UZ should not interfere in competition for cargo between ports, — Tkachev

Ukrzaliznytsia should not interfere in the competition for cargo between seaports.

Deputy Director of the Department of Transportation Technology and Commercial Work of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia Valeriy Tkachov wrote about this on Facebook.

“The difference in the distance of transporting grain cargo from elevators to ports has always been… and will always be… due to their geographical location. I think ports should compete with each other independently due to the quality of services and their cost,” he noted.

According to him, Ukrzaliznytsia should transport cargo, taking into account the efficiency of transportation (taking into account the throughput of sections and the type of traction, as well as maximally using sections with electric traction). Where necessary, it is worth consolidating the cargo flow, or vice versa — “splitting” it, taking into account the uniform load of the network (to balance the power supply capacity and the available traction fleet).

Tkachev stated that Ukrzaliznytsia cannot currently physically transport all cargo to seaports through the Pomichna-Kolosovka section (via the Voznesensky Bridge) due to objective infrastructure limitations (including energy).

Establishing a single tariff for cargo transportation to all seaports will lead to the fact that terminals that are geographically closer (Pivdennyi port) will subsidize the logistics of terminals that are further away (Chornomorsk, Izmail).

“Which is better… to support competition between ports… or to support individual ports that are further away? This needs to be decided at the state level,” Tkachev wrote.

The director of the UZ department summarized: “I heard the opinion that the high cost of port dues in the Pivdennyi port (almost the highest in the world) seems to offset cheaper domestic railway logistics.”

USM previously reported that Ukrzaliznytsia explained why transporting grain to Pivdennyi is cheaper than to Odesa and Chornomorsk.