JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia” (UZ) in the first half of 2023 transported 70.5 million tons of cargo, which is 14.5 million tons or 12.4% less compared to the same period of 2022, according to the UZ report on the results of freight work for the first half of the year.
According to statistics, 28.2 million tons of cargo, or 40% of all volumes, were transported in export traffic in the first half of 2023, which is less by 5.2 million tons or 15.4% compared to the first half of 2022.
It is noted that the volume of transportation of iron and manganese ore fell by 44.7%, or 7.003 million tons – to 8.672 million tons.
“Russia’s blockade of sea ports led to a significant restriction of exports. Cargo flows were redirected mainly through Ukraine’s western international railroad crossings to EU countries. Thus, 90% of ore exports are directed through western border crossings,” the UZ report states.
Exports of ferrous metals fell in the first half of the year by 37.8%, or 1.410 million tons – to 2.322 million tons, and although in March-May it significantly exceeded last year’s figures, in June this gap narrowed due to the destruction of the Kakhovska HPP and reduced production of enterprises in Nikopol, Zaporizhzhya and Kryvorizhzhya districts.
Also, by the end of the first half of the year, the export by rail of minstroymaterials decreased – by 56.9%, or 924.3 thousand tons – to 701 thousand tons.
At the same time, in January-June this year, the volume of grain transportation increased – by 44.5% or 4.027 million tons – up to 13.072 million tons and vegetable oil – by 22.5% or 135 thousand tons – up to 736 thousand tons.
In addition, in the first half of 2023, the volume of cement transportation increased – by 33.4% or 130.7 thousand tons – up to 522.4 thousand tons.
As reported, in June this year UZ transported 12.4 mln tons of cargo, which is 31.9% more compared to June 2022 and 7.9% more compared to May 2023, including export shipments of 4 mln tons (+24.3% and +5.6%, respectively).
Transportation of grain cargoes in June 2023 increased to 2 million tons (+48.4% vs. June 2022), construction materials – to 3.1 million tons (+87%), hard coal – to 2.3 million tons ( +16.3%), iron and manganese ore – to 2 million tons. (2,8%).
For comparison, in May this year, Ukrzaliznytsia transported grain cargo 1.83 million tons, construction materials – 2.5 million tons, hard coal – up to 2.22 million tons, iron and manganese ore – 1.96 million tons.
As of today, UZ has 19 railway border crossings with EU countries and Moldova, of which 14 main ones are functioning and provide freight transportation in the direction of: Poland (4 crossings), Romania (2 crossings), Slovakia (2 crossings), Hungary (2 crossings) and Moldova (4 crossings).
Ukrzaliznytsia JSC (UZ) has addressed to the carriers with a request to increase transportation through Hungarian border crossing points (BCP), which are currently underutilized and have reserves for cargo transfer, Deputy Director of Commercial Work Department of the company Valery Tkachev said on Tuesday at the online meeting with Hungarian carriers.
According to him, in June a total of 1,789 cars were handled at Chop-Zakhon crossing point and they transported 95.8 thousand tons of cargo of different nomenclature: on average this crossing in both directions handles 59.6 cars per day (w/w), including 51 cars for export from Ukraine.
Comparing June indicators with May ones, Tkachev noted an increase of cargo flow at this gateway by 13 w/c, or 27.4%.
UZ representative reminded that during last four months the maximum level of cargo traffic through Chop-Zakhon was registered in March – 83 car/cargo.
Tkachev noted that to date the main nomenclature of the crossing “Chop-Zakhon” grain, which in June was transferred at 50.5 r/c.
According to his information, there are 4 carriers at this intersection. The biggest is Rail Cargo Hungary (RCH), which in June handled 904 cars at a rate of over 30 b/c. RCH’s largest nomenclature is grains (707 cars), apart from which 85 cars with containers and imported oil cargoes were handled.
