Another railway border crossing has opened on the Berezyne - Basarabeasca railway line on the Ukrainian-Moldovan border.
Valerii Tkachov, the deputy director of the department of commercial operations at the Ukrainian Railways joint-stock company (Ukrzaliznytsia), announced this in a statement, the CFTS portal reports.
"From 25 March 2023, it will be possible to transport export and transit cargo to the ports of Reni, Galati, and Giurgiulesti through a shorter route," he said.
This route passes through the recently opened Berezyne - Basarabeasca border crossing and an alternative transit route through the Ukrainian-Moldovan border crossings Sokyriani - Ocnita and Mohyliv-Podilskyi - Valcinet.
"The new route will facilitate an increase in the volume of transportation of export transit cargo to the ports of Reni, Galati, and Giurgiulesti to 4-10 million tons per year and significantly shorten the delivery time of export cargo," Tkachov added.
According to him, the total cost of transportation of export cargo to the above-mentioned seaports will decrease by an estimated USD 10-35 per ton, depending on the cargo and the route.
"In addition, the new route will facilitate a reduction of the cost of transporting imported fuel and petroleum products to Ukraine from the ports of Reni, Galati, and Giurgiulesti. According to preliminary calculations, the savings will amount to USD 18-44 per ton," he said.
As reported earlier, Ukraine and Moldova agreed in June 2022 to restore rail links between the two countries on this route. About 23 kilometers of railway tracks were rehabilitated for this purpose. The rehabilitated railway section was ready for operation at the end of August. However, freight has not been transported along this railway section since then because of the lack of the necessary checkpoint, the opening of which has been postponed several times.
