The Episcopia Bihorului intermodal terminal (EBIT) has been operating since April 2023, the first and most important customer at the moment being LKW Walter, which operates two trains a day in the terminal near Oradea.

With two train lines of 750 m and one of 850 m, EBIT would manage to operate 6-8 trains per day without too much trouble, if there were train organizers interested. Until other train operators are attracted, the terminal owner intends to become a train operator himself, to meet the multiple requests from end customers. Plans include expanding the terminal with another 850 m of rail line and additional container parking, with the terminal currently only operating intermodal-ready semi-trailers.

The Episcopia Bihorului intermodal terminal (EBIT) was built from scratch by the company listed on the BVB, Confectii Vaslui SA, whose majority shareholder is the businessman Valentin Micoriciu, who also owns tourism businesses in the Baile 1 Mai area - and it is a terminal which can simultaneously operate three train lines without the need to break the train linings, thanks to the length of 750 and 850 m respectively of the operated lines. The intermodal terminal is connected to the border railway station of Episcopia Bihor.

"We plan to soon build a fourth line, 850 m long. Everything is ready, including the junction. Additionally, we intend to expand the parking lot from mid-2024, thus wanting to supplement the surfaces from the existing 200 parking spaces to approx. 350 parking spaces for semi-trailers", says Adrian Almășan, the terminal administrator.

The total area owned by EBIT is approximately 31 ha, and the first train was operated here on April 11 last year, with Herne and Rostok as final destinations.

"At the moment we are somewhere at 15-20% of the terminal's capacity, having a potential capacity to operate at least 6-8 trains per day. To increase the work flow to capacity we have to start new trains because we have high demand from end customers or operators. Initially, we proposed to be only terminal operators, not organizers of open trains, but the numerous requests from the end customers made us focus on this market segment as well", said Adrian Almăşan.

He added that he could organize together with a railway operator a first train this year or at the latest at the beginning of next year, the analyzed destinations being Cologne and Genk, which are the most sought after by the current intermodal transport players.

Another project is the connection of Bucharest with Ardeal by rail, this aspect is still being analyzed by EBIT. The demand is also high for this type of transport, but it is especially dedicated to the transport of containers, which would represent a new branch of business for EBIT, today only trains with tarpaulin semi-trailers operate here.

The planned expansions require a serious investment, but those from EBIT are convinced that this investment will pay off very quickly, in view of the increasingly high demand for intermodal transport.