HHLA sets up its own intermodal rail company in Ukraine

For starters, the Ukrainian Intermodal Company (UIC) will organize block trains to and from the Port of Odessa, where HHLA manages the Container Terminal Odessa (CTO).

Since October, UIC has already been running trains between the seaport and Ternopil in the west of the country, as well as a weekly service to/from Kharkiv in the east since November. There are also plans to launch a service between Odessa and Zaporizhzhia, located in the southeast.

"Ukrainian ports have developed very dynamically in recent years. Last year, the throughput volume at the Black Sea port of Odessa increased by 8.5% to almost 650,000 TEUs. However, at 22%, rail only accounts for a small share of the container traffic between the port and the Ukrainian hinterland," HHLA said in a press release.

The company's CTO has its own rail terminal which is being expanded to accommodate future routes as well as an increase in service frequency.

Photo: HHLA/Grubyi Viacheslav