PKP LHS, a Polish broad-gauge railway operator, has become a participant in the Trans-Caspian international transport route, which links China with Europe. The signing of the declaration on the participation of the Polish company in the project took place on 7 October during a meeting of the coordination committee for the Trans-Caspian international transport route in Astana, the company told the CFTS portal.
"This is an unprecedented event for the development of intermodal transport between Europe and Asia. It will create alternative railway routes directly from China to Poland via the Central Asian countries. PKP LHS could become a beneficiary of the New Silk Road by taking advantage of the technical capabilities of the Euroterminal in Slawkow," said PKP LHS’ Director Zbigniew Tracichleb.
The Polish company plans to attract part of the traffic that now goes by the sea. In 2015, almost 500 million tons of cargo was delivered from Asia to the European Union by sea, of which Polish ports received about 7 million tons. "Attracting at least a share of this traffic to the Polish railways is an excellent opportunity for us. Due to Poland’s advantageous location on the transit route, we can be the gateway between the East and the West," said Dariusz Sikora, a board member of PKP LHS.
As reported, the Ukrzaliznytsia public railway company held talks with PKP LHS on cooperation on transportation of cargo on transit from China to Europe in summer 2016. The company manages Poland’s broad-gauge railway line, which runs from the border with Ukraine to the city of Slawkow, near Katowice.
PKP LHS accounts for more than 4% of the total volume of goods transported by rail in Poland.
