Container siding - Newspaper Kommersant No. 16 (7461) dated 01/30/2023

Container siding - Newspaper Kommersant No. 16 (7461) dated 01/30/2023



The market is preparing for a sharp increase in the import container traffic from the Far East indicated by the authorities — it should reach 6.5 thousand TEU per day, compared to the current 4.1–4.3 thousand. Eastern ports do not receive the required number of platforms. According to Russian Railways estimates, to solve the problem, it is necessary either to transport eight connected trains to the east, for which it is necessary to rebuild stations, or to increase the export of containers in gondola cars by two-thirds, which will require the development of access infrastructure for terminals.

Container operators are discussing how to achieve the goal set by the Ministry of Transport to increase the daily shipment of containerized cargo from the Far East to 6-6.5 thousand TEU per day. In December, the record level of export was 4.32 thousand per day, including 1.1 thousand in gondola cars. Minister Vitaly Savelyev said that this year the export was planned at the level of 4.1-4.3 thousand containers per day (see Kommersant on January 12), but at the same time he mentioned a plan to increase the volume by one and a half times. The minister did not name the exact dates, the market believes that we are talking about 2025.

Now there is a sharp disproportion of exports and imports in the eastern direction, where the incoming flow is 30–40% higher than the outgoing one, it is necessary to solve the problem of supplying fitting platforms or exporting containers in other ways. At the end of 2022, it was solved, on the one hand, by assigning three additional container trains to the Far East per day, on the other hand, by organizing the removal of containers in gondola cars that deliver bulk cargo for export.

As Aleksey Shilo, deputy general director of Russian Railways, said at a meeting of the expert club of the Eurasian Union of Railway Transport Participants (ESP) on January 27, the solution to the problem is being considered within the framework of a special program prepared by the Ministry of Transport and the monopoly. There are two approaches. The first is to carry the entire volume in specialized container trains consisting of fitting platforms. According to the top manager, in order to send 6.5 thousand TEU, at least eight connected trains must be transported through the Eastern range to the Far East every day. “This will require additional investment,” he stressed. “Every 150 km you need to have a station where such a long train can overtake others or you can carry out some operations with it.”

The second, “worst” option is if the number of schedule threads for container trains remains at the current level (22 per day). “If there is a disproportion, when there is a significant increase in imports, 25 container trains consisting of gondola cars will be needed,” Alexey Shilo explained. According to him, this will require a significant change in the operation of the Nakhodka and Vladivostok hubs, including the development of the road network, since much more cargo will need to be transported from the main terminals to the rear. Russian Railways is preparing for both options at the same time. The size of the required investment is not disclosed.

Now, says Alexei Shilo, Russian Railways does not have a shortage of rear terminals in the Far East - there are 16 of them at 12 stations of the Nakhodka and Vladivostok hubs. But, Stanislav Stankevich, executive director of Trans Synergy, clarifies, Russian Railways has a problem with servicing terminals due to their high concentration.

According to Fininvest CEO Alexander Kakhidze, of the 25 gondola trains required, Nakhodka can send eight, and another 17 need to be loaded in Vladivostok. He said that Fininvest is starting construction of a terminal in Artyom in the spring, where it will be possible to load 15-17 gondola trains per day and transport them through the hub in Novosibirsk with reloading to platforms there. The first stage of the terminal in Novosibirsk, where the company will invest 6.5 billion rubles this year, should be launched in the third quarter. Trans Synergy starts building a terminal in Irkutsk.

According to Alexander Podylov, Vice President for Commercial Activities of TransContainer, 6.5 thousand TEU is “a very ambitious figure”. “I am sure that we will achieve it,” he says, “and the competition between import and export cargo flows will become tougher: to take out 6,500 TEU, you need to bring 6,500 containers.” Some participants believe that the size of traffic for trains from fitting platforms should increase, others that the rest should be taken out by gondola cars.

“The technology of reloading from gondola cars to platforms has proven its effectiveness,” says Alexander Kakhidze. “Given the busy traffic on the Trans-Siberian Railway, we believe that a further increase in throughput specifically for fitting platforms is impossible.” In his opinion, “the main task is not to lose 22 threads (graphics.— "b"), which are on the schedule today, the rest can be transported in gondola cars.” “The current number of threads is enough,” says German Maslov, Vice President for the Linear Logistics Division of FESCO. “The use of gondola cars has proven itself well during peak seasons. But, nevertheless, we are sure that the use of gondola cars will not be needed on a permanent basis.” Mr. Podylov also considers gondola cars to be “an auxiliary story”, but “with the figure of 6.5 thousand TEU, one cannot do without them.”

Natalya Skorlygina



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