RZD set to increase by 10% freight volume to eastern region this year
Expansion of RZD Eastern operating domain capacity is proceeding according to plan
Russian Railways (RZD) plans to increase the volume of freight transportation in the Eastern operating territory by almost 10% this year compared to the previous year (2021 – 144 million tonnes), up to 158 million tonnes, an RZD official said.
Alexey Shilo, Deputy General Director, Head of Corporate Transportation Services tooking part in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) said that the company plans to supply 132 railway engines to the Far East to ensure the haulage of heavy trains weighing 7,100 and 8,200 tonnes.
“The western operation domain sagged in terms of exports volume, but we really see how freight is now moving to the east... There are already 700 new customers who were not seen in the eastern direction a year ago... Concerning the Eastern operation domain infrastructure, a lot of activities are now underway... despite all the challenges... we continue our investment program and continue to actively expand the infrastructure of the Eastern territory... We are actively using heavy haul traffic, we will double the volume of heavy trains in this direction this year,” the PortNews correspondent quoted the RZD official as saying.
Mr Shilo said that the project to expand the Eastern operation domain is proceeding according to plan. He also noted that, having a large capacity of railway access tracks to checkpoints across the state border with China, it is not yet possible to use them at full capacity due to coronavirus restrictions. At the same time, the port infrastructure of the Far Eastern Basin is 76% dedicated to coal transshipment, which indicates the need to convert part of the capacities for transshipment of other demanded cargoes.
In addition, RZD sees great prospects in the development of the North-South Transport Corridor. According to Aleksey Shilo, the southern-bound traffic also increased by 26% compared to last year. “The interest of all parties in the development of this corridor should give a result,” he added.
