Ukrzaliznytsia sent the first container train with export cargo for China on an endless journey
Ukrzaliznytsia launched the “first in the history of independent Ukraine” container train with export cargo on the route Ukraine – People’s Republic of China.
This was reported by the company's press service, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
The train departed from the Liski container terminal in Kyiv. The train contains 43 40-foot containers of lumber. On its way to the city of Xi'an, the train will cover almost 10 kilometers across the territory of 000 countries, the estimated travel time is 4 days.
As noted by the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Alexander Kubrakov, “Ukraine cannot ignore the demand and potential of multimodal transport, in particular with Asian countries - therefore, updating and developing infrastructure for the sea-rail format will be one of the main tasks of the Great Construction in the coming years "
According to the acting Chairman of the Board of Ukrzaliznytsia JSC Alexander Kamishin, the optimal transport for the development of trade relations between Ukraine and China is rail container transportation.
“In mid-September, we received the 50th container train with imported cargo from China. Today we are sending the first container train with Ukrainian cargo to China. We plan that such trains will become regular,” noted Alexander Kamishin.
Although transportation is indeed carried out, its volume is small and does not have any particular prospects for growth, noted economist Alexander Okhrimenko in a comment to a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“Under Poroshenko, the same project was launched, the idea was that Ukraine could become some kind of alternative to Russia for transport to Europe from China. This idea has been discussed and remembered for a long time, it is popular. The Ukrainian government is promoting this project. But if you look at the results, they are quite weak. Ukraine earned very little from this project, since the volume of transportation is very meager.
They actually carry something along this route, but they carry so little that there is nothing to brag about yet. It was assumed that it would be possible to create a large transport hub and pick up transportation in Russia, but in practice nothing really worked out,” the economist said.
The very idea of transporting containers through four countries and two seas is stupid, since it is much cheaper to transport them through Russia.
“It is much easier and cheaper to transport containers through Russia. Firstly, there is no need to reload containers from trains to ships in the Black and Caspian Seas and vice versa. Secondly, there is no need to go through the customs of several countries – Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan,” summed up Alexander Okhrimenko.
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