Lithuania's LTG Cargo buys 500 railway cars for grain from Ukraine for 36 mln euros

VILNIUS. July 10 (Interfax/BNS) - Lithuania's LTG Cargo, part of Lithuanian Railways Group (LTG), has purchased 500 railway cars for grain for 36 million euros, the freight railway operator said.

LTG Cargo bought all the railway cars from Ukrainian manufacturers Kryukovsky Railway Car Building Works and RMF Karpaty, the company told Baltic News Service (BNS).

"Considering the growing demand on the market, we have been planning to increase the volume of grain crops transported by railway within the country to 60% of the total volume of grain shipments. Consequently, the railway cars that we have acquired should allow us to boost the volume of grain crop transportation consistently," LTG Cargo CEO Egle Sime said in the statement.

Deliveries should begin within the next couple of months, with the railway carrier receiving 300 railway cars by the end of the year. The remaining 200 railway cars should be delivered in the first quarter of 2025.

The new railway cars will primarily service the growing cargo flow within the country and to the Klaipeda seaport. Grain transportation currently accounts for about 13%-14% of all cargo volumes and is rising every year.

LTG Cargo has a fleet of around 1,200 grain carriers, which is the number of railway cars that have been available to service this year's grain season. The company should be able to transport up to 1.2 million tonnes of grain per year once the railway car fleet has expanded.