Railway Network News

The Kremlin has said the outlook is "not so great" for extending beyond May 18 a deal that allows the safe wartime export of grain from some Ukrainian Black Sea ports, raising concerns over what happens next with the U.N.-backed sea corridor.The deal has helped to tackle a global food crisis that U.N. officials said had been worsened by the most deadly war in Europe since World War Two.Reached in July last year, it created a protected transit corridor to enable exports to resume from three ports in Ukraine…

Ukraine has sent around 80,000 tones of grains to the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta so far, with more expected to arrive, the port's manager said on Tuesday.Ukraine's sea ports have been blocked since a Russian invasion two months ago and the country, a major agricultural producer, has been forced to export by train via its western border or via its small Danube river ports into Romania.European Union member Romania shares borders of the Black Sea - a major shipping artery for grain and oil - with Bulgaria…

South Africa's state-owned firm Transnet said on Friday it had identified and isolated the source of disruption to its IT systems that impacted its container terminals.The freight logistics firm was hit by a suspected cyber attack, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Thursday.Transnet, which operates major ports and a huge railway network, said it was prioritising the export of reefer containers, used mainly to transport perishable cargo at a controlled temperature, primarily through the port of Durban as this was the peak of the citrus season.Miner Barrick Gold s

A cyber attack has disrupted container operations at the South African port of Cape Town, an email seen by Reuters on Thursday said.Durban, the busiest shipping terminal in sub-Saharan Africa, was also affected, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.Cape Town Harbour Carriers Association said in an email to members, seen by Reuters: "Please note that the port operating systems have been cyber-attacked and there will be no movement of cargo until the system is restored."Transnet's official website was down on Thursday showing an error message.Transnet…

The first ships docked at Kenya's deep water Lamu Port on Thursday as the country looks to open a new transport corridor linking its vast northern region and neighboring nations to the sea.Kenyan officials hope that the Indian Ocean port, the country's second deep water facility, will attract cargo destined for neighboring landlocked nations Ethiopia and South Sudan, and offer transhipment services where large vessels bring in cargo for onward distribution by smaller ships.The Lamu Port…

Australian shipbuilding group Austal announced its Chief Operating Officer Patrick Gregg will take over as Chief Executive Officer effective January 1, 2021, following a six-month transition from current Managing Director and CEO David Singleton.Gregg was appointed as COO 3.5 years ago with a view to him being a natural successor for the CEO role in the future, said John Rothwell, Chairman of Austal Limited. Since Gregg's appointment Austal has set up operations in Vietnam, expanded…

Over recent years the United Arab Emirates has emerged as an important maritime hub with grand ambitions. Mark Venables visited the region to discover what is driving that growth.When the UAE was elected to the IMO Council as a Category B member, it immediately raised its profile within the maritime community. The Emirates have taken a significant step forward in the maritime world.Despite this success, the region remains a challenging market for shipping and logistics. One of…

The deepening and fairway widening program on the Elbe River officially launched yesterday (July 23)."The adjustment of the Elbe fairway will offer much better connections between the Port of Hamburg and the global flow of goods," said Dr. Maximilian Rothkopf, Chief Operations Officer of Hapag-Lloyd AG, during a groundbreaking ceremony held today to mark the official start of dredging operations.“Once the relevant work has been completed, the world’s largest container ships will be able to reach the City of Hamburg with virtually no limitations,” Rothkopf said. In addition to container liner shipping companies, he continued, this will ultimately also benefit customers worldwide…

Advanced World Transport (AWT), a member of the PKP CARGO Group,  the largest rail freight carrier in Poland and a leading rail freight carrier in the European Union, has completed stage III of The Paskov Terminal modernization in the Czech Republic.A modern intermodal transshipment point in Paskov of 70,000 m2, with the capacity of 4,800 TEU and rail tracks of 3x 270 m and 2x 375 m is situated close to industrial zones and borders with Poland and Slovakia. In the Paskov Terminal AWT offers its customers comprehensive services associated with intermodal transshipment of goods.Strategic position in the heart of Europe allows for easy and fast connection to important European ports and terminals. It is situated close to the highway and it is connected to the national railway network.

