The usual winter jams could be seen at approach lines to Russia’s ports
Photo: Vasiliy Shitov
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Trans-Siberian Railway Choked with Coal
The usual winter jams could be noticed already at approach lines to the ports of Russia. Fourteen trains loaded with coal cannot leave the stations of Primorie and Khabarovsk Region. Sixty trains more are en route from Siberia to Nakhodka’s Vostochny Port. Trains with 800,000 tons of metal are blocked near Novorossiisk. In Russian Railways (RZhD), they blame the delay on consigners and ports and impose temporarily shipping bans in problem directions. The good news is that the extent of delays will be much less this year, RZhD forecasts.
In Russia, the railway delay is a common matter in winter, first of all because of the poor weather conditions, insufficient mechanization degree of the ports. The situation is aggravated by the lack of responsibility of consigners, RZhD said. The problem was threatening last year with up to 200 trains left at different time and RZhD losing more than 700 million rubles as a result. This year’s forecast was pessimistic. Material increase in railway rates was expected to surge shipment in ports and cause more jams in the aftermath. But the forecasts have not been met so far.
There are no jams in the main lines, RZhD representatives said yesterday. In addition to the Far Eastern Railway, the trains are delayed in the North Caucasus Railway near Novorossiisk port and in Octyabrskaya Railway. “But those jams are predominantly local, they don’t provoke agitation,” RZhD officials said. “The situation is much better than in the previous year. We have managed to improve cooperation with sailors.”
Another reason is the change in metal market opportunities. “Last year, the growth in steel prices in the world boomed metal export from Russia with Novorossiisk actually full of cargo,” RZhD representatives said. “The situation changed during 2005, cutting down the cargo flow.”
Nevertheless, the problem is far from final solution. “The contracts on delimitation of responsibility for cargo delay that were made with the ports have failed to produce the effect counted on in the company,” RZhD representatives specified.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Dec. 15, 2005
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