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Spanish Ministry of Transport launches pilot project to export 600 tonnes of corn from Ukraine
KYIV. Aug 11 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Spanish railway operator Renfe Mercancías sent to Ukraine an experimental railway train of 25 containers with big bags to transport 600 tonnes of corn along an alternative route bypassing Ukrainian seaports.
The corresponding route was launched on August 9 by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda of Spain as an alternative or addition to maritime transport amid Russian military aggression against Ukraine, according to the agency’s website.
This is a pilot route, through which the ministry seeks to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of rail transportation of grain along the railway from Lodz (Poland) to Barcelona (Spain).
According to the agency, the train will pass along the route Madrid-Ludwigshafen-Duisburg-Lodz-Chelm, and the return route Chelm-Lodz-Duisburg-Barcelona, its length is approximately 2,400 km. Transportation is planned between Ukraine and Spain with transshipment of goods in Chelm, 25 km from the border with Ukraine.
The Spanish Ministry of Transport specified that the Renfe Mercancías containers will arrive in Chelm on August 22-28 to be loaded with Ukrainian corn, where they will be processed for subsequent transfer to the terminal of the logistics operator Kombiverker in Lodz. Transportation between Lodz and Chelm will be carried out by the Polish railway operator DBP.
After loading the containers, the train will run on standard gauge from Lodz to Barcelona. From the grain terminal in Barcelona, the goods will be delivered to the ultimate buyer. The forecast for the arrival of the pilot batch in Barcelona is early September.
"The first stages of this pilot project coincide with the opening of (Ukrainian) Black Sea ports and sea grain routes under Turkish control, so the test trip will be made with 600 tonnes of corn, a smaller volume than originally planned. It is important to check the viability of railway solutions from Spain as support for the maritime transport of Ukraine," the Spanish Ministry of Transport summed up.
Thus, the pilot project is focused on analyzing the possibilities of land transport as an alternative to maritime exports from Ukraine, it will be carried out in public-private coordination between representatives of the transport and raw materials sectors of the EU.
