constraints including limited rail capacity to congested roads and pressure on key waterways continue to impact performance. While these challenges are not new, they often expose a deeper issue: a lack of integration between existing assets.

Our focus is on turning this connectivity into consistent, real world performance. By aligning our inland terminals, port operations and intermodal services, we are creating reliable, end-to-end flows that keep cargo moving efficiently.

This integrated approach is already being delivered across our network. Across our Intermodal network in Europe, which includes terminals at Mannheim, Germersheim, Liege and Novi Sad, inland waterways, rail and road are combined into coordinated, reliable flows of cargo.

Importantly, this isn’t a one-off. It reflects ongoing investment in both established hubs and newer locations across Central and Eastern Europe, expanding access to international trade routes. By moving from isolated assets to integrated systems, we are helping customers turn logistics complexity into a competitive advantage.

Unlocking Europe’s Full Logistics Potential

As demand for more resilient, efficient and lower carbon supply chains continues to grow, the opportunity for Europe is clear but not yet fully realised.

Unlocking this potential will require:

• Continued investment in inland terminals and intermodal infrastructure
• Greater alignment and integration across transport modes
• Stronger collaboration between public and private stakeholders

By strengthening connections between inland locations and international gateways, Europe can reduce pressure on ports, improve cargo flow, and enhance its global competitiveness. For businesses, this translates into supply chains that are not only more predictable, but also more cost-efficient and sustainable.

Building What Comes Next

Closing supply chain gaps isn't about a single solution. It’s the result of building connected systems that work across regions, modes and markets. It takes more than one-off improvements, it’s about creating systems that can adapt, scale and keep performing under pressure. That’s why we are focused on strengthening these connections, linking inter-European flows with international trade routes through an integrated network of ports, inland terminals and intermodal services. This approach ensures that cargo can move more efficiently between key industrial centres and global markets, reducing costs, improving flow, and supporting the transition to lower carbon supply chains.

As Europe’s logistics landscape continues to evolve, the organisations that succeed will be those that prioritise connectivity, flexibility and resilience. By connecting inland networks with international trade, we are helping our customers move towards supply chains that are built for what comes next.

Discover how our intermodal network connects Europe’s inland hubs to global trade routes.