Since then, Mattoni 1873 has transported 669,000 pallets of its products to Moravia by rail. Dispatched 762 freight trains, operated mainly by ČD Cargo, replaced over 20,000 trips of fully loaded trucks.
"Our project proves that even fast-moving goods can be transported quickly and efficiently by rail. Unfortunately, in the ten years that freight trains have been running with our beverages, the use of rail is becoming more and more challenging both in terms of organization and financially. Despite its environmental benefits, rail transport is not being promoted or, at the very least, the obstacles that make it difficult to use rail for product transport are not being removed. But we persevere because we want the beverage industry to be sustainable, we have been taking real steps for this for many years and the use of rail transport is one of them," says Alessandro Pasquale, CEO of Mattoni 1873.
The eight-kilometre line from Vojkovice nad Ohří to Kyselka was built by Heinrich Mattoni and put into operation in 1895. Public passenger transport on the line terminated in 1935 and it operated as a freight railway until 1997. In 2012, Mattoni 1873 invested CZK 10 million in the reconstruction of the entire line. During the reconstruction, 560 sleepers were replaced and 820 meters of rails were substituted.
With the reopening of the siding, Mattoni 1873 began to use the railway to transport its products for customers in Moravia to its distribution center in Mostkovice near Přerov. Trains with Mattoni and Magnesia mineral waters and Aquila spring water run from Kyselka all year round, with about 2 trains a week in high season.
Nowadays, rail transport is an important part of the Mattoni 1873 distribution chain. The annual volume of Mattoni 1873 products transported by rail has increased from 64 thousand pallets in 2013 to 70-80 thousand pallets in recent years. This has made Mattoni 1873 one of the largest ever transporters of fast-moving food goods by rail.
