Cargo moves to China by land

Railroad border crossings with China, which performed poorly during the pandemic, are now showing rapid growth in traffic. Over ten months, volume increased by 22%. Transportation through Grodekovo-Suifenhe grew most actively; the Nizhneleninskoye-Tongjiang border crossing, which has been in operation for a year, is reaching its planned capacity, where part of the volumes of coal and ore were transferred. Russian Railways also plans to develop transportation with China along routes through Mongolia and Kazakhstan.

Cargo transportation to China through railway checkpoints of the Far East in January-October increased by almost 22%, reported JSC Russian Railways, reaching a total of 11.9 million tons. The largest volume of exports (6.8 million tons, 1.7% more than a year earlier) was transferred through the Grodekovo-Suifenhe border crossing. Cross-border transportation of coal increased by 1.5 times, to 2 million tons, the transfer of ore increased by 9.9% (1.6 million tons), and grain cargo increased by 2.4 times (408 thousand tons). 160 thousand tons of cargo were imported from China through the border crossing, which is 22.3% more than a year earlier. Mostly construction and container cargo is carried in the opposite direction.

At the end of August, the attache of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Harbin, Oleg Gordeev, in a certificate about the situation with cargo transportation through Grodekovo-Suifenhe (available to Kommersant), said that wood dominates in the Russian cargo base (and there has recently been more lumber than round timber), on the transportation of which takes about 4 thousand wagons every month. About 3.5 thousand gondola cars per month are allocated for coal and iron ore, up to 2 thousand platforms for container cargo, about 1 thousand covered cars and hoppers for mineral fertilizers and grain.

The Nizhneleninskoye-Tongjiang bridge, which opened in November 2022, reports Russian Railways, in ten months 2.5 million tons of cargo were shipped – 1.9 million tons of coal and 583 thousand tons of ore. In the opposite direction, 10.4 thousand tons of container cargo from China were transferred.

JSC Russian Railways “Kommersant” stated that they continue to interact with their Chinese colleagues to develop the infrastructure of border crossings and improve the efficiency of their work.

The company recalled that in 2022 a new container terminal was put into operation at the Zabaikalsk railway border crossing point, which is planned to be finally completed in 2026. Work continues to increase the capacity of the Grodekovo-Suifenhe and Makhalino-Hunchun border crossings; the Nizhneleninskoye-Tongjiang border crossing is reaching the planned volume of work: “On some days, up to five trains already pass through it.”

There are also prospects for increasing traffic through the trans-Mongolian route, Russian Railways adds. Over nine months, transportation of foreign trade cargo from Russia to China and back through Mongolia increased by 42%. In October, representatives of the railways of the three countries agreed to increase the number of container trains transferred through the Naushki border crossing by 25%. New checkpoints are also involved in trilateral trade. In particular, they plan to make the Solovyovsk railway checkpoint multilateral, where, according to the Far Eastern Customs Administration, the Mongolian side has expressed “extreme interest” in the transit of construction cargo from China to Russia.

“In addition, the creation of new checkpoints on the border of Russia and China, as well as the development of a transit corridor through Kazakhstan with the construction of a third checkpoint on the Sino-Kazakh border and the adjacent Ayagoz-Bakhty railway line, will significantly contribute to the increase in the volume of rail cargo transportation,” – the company reports.

“Kazakhstan Temir Zholy” (Railways of the country) plans to build a 270 km Ayagoz-Bakhty line and a new railway crossing point with China by 2025, investing 321 billion tenge (62 billion rubles), which will increase freight traffic between China and Kazakhstan by 20 million tons Now routes through Kazakhstan are actively involved in the transportation of goods from China to the Russian Federation. In particular, UTLC ERA, which operates the transportation of containers from China through Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus, plans to increase the volume of transportation by 1.3% by the end of the year, to 690 thousand TEU.

The growth in transportation volumes from China is facilitated by their digitalization and optimization of customs procedures – for example, the decision of the Federal Customs Service, which made it possible to place goods from abroad under customs transit using different modes of transport.

However, border crossings with China are not yet at full capacity.

“The local authorities are seriously concerned about the long-standing problem of sending Chinese exports by train,” Mr. Gordeev wrote. Thus, every week one or two freight trains are transferred from Suifenhe on a narrow gauge to Grodekovo, which represents a shortage for Chinese exporters, and “according to some estimates, local enterprises ready to transport fruits and vegetables, haberdashery and construction materials to Russia require an additional 600 trains every month.” carriages.”

The Chinese side is actively promoting a proposal to use empty cars for export, returning to Russia on a broad gauge after unloading in China, which would help mitigate the problem of Grodekovo capacity shortage, the attaché reported, and also proposed to electrify the 26-kilometer section connecting the two stations.

Natalya Skorlygina