UZ concluded contracts with 27 carrier companies from the EU and Moldova

Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) has already renegotiated contracts on the organization of international transportation in 2023 through land border crossings with 27 companies from the EU and Moldova. Rail.Insider informs about it with the reference to Valery Tkachev, deputy director of Ukrzalitnytsia’s commercial work department.

Currently, the list of Ukrzaliznytsia’s partners includes the largest number of carriers operating in Poland – 11 companies. This is followed by Romania – 6, Hungary – 5, Slovakia – 3. These are both local operators and subsidiaries of large multinational carriers: DB Cargo, ÖBB Rail Cargo, PKP Cargo, Captrain, etc. In addition, contracts have been concluded with national operators of railway transport – Bulgarian BDZH and State Enterprise «Moldova’s Railway».

According to Valery Tkachev, this list is preliminary. In the near future, it is possible to replenish the number of UZ partners, as the company works with all foreign carriers willing to work.

As GMK Center reported earlier, according to operational data, in 2022, Ukrainian railways reduced freight transportation by 52.1% y/y – to 150.6 million tons. The volume of transportation decreased for all types of cargo,  grain transportation fell the most. Last December, UZ transported 10.1 million tons of cargo, which is almost 0.4 million less than the previous month.

Also, in December 2022, there was a decrease in the actual speed of movement of Ukrzaliznytsia’s freight railcars. This happened due to a series of massive Russian attacks and delays of passenger trains. As a result, UZ reduced the estimated average speeds of railcars for January 2023.