Ukrainian rail company Ukrzaliznytsia transports record volume of cargo in January, grain transportation for export increases 12%

MOSCOW. Feb 2 (Interfax) - Ukrainian railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia transported 14.1 million tonnes of cargo in January 2024, 25% more than in January last year, Ukrainian media reported, citing Deputy Prime Minister of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine Alexander Kubrakov.

Ukrzaliznytsia transported 7.5 million tonnes for export in January, which is a quarter more than in November 2023. The month set the record for total cargo transportation previously held by February 2022, Kubrakov said.

Domestic rail traffic increased 2.7% to 5.6 million tonnes, while the transport of imported goods rose 70% to 921,000 tonnes. Rail transport volumes are growing steadily.

"From March through December last year, there was a monthly increase in cargo of 23% compared to the same period in 2022. We are entering 2024 without slowing down. The progress is significantly strengthening the Ukrainian economy," Kubrakov said.

The leading product in transportation volume was grains, with 3.4 million tonnes exported in January, 12.2% more than in January 2023. Transport volumes of iron and manganese ore for export increased 2.6-fold to 3 million tonnes, Ukrzaliznytsia said.

In January, 4.8 million tonnes of cargo were transported through port stations, which is twice as much as in January 2023, while transport via land border crossings reached 2.7 million tonnes (the same figure as in January 2023). A volume of 2.7 million tonnes of grain cargo was transported via port stations (+28.7% compared to January 2023), and 699,100 tonnes was transported via land crossings (27.5% less than January 2023).

Commenting on the growth in cargo transportation volumes in January, the head of the board of Ukrzaliznytsia Yevgeny Lyashchenko said that January was a record month, despite historically being the period of maximum decline for cargo transport.

"These results were achieved thanks to the effective operation of the Ukrainian sea corridor. In January, we had record transport numbers of goods for export, which made up 53% of all January transport," Lyashchenko said.

As reported, in 2023, 148.4 million tonnes of cargo were transported by rail in Ukraine both internally and externally.