Ukrposhta, Poczta Polska heads discuss launch of mail car to Przemysl

MOSCOW. April 10 (Interfax) - Ukrposhta CEO Igor Smilyansky has met with Poczta Polska CEO Sebastian Mikosz in Kiev to discuss, in particular, the delivery of parcels in mail cars to Poland.

"A delegation from Poland visited us yesterday. We are planning to launch the Kiev-Przemysl postal train after all, which will enable us to deliver shipments from Ukraine overnight," Ukrainian media quoted Smilyansky as saying in a statement on the sidelines of the Business Wisdom Summit in Kiev on Wednesday.

A Polish government delegation, including the newly appointed Poczta Polska CEO, visited Ukrposhta, he said. "This was his first visit to Ukraine. A sizable delegation of logistic experts, international specialists arrived. We showed them how we see it, even showed them a railcar that will run [with the mail]," Smilyansky said.

Following the meeting, the parties were "cautiously optimistic that we will be able to launch the mail car in 2024," he said.

The launch of the mail car will substantially speed up Ukrposhta's international delivery, including to the United States market using air delivery from Polish airports, Smilyansky said. This type of delivery is more expensive than road transportation, but it is less affected by queues and delays due to the blockade. As of now, the term of delivery of Ukrposhta parcels to Poland is 22 days, Smilyansky said.

As previously reported, Ukraine halted rail mail shipments to Poland in the early 2000s. Talks on their resumption have been underway since the end of 2022. The problem, in particular, is that Ukrposhta wants to dispatch a mail car as part of a passenger train, not a freight train.

Besides, an important condition is a requirement to reload the mail car exactly in Przemysl, where there is a specialized customs office for receiving postal items. Moreover, the gauge to Przemysl is wide, not narrow to enable the mail car to reach it.