KfW IPEX-Bank finances new Polish Intermodal Railcars
KfW IPEX-Bank is financing a pool of new freight cars for the Polish freight wagon lessor Eurowagon.
The financing is being used to procure up to 800 state-of-the-art intermodal railcars, which the company specialises in leasing to mainly Western European railway companies. In accordance with Eurowagon’s sustainability strategy, promoting an environmentally friendly freight transport sector devoid of GHG emissions, the loan agreement was structured as a Green Loan by KfW IPEX-Bank with a Green Loan Framework by Eurowagon being certified accordingly.
The use of intermodal freight wagons enables the seamless transport of goods by road, water and rail without the need to reload the transported goods themselves. With this combined freight transport, flows of goods can be organised more economically and, above all, in a more environmentally friendly way. Overall, more traffic can be shifted from road to rail.
The intermodal sector is by far the biggest growth segment in rail freight transport in continental Europe – also driven by the “modal shift to rail”, which the European Union is vigorously advancing as one of the main pillars of its strategy for achieving its ambitious Green Deal goals in the transport sector.
“Together with our partners, we are supporting the shift of freight transport to rail and the transition to a climate-friendly transport infrastructure,” said Andreas Ufer, Member of the Management Board of KfW IPEX-Bank. “We are delighted to have acquired Eurowagon, another European railway platform, as a customer. We are glad to support its commitment to environmentally friendly and sustainable freight transport and to act as a financier, providing support to the company in this innovative and sustainable investment. With this project, we are once again underlining our market position in the European railway market. We are particularly pleased to have structured the financing as a Green Loan.”
Jarosław Kulesza, CFO, Management Board of Eurowagon said: “Signing a financing facility with KfW IPEX-Bank is the next milestone in the development of Eurowagon’s intermodal fleet. We recognised KfW IPEX-Bank as the financing partner that understands railway business and above all shares similar values driving changes in the transportation sector in Europe. We signed the financing agreement based on a Green Loan Framework confirming to the market and the European society commitment in supporting our common goal for Europe to become a climate-neutral continent by 2050. Eurowagon is already present on the European railway market but through this project we strengthen our offer to clients by delivering a variety of modern and green solutions for the freight transport”.
Michal Pozniak, Investment Director at CEE Equity Partners added: “We continue to support Eurowagon with its mission to offer sustainable and safe transport infrastructure and we are proud that KfW IPEX-Bank joined this journey. Securing a Green Loan is an important milestone in our ESG programme as it supports our climate commitments. The Green Loan provided by KfW IPEX-Bank facilitates the next phase development of the platform and enables Eurowagon and its clients to continue shifting freight from road to rail.”
