EU transport system is not technically ready to transport large volumes of goods from Ukraine — Ukrainian Railways
Today Ukrainian Railways transport cargo using only 2,000 wagons or about 130,000 tonnes of cargo per day at the western border crossings. Meanwhile, the company’s capacities allow using 3,422 railcars or 220,000 tonnes per day. Several problems on the part of the transport system of European countries prevent increasing the volume of cargo transportation by rail from Ukraine to Europe.
“The set of technical problems is that the transport system of European countries is not technically ready to transport such large volumes. It needs additional rolling stock: wagons and locomotives,” Deputy Director of the Department of Commercial Work at Ukrainian Railways Valerii Tkachov said.
The root of the problem is that the railway infrastructure of Ukraine and Europe is significantly different in gauge. And for the exchange of goods between these two infrastructures, there are only two ways: to reload at the border or change the wagon bogie. At the same time, there are not enough transshipment terminals.
“Besides, the most acute problem is the number of wagons on 1,435 mm European gauge track. That is, we, for our part, can transport a much larger volume of cargo, but there is a problem either with a lack of transshipment capacity or a problem of the availability of European wagons,” Tkachov said.
