Deutsche Bahn to help Ukrainian Railways restore infrastructure

MOSCOW. Sept 21 (Interfax) - Ukrainian Railways and Germany's Deutsche Bahn (DB) signed a memorandum on support and cooperation in international freight shipments at an international exhibition in Berlin on Tuesday that calls for aid in the restoration of Ukrainian railway infrastructure.

The agreement also covers cooperation on the expansion of freight rail corridors and their throughput capacity, Ukrainian Railways said. For example, experts from DB Cargo, DB's logistics subsidiary, will help develop and modernize freight corridors for transshipments between wide and European track gauges.

The company said it is already possible to gain access to some major freight hubs in the western part of Ukraine's rail network using European track freight cars. The possibility of using Ukrainian hopper cars is being considered as a way to increase grain exports to the European Union, since these cars can carry far more grain than containers. DB Cargo's Polish and Romanian subsidiaries are already using rail networks near the border to transport grain.

DB also plans to provide Ukrainian Railways with spare parts and is considering the possibility of providing freight cars.