MMV Magyar Maganvasut Zrt (MMV) handled 421 wagons at the Chop-Zahan BC in June at a rate of 14 v/c. Grain also accounted for the bulk of the cargo – 370 wagons, and oil cargo imports also accounted for a significant share.
Magyar Vasuti Aruszallito Kft. (MVA) handled 402 cars at 13.5 v/c, of which 377 were loaded with grain.
CD Cargo Hungary accounted for 62 cars of grain cargo in June
“As for Chop-Zakhon, we don’t see any queue on the wide gauge (1524 mm), the narrow gauge (1435 mm) is dealt with. That is, I personally do not see any problems with the transfer and with the work of “Chop-Zalkhan”,” – said Tkachev.
According to UZ in June in Batevo-Epereshkoe 3 731 carriages with 252,3 thousand tons of different nomenclature were processed. On average, 121 v/c was dispatched from Ukraine for export, while 3.5 v/c was received. In total, this joint handles 124.4 v/c.
“For Batevo-Epereshka, we see a significant slump and a drop in cargo work of 28.5 v/c, or 18.6%. If we look at the grain group, we transfer an average of 20.6 v/c through this crossing. Last month this figure was almost 26 v/c. We in March, for example, handled 94 grain v/c. Today, unfortunately, “Batevo-Epereshka” only about 21 c / c, “- said Tkachev.
According to his information, two carriers – MMV and RCH – work at this junction. MMV handled 19 v/c: in June 247 out of 565 cars most of them were used for oil.
In turn, RCH on “Batevo-Epereshka” in June handled 3166 cars with 215,2 thousand tons of various cargo types, including the ore – 1945 cars, grain – 531, coal – 205. Its average daily rate is about 105.5 v/c.
“There are only 385 cars moving in the Batevo-Epereshke direction, including 196 with ore, 30 with grain, 25 with cake and 26 with oil. The junction is underloaded, as “Chop-Zakhon”, so there is an opportunity to increase”, – added Tkachev.
He also noted that a total of two Hungarian crossing handle the largest volume of grain per day – more than 70 cars.
“This is more than all the joints of Poland (four BCPs), Romania and other countries. That is, today Hungary is the leader in handling grain cargoes,” – stated Tkachev.
“Ukrzaliznytsia” has significantly reduced the cost of transportation of grain cargo by rail (by reducing the wagon component of the tariff), and also fixed the average speed of cars for the quarter until September 1, 2023, said Valery Tkachev, deputy director of the department of commercial work UZ.
“From July 1, 2023, the cost of using Ukrzaliznytsia JSC grain railcars is 300 UAH/day without VAT,” he wrote on Facebook.
According to the updated tariffs UZ, the cost of transporting 1 ton of grain by rail is 9.4 $ / ton and 11.4-11.9 $ / ton for a distance of 300 km in the export direction through seaports and dry crossings, respectively, at a distance of 400 km – 11.7 $ / ton and 13.7-14.3 $ / ton; 500 km – 13.4 $ / ton and 15.4-16.3 $ / ton; 600 km – 15 $ / ton and 17.2-18.2 $ / ton.
In particular the cost of transportation takes into account the additional charges at the station of departure (2500 UAH/ton), the two days of use of the car during loading/unloading, freight charges, the return of empty wagons, and other indicators.
The UZ Board will also fix the average speed of movement of cars until September 1, 2023 (per quarter) for the predictability of the work of consignors with the rolling stock UZ.
Previously, average railcar speeds changed monthly and were announced on the 28th.
“This will allow shippers to better plan their work in the cars of Ukrzaliznytsia, as well as accurately calculate the cost of transportation,” – summarized Tkachev and urged shippers of grain cargo to actively use the rolling stock UZ for transportation of grain.
The largest private railway passenger carrier in Central Europe Czech RegioJet in partnership with Ukrzaliznytsia plans to launch in 2023 a flight Prague-Chop, and in 2024 two flights to Germany – Kiev-Berlin and Kiev-Hanover via Leipzig and Dresden, said the owner of RegioJet Radim Jančura in an interview for “Forbes Ukraine”.
