The cost of rail transportation of ore in Ukraine exceeded EU tariffs

The cost of rail transportation of iron ore through Ukraine is higher than on similar routes in the European Union. This was stated by Oleksandr Kalenkov, President of Ukrmetprom, during the discussion “Railroad Tariffs in 2025-2026: Where is the Balance Between Customers’ Capabilities and Carrier’s Needs” organized by the CFTS.

To support his words, Kalenkov provided actual calculations of the cost of iron ore transportation both in Ukraine and the EU. The data was obtained from railroad operators, including Poland’s RTS Cargo and Slovakia’s Budamar Logistics.

According to the calculations, it costs $13.9 per tonne to transport ore in a Ukrzaliznytsia’s diesel railcar over a distance of about 800 km to the Polish border. For comparison, transportation of the same distance through Poland by RTS Cargo wagons to the port of Gdansk costs $12.3 per ton.

The difference is even more significant on the route through Slovakia. Delivery in a UZ’s CPL car for 950 km to the border with this country costs $16.5 per tonne, while transportation of ore through Slovakia and Poland to Gdansk in BUDAMAR LOGISTICS cars costs only $10.1/tonne.

All amounts include the full range of costs. For the EU, this includes payment for the locomotive and wagon components plus infrastructure fees, and for Ukraine, it includes the railway tariff and the fee for using the CPL car.

Thus, after a sharp increase in rates in 2022, Ukrainian tariffs not only failed to become competitive but exceeded European ones. This casts doubt on the attractiveness of transit routes through Ukraine and creates additional risks for iron ore exports in the face of fierce competition in global markets.

According to Kametstal CEO Aleksandr Tretyakov, it is absolutely unacceptable for the Ukrainian steel and mining industry to increase tariffs of state monopolies. In particular, an increase in railway tariffs and electricity transmission and dispatching tariffs in an unfavorable global market environment could lead to a critical decline in the competitiveness of Ukrainian steelmakers.