The Ukrainian Railways joint-stock company (Ukrzaliznytsia) transported 30.4 million tons of export cargo from January to April 2024. This is 48.8% more than the volume it transported in the same period last year.
Ukrzaliznytsia announced this in a statement, the CFTS portal reports.
The main types of cargo exported by rail in 2024 include grain (12.9 million tons), iron and manganese ores (12.5 million tons), ferrous metals (1.6 million tons), and construction materials (867,000 tons).
In total, 59.9 million tons of cargo were transported in January-April 2024, up 28.7% year-on-year.
Ukrzaliznytsia transported 148.4 million tons of cargo of all types in 2023.
As reported previously, Ukrzaliznytsia earned a net profit of UAH 5.2 billion last year. The company cited the following factors as having a positive impact on its financial results: an increase in revenue from passenger transportation because of an 11% increase in passenger turnover (+UAH 1.42 billion), a reduction in the cost of materials and repairs because of cost-saving measures, including the use of reclaimed materials (+UAH 4.81 billion), a more stable hryvnia exchange rate than initially expected (+UAH 4.53 billion), and the reintegration of the assets in the liberated territories (+UAH 1.88 billion).
External assistance in the form of loans and grants also contributed to the company’s positive results last year. The company received loans totaling EUR 238 million and grants totaling EUR 376 million in 2023, compared with loans totaling EUR 249 million and grants totaling EUR 28 million in 2022.
Ukrzaliznytsia raised rail freight rates by 70% in a single move in mid-2022. It raised the rates for all types of freight, which had a significant impact on the company's revenues.
