Lidl enters rail market with Tailwind Intermodal business

Tailwind Intermodal, the new rail subsidiary of German supermarket chain Lidl, has launched its first services with a direct connection between Graz, Austria and Koper, Slovenia.

The freight operator is an expansion of Lidl’s existing shipping business Tailwind Shipping Lines and will initially offer the service from the Slovenian port into the Austrian state of Styria five times per week in each direction.

Tailwind Intermodal’s managing director Christian Steindl said the route was chosen to serve as a connection to Eastern and Southeastern Europe from the port of Koper, where Tailwind Shipping Lines also operates.

He said: “With the direct rail connection between these strategically ideally located cargo centres, we are positioning ourselves as an intermodal service provider for all those who have containers transported between the Mediterranean and Eastern and Southeastern Europe.”

The company has named its connection “Panther Shuttle”, referencing the Styrian coat of arms, and said it has plans to increase the frequency of its services over the next year but has not commented on the possibility of expanding to other routes in the future.

The launch of Tailwind Intermodal continues Lidl’s work on bringing more of its supply chain transportation in-house after the launch of its shipping business in April 2022 to deal with shipping delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.