The Ukrainian Railways joint-stock company (Ukrzaliznytsia) is considering projects to improve the capacity of the Izmail station.
This was stated during an online meeting between representatives of Ukrzaliznytsia and representatives of the agricultural market, the CFTS portal reports, citing the Rail.insider publication.
During the meeting, they discussed the increased accumulation of rolling stock heading to the Izmail station. Currently, over 2,000 railcars are heading to the station. However, the average unloading rate at the station is about 100 railcars per day.
Representatives of the agricultural market raised the issue of the possible layout of tracks at the Izmail station to improve the freight-handling situation there.
According to Ivan Yemets, the deputy director for logistics and ferry operations at the Odesa Railways, which is a regional division of the branch Ukrzaliznytsia, the company is currently considering projects to expand the throughput capacity of the Izmail station, and not only it. Primarily, this involves the Artsyz - Izmail and Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi - Izmail railroad sections.
Thus, the option of electrifying the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi - Izmail section is currently being considered. Its implementation is expected to begin this year.
"The maximum number of trains that can enter the Izmail station is currently nine. Therefore, there is enough capacity to bring trains there. However, the development of the Novyi rail yard at the Izmail station itself is insufficient," Yemets said.
According to him, the intention is to complete the eighth and ninth tracks there.
"At the Izmail station itself, we plan to build two more tracks in the classification (marshaling) and arrival (receiving) yards. But that is for next year. We plan to expand the main line at the station next year, specifically the Novyi rail yard, and build haulage track No. 13, which will allow us to deliver to the port and the Nibulon access track separately, which will also increase processing. We believe that this will be enough to increase the station’s processing capacity from the railroad side," he said.
He added that not everything depends on the railroad because two simultaneous operations - unloading and loading operations - are continuing on the tracks.
"Unloading should increase to 400–450 railcars to enable us to accept this flow. And increasing the unloading volumes means improving the layout of the tracks to the port. We have planned measures on our part, and we will implement them," he said.
According to Yemets, some projects are currently under development. They involve pre-design work and the preparation of materials for submission to Ukrzaliznytsia for consideration.
