Latvian port “Rīgas Universālais Termināls” (RUT) has received and unloaded the first test train with 1423 tons of Ukrainian rape, which were loaded into 54 containers, reported the Latvian edition ldz.lv.
According to the report, containers with Ukrainian grain were delivered by the subsidiary of SIA “LDZ CARGO” VAS “Latvijas dzelzceļš”. Containers from Ukraine arrived at the port of Riga through Kaunas intermodal railroad terminal, where they were loaded on the platforms of SIA “LDZ CARGO” to continue their journey to Riga. The Ukrainian rapeseed is currently being unloaded and stored at RUT warehouses.
“I am very pleased with the successful cooperation of Latvian Railways, Riga Port and Riga Universal Terminal, which provided the first delivery of Ukrainian grain cargoes by rail and transshipment in the port. Also in the future, Latvia will become an important ally of Ukraine, bringing Ukraine closer and integrating it into the European transportation network,” Latvian Transport Minister Kaspars Briškens said.
According to the information provided by the manager of the Freeport of Riga, Ansis Zeltins, since the beginning of the war the terminals of the Freeport of Riga have been actively working on the transportation of Ukrainian grain products. It was delivered to the port by road transport, which “is not comparable to railroad transport in terms of efficiency and volume of cargo transportation”.
Several terminals in the port of Riga by technological and infrastructural capabilities will be fully ready to receive and efficiently handle container trains with Ukrainian grain products. We hope that this first test of the entire logistics chain will be successful, and from now on we will regularly receive trains with Ukrainian grain in the Port of Riga,” he emphasized.
Receiving grain in containers is a new experience for the terminals of the Port of Riga, the publication noted.
Edgars Rudzitis, head of the wholesale warehouses department of RUT, said that the terminal is equipped and ready to receive grain container trains from Ukraine. It has the necessary technology to handle containers, warehouses and suitable infrastructure for bulk storage and cargo loading.
In spite of the new type of transshipment and difficulties, all works have been performed in the shortest possible time – the terminal’s possibilities have also allowed the carrier to fulfill its main requirement – to free the railway platforms quickly, so that they could be used for new shipments, he said.
Rinalds Plavnieks, Chairman of the Board of VAS “Latvijas dzelzceļš”, in turn, said that the Ukrainian grain delivered in containers is the first cargo from Ukraine, which will be transported through the company’s infrastructure.
“We have repeatedly confirmed that the capacities of Latvian railway infrastructure and SIA “LDZ CARGO” allow us to transport and handle large volumes of cargo, including grain from Ukraine. In accordance with the current situation, we have created new freight transportation options and plan to develop them in the future, so that the transportation of grain and other products between Ukraine and Latvia can be carried out regularly,” assured the cargo carrier.
Containers were shipped from Ukraine on September 25, on October 8 they were reloaded on the platforms of SIA “LDZ CARGO” in Kaunas, and on October 11 the platforms arrived to the port of Riga and unloading began at the Riga universal terminal. Railway transportation was organized by SIA “LDZ CARGO” together with the customer SIA “LTG Cargo Ukraine” under a cooperation agreement concluded in November 2022.
