You're reading: Ukrainian railways cut cargo transportation by 1.7% in first quarter of 2012

Ukrainian railways in January-March 2012 reduced cargo transportation by 1.7%, to 104.982 million tonnes.

According to the press service of State Railways Administration Ukrzaliznytsia, cargo exports and imports grew by 17.8% and 8.9% respectively, and cargo transit and transportation inside the country fell by 17.4% and 5.8% respectively.

Ukrzaliznytsia said that the reduction in cargo handling in the period was primarily due to a significant fall in temperatures in January, February and March, due to which bulk cargos froze, affecting the speed of loading and unloading.

This led to the refusal of consignees (because of loading difficulties), the restriction of traffic on the railways and the introduction of restrictions on the acceptance of goods at ports due to bad weather conditions (storm winds, heavy snowfall, and freezing waters of ports).

In addition, there were conventional prohibitions regarding non-acceptance of cargos by other railways administrations (in January-February there were 52 restrictions, including 16 domestic ones).