Surplus of wagons in Ukraine prompts operators to explore markets in Georgia and Kazakhstan

The surplus of rolling stock in the domestic market is pushing operators to expand the geography of wagon use.

Ukrainian freight rail operators are looking for new opportunities to sell wagons abroad — primarily in the markets of Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Bulgaria. This is reported by Latifundist.

However, so far these are isolated attempts, not systematic exports. According to the owner of Teus Terminal, Dmitry Kazanin, the operation of wagons outside Ukraine requires significant costs.

“The Georgian market is small and less familiar to us. We understand Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan better. There were requests from there for both grain trucks and gondola cars,” the expert notes.

However, even in a more familiar region, the economics of the project remain questionable. The delivery of one wagon to Kazakhstan costs approximately $10,000. At the same time, the average rental rate — $15 per day — means that the return on investment may exceed two years. And this is without taking into account the costs of repairs, customs clearance, VAT and regulatory restrictions, in particular, regarding the mileage of wagons with foreign registration.

BGS Rail CEO Darius Zakarauskas agrees: although some companies are trying to enter foreign markets, there is no general trend towards the relocation of the wagon fleet yet.

USM previously reported that Moldova and Ukraine discussed the transit of wagons via the ferry to Batumi.