Rada transport committee demands Ukrzaliznytsia railway capacity to Mariupol by Nov

The parliamentary transport committee believes that the capacity of railways on the Khlibodarivka-Zachativka and Zachativka-Kamysh-Zoria sections should be considerably increased to secure stable operation of steel mills in Mariupol – Azovstal and Illich Steel Works.

The Illichivets newspaper reported that Head of the parliamentary transport committee Yaroslav Dubnevych at a visiting session in Mariupol demanded that Ukrzaliznytsia before November 1, 2016 is to increase the capacity of the sections from 13 train pairs to 27-30 train pairs a day.

"Industry is not a milking cow for Ukrzaliznytsia. If Ukrzaliznytsia wants to earn money, please, provide services on time and get money for this. Railways have all possibilities to lift the problem of cargo transportation by November and increase the capacity of the Kamysh-Zoria section to 27-30 train pairs a day," he said.

Illich Steel Works Director General Yuriy Zinchenko said that the increase of the capacity of the Kamysh-Zoria section would bring an additional $500 million to Ukraine.

Azovstal Director General Enver Tskitishvili said that Metinvest helped Ukrzaliznytsia and provided some UAH 50 million to repair of the bridge across Kalchyk River and repair locomotives. Metal companies received a rise in tariffs and a slight increase in the capacity of the Kamysh-Zoria section from 11 to 13 train pairs.

The accruing of port fees, the highest in the world today, was also discussed at the meeting.