Ukrainian Railways starts offering container shipment to Poland's Gdansk

MOSCOW. July 26 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian Railways is launching the shipment of containers by intermodal trains running from Kiev, Odessa, Dnepr, and Vinnitsa to Poland's Gdansk at the first stage, Ukrainian media reported citing a social media post by Ukrainian Railways commercial department deputy director Valery Tkachev.

Cargos will be transported using 25-tonne 20DV and 27-tonne 40DV dry cargo containers. At present, the Ukrainian Railways offers two shipping modes, i.e. one-trip train, which means that the customer is not responsible for returning a train car, and round-trip way, in which train cars are used following a previous operation. The company published transportation rates, which will remain valid until August 1. For example, the one-trip transportation of a loaded 20DV container from Kiev to Gdansk would cost 1,620 euros and a 40DV container 2,290 euros. This price does not cover container rent or use, the Verified Gross Mass Certificate, customs formalities, guarantees, inspections, and cargo insurance.

According to the Ukrainian Railways' presentation, container trains should start being formed at four border crossing points on 1,435-mm and 1,520-mm tracks soon. These are the Yagodin-Dorohusk, Izov-Hrubiesczow, Mostiska-Medyka (toward Poland), and Chop-Cierna (Slovakia) Zahony (Hungary) crossing points. Those trains would enable efficient communication with the European Union's principal railway network, it said.

In particular, Yagodin can be linked to the Baltic-Adriatic and the North Sea-Baltic Corridor, Mostiska to the Baltic-Adriatic and the Rhine-Danube Corridor, Chop to the Rhine-Danube and the Mediterranean Corridor, and Vadul-Siret to the Rhine-Danube Corridor. This would make it possible to deliver cargo to the ports of the Baltic countries, Poland, Northern and Southern Europe, Black Sea ports, and European internal intermodal terminals, it said.

Container trains will be integrated into the Liski Transport Service Center's national intermodal network acting as the shipment operator. According to the Ukrainian Railways' presentation, the project will engage Liski's terminals in Chop, Sknyliv, Odessa, Kiev, Dnepr, and Kharkov. New terminals are also being designed in Kovel, Vinnitsa, and Poltava, it said.

The Liski Transport Service Center's terminals are equipped with 4,479 fitting platforms for 40DV, 60DV, and 80DV containers, 2,975 20DV and 40DV containers, 13 container cranes, including three in Kiev, three in Odessa, and one in Dnepr, Kharkov, and Chop each, 110 trail platforms, three container reach stackers, 50 cargo tractor trucks, and 100 semitrailers.

"The Liski Transport Service Center offers a full range of container transport services, including the provision of containers, special rolling stock, and terminal services (loading and unloading operations, warehousing, and storage of cargo), transport paperwork, customs clearance and certification, and numerous other services. In particular, the center will transport cargo in containers across Ukraine and Poland and handle freight trains at the Gdansk port," the Ukrainian Railways said.

The Ukrainian Railways' partners in the project are Ukrainian Railways Cargo Poland, Laude Smart Intermodal S.A., PKP Cargo Connect, and others.