Ukrzaliznytsia and Deutsche Bahn want to create a joint venture
3.10.2022 - 10:30
JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia” and the German railway operator Deutsche Bahn are considering the possibility of creating a joint venture.
Recently ”Ukrzaliznytsia” and Deutsche Bahn signed a Memorandum on Support and Cooperation in the field of international freight transportation. The signing took place on September 20, during the InnoTrans 2022 exhibition in Berlin.
In particular, within the framework of the memorandum, UZ and Deutsche Bahn are conducting negotiations on the creation of a joint venture (JV). Volodymyr Shemayev, deputy director of the department of investment activities of ”Ukrzaliznytsia”, told about this in an interview with TTS.
“Creating a joint venture is not a new idea. Previously, a similar proposal was voiced regarding Polish Railways. Currently, German colleagues are studying this issue from the point of view of compliance of the potential JV with antimonopoly legislation and are calculating the economics of the issue,” said Shemaev.
According to him, such an enterprise would give Ukraine the opportunity for clearer planning, possibly the formation of specific routes and the minimization of downtime at border crossings. For foreign partners, there is a cargo flow, which is calculated in millions of tons, which they did not serve before.
Ukraine offered Deutsche Bahn to do a pilot project — to organize a route train from Ukraine to one of the German ports. On its part, Ukraine could put 120 grain trucks into operation for such an enterprise, and DB needs at least two locomotives.
“At the moment, there is no final solution, much will depend on the economic effect, in addition, we understand that the state of war carries additional risks for foreign partners,” the expert summarized.
The memorandum provides for the assistance of Deutsche Bahn “Ukrzaliznytsia” in the reconstruction of the Ukrainian railway infrastructure. In addition, the document covers cooperation for the expansion of rail freight corridors, modernization of terminal capacity and consulting services for the introduction of European standards in railway management.
