Prihláste sa na odber noviniek
The war in Ukraine has disrupted many of the usual flows of goods. At the same time, however, new business opportunities arose. Sales teams of ZSSK CARGO work tirelessly to keep goods moving in both directions. One of them is the transportation of recycled paper to Ukraine by rail.
Freight transport between Ukraine and the rest of Europe filled the media headlines in the first half of 2022 more than ever before. The reason is the problematic export of Ukrainian grain, on which some countries in the Middle East and Africa are literally dependent. ZSSK CARGO is also actively involved in these shipments too. However, outside the interest of the media, are other transports that take place between Slovakia and Ukraine, directed by ZSSK CARGO.
Paper from Sečovce to Uzhhorod
One of them is transport, which initially stopped after the start of the war in Ukraine, but with the ongoing conflict, the Ukrainian economy has gradually picked up again and the demand for goods is considerable. Among others, is the demand for recycled paper. And so ZSSK CARGO renewed and significantly increased the Sečovce - Uzhhorod route.
Short distance, significant help
Although this distance may seem short, it is a significant help. Trucks often wait for more than 24 hours at congested border crossings. By rail, goods reach Ukraine faster. And so the truck transports of collected and separated paper from Slovakia, Poland and Hungary are concentrated in one place, from where they are already heading to Ukraine.
Collection by trucks, export by rail
The loading point is a railway siding that leads to the Malex3 company in Sečovce. The siding leads from the railway line leading from Trebišov to Vranov nad Topľou near the village of Albínov. In the past, it was used for the import and storage of salt from Ukraine, which was sent here in wagons through the Maťovce border crossing. Today, the type of goods has changed and recycled paper is loaded here instead. Paper consists of various packages, boxes, newspapers, packaging, leaflets and similar waste, which is compressed into packages and loaded into covered wagons of ZSSK CARGO.
Use for blue wagons
Covered two-axle wagons of ZSSK CARGO type Hbis with sliding doors, which are very easy and quick to load, are used for these transports. However, as the demand was constantly increasing, these blue wagons were no longer sufficient, and so four-axle wagons of the Rils type were added to them, which also have sliding sides, only with tarpaulin. Each wagon is loaded with 23 to 25 tons of recycled paper.
The transport from Trebišov station
The local train team departs in the morning from the Trebišov station, where it assembles empty wagons for loading on a siding 15 kilometres away. Class 751 and 742 locomotives are heading these local trains, but they will be replaced in the near future by modernized EffiShunter 1000M locomotives made by CZ LOKO. After arriving at the siding, the train crew disconnects the locomotive so that it can bypass the loaded wagons on the siding and push them to the main track, which is now used only for freight transport. Subsequently, the empty wagons are connected to the other side of the locomotive. In this unusual composition between loaded and empty wagons, the locomotive pushes the empty wagons again for loading. In this way, after the empties have been disconnected and the loaded wagons have been moved again, the locomotive finds itself at the head of the train again to start the return journey to Trebišov.
The journey of recycled paper from Trebišov to Ukraine
In Trebišov, wagons with recycled paper are connected to a train heading to the marshalling yard in Košice. Here they join a regular mixed eastbound freight train. In Čierna nad Tisou, the wagons are cleared for crossing borders and continue on the normal gauge until Uzhhorod, to the Karpaty terminal. Here, the cargo is transferred to broad-gauge wagons of Ukrainian Railways and headed for processing at three different paper mills in Ukraine. If the volume is sufficient, the train goes directly from Trebišov to Čierna nad Tisou. Volumes vary by day, and while on some days only three wagons go, on other days up to 24 loaded wagons head to the Ukrainian border. Therefore, the flexibility of the ZSSK CARGO teams in the operation is necessary for the smoothness of transport. In the first three weeks of June alone, up to 4,500 tons of recycled paper were transported, maintaining the cross-border mobility of goods towards an economy that needs support more than ever before.
If you too are interested in cross-border transportation to Ukraine or need to import or export goods from the region of eastern Slovakia, do not hesitate to contact the sales manager of the Košice region, Renáta Ihnátová, at tel. +421 903 721 626, or by email at ihnatova.renata@zscargo.sk.