A Finnish company said on Thursday it planned to develop a railway connection between north Finland and Norway's Kirkenes port to link with potential Arctic shipping routes at an estimated cost of between 3-5 billion euros ($3.4-5.6 billion).Global warming has reduced ice coverage in the Arctic, opening up the possibility of new and shorter shipping lanes between north Europe and Asia, though control of routes is disputed.Finland's Finest Bay Area Development said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Norway's Sør-Varanger Utvikling to investigate how to build a railway and its impact on the environment, society and the economy."An Arctic railway would connect Finland to the Northeast Passage," Kustaa Valtonen, a director at Finest Bay Area Development, said in a statement.

Handling 135.1 million tons of seaborne cargoes (down one percent), Germany’s largest universal port can report a respectable result for 2018.Hamburg successfully asserted itself in a difficult environment, achieving a distinct advance on railborne seaport-hinterland transport. In 2018, this category accounted for totals of 46.8 million tons – up 2.7 percent – and 2.44 million TEU – up 4.7 percent.More than 60,000 cargo trains with around 1.6 million freight cars were handled during 2018 on the Port Railway network alone. This topped the record total set in 2016 and extended Hamburg’s position as Europe’s leading rail port.Jens Meier, CEO of Hamburg Port Authority, says: "The positive figures for the Port Railway are a success that we achieved together with our partners last year.

Swedish Ports of Stockholm summarized 2018 as a record revenue year, with stable freight volumes and a record number of cruise passengers.Sweden’s biggest passenger port saw more than 16 million passengers travelling by ferry, cruise ship or on archipelago services in 2018.“2018 was our best year, both financially and in terms of volumes. We are very happy that we have developed our ports so that we can offer, together with our customers, efficient and sustainable transport solutions for the increasing volumes of goods and passengers,” says Thomas Andersson, Ports of Stockholm Managing Director.Over a six-year period that is nearing its conclusion…

The Finnish Transport Agency (FTA), which will become the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency (FTIA) on 1 January 2019, has issued updated instructions for winter navigation.The instructions for winter navigation have been created in collaboration with the industry, shipping companies, charterers, vessels, icebreakers, pilots and vessel traffic services.In accordance with Finland’s maritime strategy 2014–2022, the objective of these instructions is to ensure smooth, economically viable and internationally competitive Finnish foreign trade and domestic waterborne transport with short waiting times during the winter season.FTA is tasked with public office duties and the procurement associated with the assistance of winter navigation as well with the national coordination…

Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT), Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of Railways and state governments of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra will enter into a pact tomorrow for implementing a new Indore- Manmad Railway Line Project.The project will be implemented through Indian Port Rail Corporation Limited on joint venture special purpose vehicle (SPV) model."An MoU will be signed tomorrow between JNPT- Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of Railways, Govt of Maharashtra and Govt of Madhya Pradesh for implementation of 362 km Indore- Manmad New Railway Line Project," the shipping ministry said in a statement.The project will reduce the distance from Mumbai/Pune to key central India locations by 171 kilometers.The project passes through the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor nodes Igatpuri…

JSW Group will invest INR 7,000 crore (USD 1.1bln) more in the ports sector over next three years to create assets in the country as well as abroad, PTI reported. The company is also looking at diluting up to 15 percent stake in the ports operating company, JSW Infrastructure, to a private equity player soon, and take it public by 2019. JSW Infrastructure Ltd (JSWIL), a 100% subsidiary of Sajjan Jindal led-JSW Group, has  also drawn up a master plan to develop its Jaigarh Port in Konkan as one of India’s biggest ports that could receive big bulk carriers, LNG, LPG and oil tankers. At the company level, total capacity target is 200 mtpa by 2020, Jindal said and added that the port now handles dry bulk cargo but has plans to enter container handling.

Indian Government has given in principle approval to a grant of Rs. 515 crores ($77.4 Mln ) to make the development of the proposed Sagar Port project in West Bengal financially viable. This is part of the continuous efforts by the Ministry of Shipping during the last two years for the development of this port. A Special Purpose Vehicle, Bhor Sagar Port Limited (BSPL) has been incorporated for the implementation of the project, with Kolkata Port Trust holding 74% equity and the Government of West Bengal holding 26% equity. IIT, Madras has been engaged to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the port, involving studies for shore-protection, land reclamation and physical modeling for use of dredge material. The work of preparing the DPR is underway.