“Historically, the train from Kiev to Berlin ran until 2012 and was very successful. But the German railroad at one time imposed commercial conditions that increased the cost of the train on the territory of Germany. It made the route unprofitable and the trip was closed,” – he said.
The RegioJet head said the company has optimistic expectations for this project, as many more Ukrainians travel to Germany than to the Czech Republic.
Yanchura also underlined that RegioJet has a different business model from the state operators, so UZ will not have to share the revenues with the Polish and German railroads.
Speaking about the flight to Chop, the RegioJet head noted that the company has the largest share of transportation on the popular route Prague-Kosice.
“We would like to continue this route to the Ukrainian city of Chop in Transcarpathian region, and in the future to Mukachevo,” Jančura said.
According to him, the company now agrees with “Ukrzaliznytsia” schedules and conditions, so we plan to run a new train to Chop during 2023.
Yanchura added that launching a train to Mukachevo is more difficult.
“The main obstacle is the Chop-Mukachevo track section is not electrified: it used to have a contact network, but later part of it was dismantled,” the RegioJet owner noted and added: – We are ready to electrify this section at our own expense.
The head of RegioJet did not name the cost and timing of the project. According to him, they will be known after the Ukrainian authorities and UZ will approve the technical audit and determine the scope of work.
According to him, after Ukraine joins the EU, RegioJet will be able to operate trains itself in Ukraine, having received a license.
“This is how we work in all countries of the European Union. In the EU, anyone can get access to the railway infrastructure by paying a fixed tariff,” Yanchura explained.
The RegioJet owner noted that the company relies on residents of small towns rather than the population of large cities with well-developed airports.
In addition, according to Yanchura, the company is working on the possibility of RegioJet trains, still following only to the Polish Peremyshl, to the Ukrainian border station “Mostiska-2” and plans to implement this project by the end of 2023.
“For this purpose it is necessary to complete the passenger platform and the pedestrian bridge. We are ready to build it at our own expense, “- said the owner of the company.
He also said that he is ready to buy in Ukraine passenger railway cars in large quantities, but their price should be up to $ 1 million per piece.
RegioJet is the second biggest bus carrier in Europe after Flixbus and the biggest private railway passenger carrier in Central Europe. The company has licenses to operate in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Austria and Poland. Last year, RegioJet carried 11 million passengers.
JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia” (UZ) in the period from 1 to 15 June recorded an increase in rail freight traffic by 45.7% compared to the same period of 2022, the press service of UZ reported on Friday.
“Freight rail shipments between June 1 and June 15, 2023, according to operational data, increased by 45.7% compared to the same period in June 2022 and by 12% compared to the same period in May this year. The average daily load for the period increased by 26.2% compared to June 2022 – up to 390.4 thousand tons, “- said in a report UZ.
According to the company, the volume of domestic shipments in the first half of June rose by 47% compared with the same period last year and by 8.3% compared with the first half of May – up to 3.715 million tons. Export traffic rose by 50.8% and 19.5%, respectively – to 2.191 million tons.
UZ specified that according to the cargo types minerals, coal, grain and milling products, manganese and iron ore traditionally lead in terms of transportation volumes.
Transportation of grain cargo from June 1-15 has increased by 71.2% against the same period of 2022 and by 24% against the first half of May – up to 1.106 million tons. At the same time, export shipments of grain increased by 2.3 and 54.3% respectively up to 849.9 thousand tons. Coal carriages increased by 29.2% and 7.2%, respectively – to 1.136 million tons, iron and manganese ore – by 12.8% and 2% – to 1 million tons. The volume of transportation of Minstroymaterials doubled in comparison with the same period of 2022 and increased by 24% compared to May.
According to Yevgeniy Lyashchenko, head of the board of UZ, these figures give reason to predict that the company can approach breakeven in 2023.
