ÖBB Rail Cargo Group (RCG) has been supporting the Ukraine since the beginning of the war with what we do best: Transport and Logistics Services.
To do so, RCG is transporting grain out of Ukraine with all its available resources, to ensure money and storage space for the next local sowing and harvesting, and to counteract the, for many, existence-threatening rising cost of living. Between the outbreak of war until the end of August, 580,000 tonnes of grain were transported out of the Ukraine by RCG, in the month of August alone it was over 145,000 tonnes.
Grain deliveries throughout Europe
Due to the geographical location of the grain processing companies, a majority of the deliveries were transported to Hungary in August, followed by Germany, Italy and Romania as well as the Netherlands. In this journey, the RCG grain transporters cross over four borders: Firstly over the Ukrainian-Slovak border by Chop, the Hungarian-Ukrainian border Záhony, the Ukrainian-Romanian border Reni, as well as the Ukrainian-Polish border Chyriw.
Enhanced cooperation with the Ukrainian State railway
The RCG anticipates an ongoing demand at the current level over the next months. To quicken the grain export, the coorperation with the Ukranian State railway Ukrzaliznica (UZ) will be further developed. The implementation of a permanent bilateral working party was approved at the end of August 2022. In doing so, operations such as the data exchange and processes between coorperation partners (i.e. the workload of the transhipment capacity) will be optimised.
More than 1,000 users on GrainLane
The online agricultural marketplace GrainLane, developed by RCG and an IT partner, has been connecting Ukrainian farmers with retailers, consumers and logistics providers since 2022. Over 200,000 tonnes of grain, soy and dry corn are currently being traded by over 1,000 registered users. Parties interested in agricultural products can discuss details individually with sellers, and GrainLane optionally supports them with transport offers thanks to the partner networks of RCG. In this way, Ukrainian manufacturers can initiate new business relationships with international customers such as mills, traders, exporters, and so foster a basis for growing exports by land. The RCG makes GrainLane available free for all market participants under www.grain-lane.com thus providing, besides the transportation they carry out, a further, pivotal contribution to the grain export out of Ukraine.
Rail Cargo Group: the freight transport division of the ÖBB
As a leading rail logistics company in Europe, we are shaping the industry. 365 days a year – 24 hours a day. Across Europe and beyond into Asia. We connect people, businesses and markets – from the first to the last mile. We are present in 18 countries – in 15 of them with our own employees. It’s thanks to our 5.755 logistics professionals from 34 nations that 463,000 trains a year, respectively 1,270 a day, reach their destinations safe and sound. With our efficient end-to-end logistics services, we transport 94 million net tonnes of freight each year. A modal share of 28 % (preliminary value) of the total freight market in Austria makes us top of the league in Europe. Operational management of the Rail Cargo Group lies with Rail Cargo Austria AG.
(Rail Cargo Group)
