Four European ports can be reached with broad-gauge hoppers from Ukraine

MOSCOW. Dec 22 (Interfax) - Ukrainian broad-gauge hopper cars carrying agricultural products may reach four out of 12 European ports - the German ports of Hamburg and Rostock, Poland's Gdansk port and the Constanta port in Romania - without having to reload cargo onto European narrow-gauge train cars, Ukrainian media said, citing the RailFreight online journal's website, which offers the findings of a study carried out by the DB Engineering&Consulting research company for JSC Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways).

The study mentions 19-752-type freight cars, which are higher and wider than European ones. The study results indicate that they can reach EU countries from Ukraine via ten possible routes.

Besides, four countries - Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic - have been identified as not feasible for agricultural exports without reloading cargo onto European narrow-gauge cars. The ports of these countries are not an option for the hopper cars as a final destination.