“We have cautious optimism and good indicators of the main work of Ukrzaliznytsia – freight transportation. Thanks to the painstaking work of the Ministry of Reconstruction, business, our specialists, the unblocking of the “grain corridor”, the revival of traffic in the direction of the western borders, we record the growth of freight traffic in the first half of June almost by half. These figures allow us to come close to break-even in 2023″, – he was quoted by the press service of UZ.
Earlier it was reported that in May UZ increased the volume of cargo transportation by 19.2%.
JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia” (UZ) in May 2023 transported 1836 thousand tons of grain cargo, which is 33% less than a month earlier, said deputy director of the department of commercial work UZ Valery Tkachev at a meeting with representatives of agrarian business on Thursday.
According to his information 1147 thousand tons of grain cargo were sent for export last month, which is 46% less than in April. In domestic communication 683 thousand tons were transported, which is 16% less than in April. Average daily loading in May was 44 thousand tons.
“Two factors influenced the reduction of transportation – the blocking by the aggressor of the “grain corridor”, which affected the delivery of goods by rail to ports, as well as the blocking of exports through “solidarity corridors” by European countries, which led to a halving of cargo handling through the western borders of Ukraine”, – explained Tkachev.
He added that UZ is ready to increase transportation, for which it has sufficient resources.
According to the operational data of UZ, in the first week of June 2023 the volume of grain cargo loading was 380 thousand tons, or 15% of the total cargo. Average daily volumes of transshipment during this period amounted to 54 thousand tons, which is 2.2 times higher than in April.
According to Tkachev, the actual average daily volume of agricultural cargo transshipment through the border crossings in June 2023 increased by 90 cars compared to May. Grain cargo increased by eight cars per day.
A UZ representative said that 9,740 railcars, of which 1,084 railcars with grain cargoes, are heading toward the western border. The queue for agricultural commodities has decreased by 343 cars (24%).
“Wagon congestion is ‘dissipating,’ thanks to the balancing of border loads. As long as the grain corridor works, the load on the western borders is reduced. Also transfer through European countries became more active”, – UZ representative explained.
Speaking about the transshipment of grain at the Ukrainian-Polish border, Tkachev said that in May at the checkpoint “Yagodin-Dorohusk” average daily passed 17.3 cars with grain, crossing “Izov-Grubeshov” – 20 per day, crossing “Mostiska-Medica” – 22.13 per day. At the Romanian BCP “Vadul-Siret-Dornesti” average was 47.7 w/c with grain, BCP “Dyakovo-Halmeu” – 8.5 w/c.
At the Ukrainian-Hungarian border, grain cargo transshipment in May at BCP “Chop-Zakhon” was 39.5 per/c, at BCP “Bat’ovo-Betereshki” in May transshipment of 25.6 per/c was recorded, the maximum rate in May – 93.9 per/c.
“For all Western BCPs, if we analyze the statistics of the last five months, there is a sagging of shipments from one and a half to five times. The remaining restrictions on exports with the permission of transit significantly affect the export of grain through the western borders,” – summarized Tkachev.
The head of UZ reported that, as of June 8, 2023 in the direction of the ports of Greater Odessa moves 2663 railcars with grain cargo. The average daily unloading in June is 493 cars with grain. Unloading waiting time (queue) is 4.9 days.
As of June 8, 1,656 railcars with grain cargo are bound for Port Ismail. Since May 29, the queue decreased by 23.48%. The average daily unloading for June was 122 grain cars. Unloading waiting time (queue) reaches 11.3 days.
“The work of the “grain corridor” today is difficult to predict, the aggressor country constantly changes the number of inspections of ships and puts forward different requirements, in addition the work of the port “Southern” is blocked. The situation in the port of Izmail remains difficult because of the large accumulation of cars. Loading in the port direction is planned taking into account the processing capacity of consignees/operators, but due to weather conditions they unload significantly less than planned volume,” UZ noted.
