This week, the company “Rīgas Universālais Termināls” (Riga Universal Terminal - RUT) received and unloaded the first test train with Ukrainian cereal products, which was delivered to the Freeport of Riga by SIA LDZ CARGO, a subsidiary of the SJSC “Latvijas dzelzceļš”. 1423 tons of rapeseed from Ukraine were delivered in 54 containers. Containers from Ukraine arrived at the port of Riga via the Kaunas intermodal railway terminal, where they were loaded onto the platforms of SIA LDZ CARGO to be delivered to Riga. Currently, Ukrainian rapeseed has been unloaded and stored in RUT warehouses.
“We must do everything possible to promote a faster victory for Ukraine. I am pleased with the successful cooperation between Latvian railway, the Port of Riga and “Rīgas Universālais Termināls”, providing for the delivery of the first Ukrainian grain cargo by rail and further transshipment at the port. Latvia will continue to be a critical ally of Ukraine in the future, promoting its integration into the European transport network,” said Kaspars Briškens, Minister of Transport.
“Since the beginning of the war, the terminals of the Port of Riga have been actively working to transport Ukrainian grain products, but until now they came to the port by road, which in terms of efficiency and volume cannot be compared to rail transportation. Several terminals in the port of Riga in terms of technology and infrastructure capacities would be fully ready to accept and efficiently process container trains with Ukrainian grain products. We hope that this first test will prove successful for the entire logistics chain, and in the future, we will receive trains with Ukrainian grain in the Port of Riga on a regular basis,” emphasized Ansis Zeltiņš, the Freeport of Riga CEO.
Receiving grain in containers is a new experience for the terminals of the Port of Riga. Edgars Rudzītis, Head of the bulk warehouse department of the company RUT, said that the terminal, being equipped and ready for the acceptance of grain container trains from Ukraine, is boasting the necessary technologies for container processing, as well as warehouses and suitable infrastructure for storage and loading of bulk cargo. Despite the new type of transshipment and relevant challenges, all the work was performed efficiently – the terminal's capabilities made it possible to fulfill the main requirement of the carrier – to quickly release the railway platforms so that they can be used for new transportation tasks.
“This is the first cargo from Ukraine to be transported through our infrastructure within the last year and a half, and I think it is a symbolical and very significant event. We have repeatedly confirmed that due to the capacity of “Latvijas dzelzceļš” infrastructure and SIA LDZ CARGO we are able to transport and process large-scale cargo, including grain cargo from Ukraine. In accordance with the current situation, we have created new possibilities for cargo transportation, and we plan to further develop these cargo transportation solutions so that transportation of grain and other products between Ukraine and Latvia can take place regularly,” said Rinalds Pļavnieks, Chairman of the SJSC “Latvijas dzelzceļš” Board.
Containers from Ukraine were shipped on September 25, on October 8 they were reloaded in Kaunas onto the SIA LDZ CARGO platforms, and on October 11 the platforms reached the Port of Riga and cargo unloading was started at the Riga Universal Terminal. Railway transportation was organized by SIA LDZ CARGO in cooperation with the Client - SIA “LTG Cargo Ukraina”, within the framework of the cooperation agreement concluded in November 2022.
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