In September 2024, the Ukrainian Railways joint-stock company (JSC Ukrzaliznytsia) plans to introduce 18 new container routes for transporting containers from Ukraine to and through European countries.
Ukrzaliznytsia’s Board Chairman Yevhen Liaschenko announced this at a news briefing in Kyiv.
"Multimodal business is our focus. We are talking about the reconstruction and development of terminals throughout Ukraine. We are currently building a powerful network of container terminals. There will be new cross-European routes that will allow both European and Ukrainian customers to work efficiently. It will essentially be like a single ticket: a single tariff and a clear approach to speeds and prices," Liaschenko said, describing Ukrzaliznytsia's plans.
According to an earlier article in the CFTS portal entitled "Containerization of Cargo Flows: What 2023 Was Like for the Market and How the Major Players Assess Its Growth Prospects," Ukrzaliznytsia’s container transport volume increased by 34% to 201,200 TEUs in 2023, compared to just 150,000 TEUs in 2022. In 2021, Ukrzaliznytsia transported 279,800 TEUs.
In 2023, 49% of the total volume of cargo transported by Ukrzaliznytsia in containers was grain, 17% ferrous metals, 14% oil cake, and 10% oil.
In total, Ukrzaliznytsia transported 124,946 TEUs of export cargo, 37,083 TEUs of import cargo, 38,387 TEUs of domestic cargo, and 844 TEUs of transit cargo in containers in 2023.
As Ukrzaliznytsia pointed out in its comments to the CFTS, the figures for 2023 are specifically for containers loaded with cargo, unlike in previous years, when the company's figures for container transportation included the transportation of empty containers.
Ukrzaliznytsia is also considering purchasing railway flat cars for container transportation on the EU rail network within the framework of UZ Cargo Poland's operations.