Augmenting operational efficiency of ports & optimizing logistics evacuation can give boost to Indian trade and help seize the big opportunity of growth in Indian cargo traffic at ports which is estimated to increase to 2.5 bn MMTPA by 2025, says a report prepared under the Sagarmala port-led development programme of Ministry of Shipping. The Origin Destination study on cargo traffic projections & logistics bottlenecks emphasis on the need for creation of efficient infrastructure at requisite demand and logistic chain centres.

Greece is still struggling to find investors for a rail freight hub that it has been trying to set up since 2008, sources close to the process said on Monday. China's COSCO had been expected to team up with other investors after the Greek government launched a new tender for the 250 million euro ($280 million) investment project last year, part of a bid to turn Greece to a European transhipment hub. Greece, which had to turn to its euro zone partners and the International Monetary Fund in 2010 for help in riding out a debt crisis, is still struggling to revive its economy. The selected investor will have to build a terminal with access to the national railway network and Greece's largest port in Piraeus and operate it for 60 years.

Italy's state railway is expected to bid for its Greek counterpart TRAINOSE, but Russian Railways (RZD) is less likely to do so, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. Privatisations, a key part of Greece's international bailout agreements since 2010, have reaped just 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) so far, far short of the initial target of 50 billion euros, amid political resistance, bureaucratic problems and union opposition. Binding bids for Greece's railway network are due by 1400 GMT on Wednesday. Athens is selling TRAINOSE and maintenance company ROSCO to meet the terms of its latest EU/IMF deal signed last summer. It received non-binding expressions of interest in TRAINOSE from Italy's state railway, RZD and Greek construction group GEK-Terna in April.

Chinese shipping conglomerate COSCO is in advanced talks with Greek real estate developer Grivalia and logistics provider PAEGAE, about jointly bidding to build and operate a rail freight terminal near Athens, a Greek newspaper reported. Greece has launched a tender for the 250 million euro ($283 mln) project to build the terminal at Thriasio near Athens, which would have access to the country's railway network and its biggest port at Piraeus. COSCO's shipping unit China COSCO Shipping last week signed a deal to buy a 67 percent stake in Piraeus Port , a move which fits with the group's plan to build a European transhipment hub. PAEGAE is owned by National Bank, Greece's second-biggest lender.

Italy's state railways <IPO-FERRO.MI> is considering bidding for Greece's rail network TRAINOSE, a spokesman for Ferrovie dello Stato said on Wednesday. "We are studying the dossier but it's still in a preliminary phase," the spokesman told Reuters. Italy plans to privatise its national rail services to help reduce public debt though it is not clear yet if the sale will happen this year or next. Greece's leftist government halted the sale of TRAINOSE along with other privatizations when it came in power early last year but relaunched it again in January as part of an international bailout agreed last summer. The deadline for the expression of initial bids ends on March 21. Qualified investors can then submit their binding bids on April 26.

China's COSCO already the sole bidder for Greece's Piraeus Port. Buying both would give COSCO a European transhipment hub. China's COSCO is expected to make an offer for Greece's rail network after becoming the sole bidder for the country's largest port, two people familiar with the matter said, as the state owned shipping giant forges ahead with a plan to build a European transhipment hub. Buying TRAINOSE and Piraeus Port would give COSCO maritime connections to the Suez Canal and rail links to the Balkans and central and Eastern Europe. Bolstered by December's merger with China Shipping Group , COSCO's focus on Greece is about building market share at a time of anguish in a bruised and oversupplied shipping sector, industry sources said.

China's Cosco is among investors expected to bid for the development and operation of a freight centre with access to the national railway network and Greece's largest port in Piraeus, a government official told Reuters on Wednesday.   Binding bids for the 250 million euro project are expected to be submitted by May 31.   "One of them (investors) is Cosco, but we believe that there won't be only one bid," the official said on condition of anonymity.   A Chinese investor is also interested to build and operate a 850 million euro airport on the island of Crete. Binding bids are due on Feb 23.   "There are at least three interested parties," the official said.     (Reporting by Renee Maltezou)