The test train delivered Ukrainian grain to Barcelona
The Ministry of Transport of Spain organized a pilot railway shipment of Ukrainian grain to Barcelona. This is reported by Railfreight.
The train covered a distance of 2.4 thousand kilometers from Chelm, Poland, transiting through Łódź and Duisburg, and arrived at the Can-Tunis railway terminal in Barcelona last Thursday, October 6. The train delivered 600 tons of Ukrainian grain in twenty-five 40-foot containers.
The project makes it possible to analyze the technical and economic feasibility of transporting grain by rail as a supplement to sea transport during the war in Ukraine," said the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Development of Spain.
The train reached its final destination, but the Ministry of Transport of Spain faced the harsh reality of the Ukrainian border and the European railway network. The first problems arose at the terminal in Helm, where, according to ministry representatives, "it was impossible to predict the congestion situation, which made it difficult to load Renfe containers due to significant delays." In the German Duisburg, the train was forced to make a stop for several days. Although it was scheduled, the train was idle for a longer period due to strikes on the French railways.
After all, the transport was successful, noconsidering unforeseen or existing but underestimated obstacles. According to the Spanish Ministry of Transport, the shipment highlights the difficulties faced by numerous companies that help Ukrainian exports, as well as the lack of centralized coordination in Europe, even for projects of such importance.
The initiative showed that in the current context, long-distance rail transport requires a great effort to coordinate between the various participants in the process," the ministry summarized.
The Ministry of Transport of Spain organized the dispatch of a test train with 25 containers of Ukrainian grain to Poland on August 9. The pilot flight was supposed to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of long-distance grain transportation by rail.