The total number of freight cars waiting at Ukraine’s western border crossings was 14,600 as of the morning of 11 October.
The Ukrainian Railways joint-stock company (Ukrzaliznytsia) announced this in a statement, the CFTS portal reports, citing the Rail Insider publication.
As stated during an online meeting with Romanian and Moldovan carriers on Tuesday, 11 October, the number of freight cars reduced because of the re-routing of grain cargoes to seaports. The average daily delivery of goods through railway junctions reduced by 324 wagons in the first 10 days of October, compared with September 2022.
"A grain corridor from seaports was opened and the cargo went there. If the corridor does not exist, I am more than sure that the situation will return to what we had earlier this year," said Volodymyr Ruschak, the director of Ukrzaliznytsia’s traffic management department.
He added that the reduction in the volume of cargo is taking place against the backdrop of air-raid warnings, during which border stations suspend operations.
"We had major air-raid warnings yesterday and today. This adds nothing positive to our work. Work is suspended during air-raid warnings. We did not work until lunch yesterday; it is the same again today. But the availability of wagons at the junctions is generally decreasing," said Ruschak.
The best situation regarding the pileup of freight cars is currently at Ukrainian-Moldovan border crossings, where trains "stop only to change traction."
On the other hand, during the meeting with Hungarian carriers on 11 October, Ukrzaliznytsia representatives again emphasized the need for Ukrainian transport partners to implement the agreed plans. Yulia Andriichuk, a representative of Ukrzaliznytsia’s department of commercial operations, said applications would be reduced by 30% for companies that did not implement the plans.
