HHLA Expands Intermodal Activities to Ukraine

Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) has established its own intermodal company in Ukraine. The new Ukrainian Intermodal Company (UIC) offers container transport by rail between the port of Odessa and key economic centers in the country. This allows HHLA to expand its successful intermodal business and enhance its offerings for fast, reliable, and efficient hub-to-hub transport in the seaport hinterland.

(Hamburg) – Ukrainian ports have developed very dynamically in recent years. In the Black Sea port of Odessa alone, the handling volume increased by 8.5 percent last year to nearly 650,000 TEU. However, the share of rail in the transport of containers between the port and the Ukrainian hinterland is still low at 22 percent. In comparison, over 46 percent of sea containers in Hamburg reach or leave the port environmentally friendly by rail.

Utilizing the Advantages of the Rail System

With UIC, HHLA has initiated a stronger shift of transport from road to rail in Ukraine. The advantages of the rail system: The existing broad-gauge network comprehensively connects the major economic centers inland with the Ukrainian coast. In contrast, the road system is in need of modernization in many areas. Additionally, due to the large distances in Ukraine – the Eastern European country is almost twice the size of the Federal Republic of Germany – rail is predestined for sustainable freight transport.
“HHLA has extensive know-how in the intermodal business. With an efficient train system based on customer-friendly services, transparent pricing, simple booking processes, and reliable schedules, we aim to tap into the great potential of the Ukrainian intermodal market,” says Philip Sweens, Managing Director of HHLA International. Together with local partners, they aim to eliminate barriers to rail transport in Ukraine and establish and market a reliable service offering.

Weekly Container Train Connections to Ternopil, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia

Container transport by rail in Ukraine has so far been almost exclusively conducted using single cars or groups of cars. The newly established UIC consolidates individual cargo into container block trains, thereby increasing the efficiency and reliability of transport. Since early October 2020, UIC has been offering weekly full train connections between Odessa and Ternopil in the western Ukrainian economic region of Lviv/Lemberg. In November, a weekly service to the industrial center of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city after Kyiv, will also commence operations. Furthermore, there are plans to operate a container train weekly between Odessa and the eastern city of Zaporizhzhia.
In the port of Odessa, HHLA operates the largest container handling facility in Ukraine, the Container Terminal Odessa (CTO). The CTO has its own terminal station, which is currently being expanded, where the container block trains are assembled. Inland handling is carried out in cooperation with private rail terminal operators. Additional services, such as loading and unloading containers, hub-to-door delivery to customers by truck, or customs clearance, complete the offering.
The UIC operates according to high, Western-oriented quality standards and provides all shipping companies and freight forwarders with open access to its intermodal services as a neutral operator. In the long term, there are plans to expand the range of regular train connections to other Ukrainian production and consumer centers and to increase frequencies.
www.hhla.de
Image: © Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA)