Russian Railways forecasts growth of grain transportation by 8-12% in 2020

In 2020, it is expected to increase grain deliveries by rail to the level of 2019 in the amount of 8 to 12%

Such data were announced at the round table in Moscow “Rail transportation of agricultural products. Problems and Prospects ”Deputy Head of the Center for Corporate Transport Services of JSC Russian Railways Dmitry Gorokh.

According to him, the decrease in loading at the end of 2019 is mainly due to a decrease in the gross harvest of grain and leguminous crops in Russia in 2018 and a decrease in the competitiveness of domestic grain on the market. Recall that the decrease was 113.3 million tons (-16.4% by 2018 and -22.3 million tons by 2017), the grain fleet in 2019 increased by 4.6 thousand cars (+10.1 %) and amounts to 50.9 thousand units, according to forecasts of Russian Railways by the beginning of 2021, taking into account upcoming write-offs at the end of their service life and the forecast for the production of new cars, it will amount to 47.9 thousand cars. According to the results of 2019, the turnover of grain carriers increased by 2.9 days to the level of 2018.

The measures taken by Russian Railways to ensure the transportation of grain were announced: the transportation of grain products under special conditions in bulk in universal large-capacity containers and gondola cars using a container liner was allowed, and in covered wagons, with or without a liner; the standard technology for the formation of trains was approved as part of the provision of the Cargo Express service, which provides for the coupling of a group of wagons to a container train; the issue of leasing infrastructure freight yards, including for the installation of mini-elevators at the expense of investors, is being studied; the possibility of storing grain in prefabricated warehouses is being considered; the issue of creating grain satellites is being studied; work is underway to equip the cargo terminals with specialized loading and unloading equipment for working with grain cargoes; a joint action plan has been developed for Russian Railways and the REC Group to support the development of non-resource non-energy exports; A working group has been formed at Russian Railways to coordinate and ensure the transportation of grain cargo during the period of mass presentation of them for transportation by rail; The technology for the formation by the shipper of the daily customer loading plan and the forecast for the presentation of the cargo for the decade was approved and implemented, which will ensure control over the timely supply of rolling stock and the formation of a shift-daily task.

Answering questions from the roundtable participants about excessive tariffs and when it will be possible to say that large grain senders will switch from road transport to rail transport, D. Gorokh replied that he did not consider tariff restrictions to be the main deterrent, and the element of competition for goods only made Russian Railways work it's better.

“We are doing everything so that our client receives the best service at the best price,” D. Gorokh finished his speech.