The Government has launched a pilot project by which it will transport 600 tons of corn by train from Ukraine to Barcelona as an alternative to the maritime mode, at a time marked by the invasion of Russia and the limitations in the Black Sea ports. Since the war began, grain imports from Ukraine have been reduced to a minimum, causing supply problems and rising product prices. The price of sunflower oil, for example, skyrocketed immediately after the invasion, since Ukraine is the main exporter of this food.
As announced yesterday by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, Renfe merchandise has sent 25 40-foot containers, whose interior has been adapted with large special bags for transporting grain, to the border between Poland and Ukraine to bring 600 tons of Ukrainian corn to Spain.
This is a pilot test with which the ministry seeks to demonstrate the technical and economic viability of grain rail transport through the rail highway that crosses Europe from Lodz (Poland) to Barcelona.
The containers left the Abroñigal station (Madrid) on Tuesday for Chelm and will return to Barcelona at the beginning of September via the railway motorway, which implies an approximate journey of 2,400 kilometres.
Transport logistics are scheduled to be carried out between Ukraine and Spain by transferring the merchandise in Chelm, 25 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, where the containers are expected to arrive in the fourth week of August.
There, the merchandise will be transferred to Renfe freight containers for subsequent transfer to the terminal used by the logistics operator Kombiverker, in Lodz. The transfer between Lodz and Chelm will be carried out by the Polish railway operator DBP.
Once the containers are loaded, the train will run from Lodz to the Can Tunis traction depot in Barcelona, where the merchandise will be transported to the end customer. In addition, Renfe will provide its 252 locomotives to facilitate traction from Le Soler (France) to the Catalan capital.
The pilot test, which coincides with the reopening of the Black Sea ports and the maritime grain routes supervised by Turkey, is carried out with 600 tons of corn, a volume less than that initially committed.
