According to preliminary data, the Ukrainian Railways joint-stock company (Ukrzaliznytsia) transported 174.93 million tons of cargo in 2024, an increase of 26.5 million tons or 17.9% compared to 2023.
Valerii Tkachov, the deputy director of Ukrzaliznytsia’s commercial operations department, announced this in a statement, the CTS portal reports.
"This is the highest annual volume of cargo transported by rail during the war, achieved thanks to the unblocking of the export of goods through the ports of Greater Odesa," he said.
According to the Ukrzaliznytsia representative, 14.032 million tons of cargo were transported by rail in December 2024, a 0.5% increase compared to November.
However, there has been a downward trend in rail cargo volumes in the past month because of systematic attacks on Ukraine's energy system and the loss of control over part of the country’s territory.
In total, 84.67 million tons of export cargo were transported by rail in 2024, an increase of 28.7 million tons or 51.2% compared to 2023.
The structure of export cargoes transported by rail in 2024 is as follows: grain (34.132 million tons or 40.3% of the total export cargoes transported by rail); iron and manganese ores (33.001 million tons or 39%); ferrous metals (5.167 million tons).
It should be noted that 148 million tons of cargo were transported by rail in 2023, 151 million tons in 2022, and 314 million tons in 2021 (before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine).
