Russia and Finland Are to Be Joined by Container Service

17.04.2007 (17:35)

Demonstrational run of container train, called Northern Lights, is completed. The trains started at Kouvola (Finland) and finished in Moscow on April the 17-th. A technology of preliminary transfer of information about freights which follow by railway transport through border crossings, was used for the first time during the run of the train. The technology is used for the development of IT communication of customs services and railway departments.

The run took place in the frames of Russian presentation of ContainerTransScandinavia, established by OAO TransContainer (Subsidiary of OAO RZD) and Finnish Railway Company VR Group Ltd. New company was registered in Finland on March the 22, 2007 in Finland. It will start regular operation at the beginning of May of the current year. The company will provide a complex service of Russian – Finish container transportation (import, export and transit).

It took the container train 16.5 hours to travel from Byslovskaya station to Moscow. Travel from Finland to Moscow will take not more than 34 hours.

Vadim Morozov, first vice-president of OAO RZD and Henry Kuitunen, head of VR company, monitored run of the train.

Pyotr Baskakov, Director General of OAO TransContainer, said that reveal of weak points of logistic chain and improvement of coordination of customs and border officials were the main purposes of the run.

A technology of preliminary transfer of information about freights which follow by railway transport through border crossings will allow to rise effectiveness of transportation of the cost of automation of customs operations, experts say. More than that, new system will allow to reduce idling of trains at border crossings. More than that, new system will reduce quantity of uncouplings and returns of wagons, which happen due to incorrect execution or luck of documents which are needed for custom cleaning. The system will speed up custom cleaning. It will take 3-4 hours (comparing with 7-8 hours nowadays), Vadim Morozov said.

Dmitry Eremeev, director-general of ZAO Oktransvneshterminal (custom broker, freight forwarder and representative of Public Joint-Stock Company "Russian Railways" in the North-West Region),said that the similar technology of preliminary transfer of information is used at Latvian and Estonian border crossings. Nowadays customs services get preliminary info about freight. They get it at the border crossing of Oktyabrskaya railway and the get an extra possibilities to spread human resources, which provide custom control, to plan customs inspection of freight and transport and to reduce time of execution of custom documents.

"Railway container transportation at this direction increased just by 4.8% in 2006", Vadim Morozov said. «At the same time container throughput through the port of Nakhodka increased by 38% at the same period, the figure made 42% in Q1 2007», he said. First vice-president of OAO RZD said that part of potential of container transportation is to return to Russian – Finish railway communication.

Thus OAO RZD plans to attract transportation of motor transport from motor transportation sector. It is obvious that authorities of VR Cargo agrees with that policy. “There is a possibility of rise of volume of transportation by railway transport at that direction”, Henry Kuitunen said. “We will have to create a high quality product which will be based on regular transportation of container trains”, he added.

Railway tariffs are competitive at that direction. Transportation of 40 feet container at that route will cost approximately € 2.3 thousand if it is transported by motor transport and € 1.75 if it is transported by railway transport.

Railway container transportation can not be unprofitable. That is a high profitable business, Vadim Morozov said. Tariff constituent is to include profit, it is obvious, Vadim Morozov said. Meanwhile, we may reduce that constituent in order to increase volume of transportation of motor transport, he added. He also said that that project was one of the priority directions. OAO RZD is also interested in development transit transportation to Asian Pacific region.

Salman Babaev, vice-president of OAO RZD added that the main advantage of operation of TransContainerScandinavia, is ability to provide the complete complex of door-to-door transportation service. “Owner of the freight would have to cooperate with Finnish carriers for them to transfer the freight to the border, then he will have to work with Russian carriers and finally to deliver freight to the consignee. Different participants of transportation at the different stage. New company offers a complex service which allows to deliver freight not only to Moscow but also to the other regions”, he said.

A developed technology is needed at that stage. It is most important for Company operator to reduce turnover of a wagon, P. Baskakov said.

At first Northern light container train will operate weekly. Meanwhile both sides express possibility of daily operations.

The first demonstrational run at that route took place in July 2003. It took it 23.5 hours to get from Byslovskaya station to Moscow. One more demonstration run took place in December 2006 (19.5 hours). Operation of that service did not start because Russian – Finnish transportation by large capacity containers reduced by 67% in 2006.

Successful demonstration run of Northern Lights container train gives a possibility to attract container freight to the railway. In any case such technology is a step forward. Vadim Morozov said that technology is being worked off with container trains and it is planned to use that technology for all the freight trains which follow from Finland to Moscow.

by Ekaterina Glazunova
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