Cargo transportation by Ukrainian Railways up 28% in H1 2024

MOSCOW. July 1 (Interfax) - JSC Ukrainian Railways increased cargo transportation by 28% to 90 million tonnes in January-June 2024 year-on-year, Ukrainian media said, citing a press release issued by the company on Monday.

"Alongside an increase in the total volume of transportation, exports of a strategically important commodity - grain crops - grew 43% compared to the previous year," Ukrainian Railways CEO Yevgeny Lyashchenko was quoted by the press release as saying.

Ukrainian Railways transported 12.5 million tonnes of hard coal and 13.7 million tonnes of construction materials in the first half of the year, the company said.

Profitable items, such as iron and manganese ore (22.9 million tonnes) and grain (22.5 million tonnes) continued to account for the bulk of the company's transport operations.

Meanwhile, exports by Ukrainian Railways rose 59% to 45 million tonnes, domestic traffic went up 3% to 40 million tonnes, and imports grew 62% to 5 million tonnes in January-June 2024.