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HHLA lets the train take the straine in Ukraine

[ November 5, 2020   //   ]

Hamburg handling company HHLA (Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG) has established a Ukrainian Intermodal Company (UIC) subsidiary to offer container transport by rail between the port of Odessa and important economic centres in the country.

Currently, rail only accounts for 22% of the Black Sea port of Odessa’s 650,000teu a year. By comparison, over 46% of sea containers in Hamburg reach or leave the port by rail. However, HHLA says that the rail network can offer advantages over Ukraine’s often inadequate road network and rail is well suited to the long distances.

Managing director of HHLA International, Philip Sweens, said: “HHLA possesses extensive expertise in the intermodal business. With an efficient train system based on customer-friendly services, transparent prices, simple booking processes and reliable timetables, we want to tap the considerable potential of the Ukrainian intermodal market.”

UIC will for the first time in Ukraine consolidate rail traffic to major centres into weekly block trains.

UIC has  operated a weekly block train between Odessa and Ternopil in western Ukraine since early and, in November, is due to start a weekly service to the industrial centre of Kharkiv, the second largest city in the Ukraine. It also plans to establish a train between Odessa and Zaporizhia in the east.

HHLA operates the largest container handling facility in Ukraine in Odessa port while inland activities are carried out at private rail terminals. Additional services such as stuffing and stripping of containers, hub-to-door delivery to the final destination by truck or customs clearance are also available.

(The next printed issue of FBJ (FBJ 8 2020) will include a report on the rail sector)

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