News Content

Russian rail operator boosts rivalry on Asia-Russia rail routes

THE Russian government has approved the establishment of a new rail cargo company that will be a direct competitor to Transcontainer, Russia's No 1 intermodal operator.

The new operator is expected to lower container rail rates in Russia 10 to 15 per cent, according to transport analysts.

Rail rates between Russia and China are currently priced between US$5,500 and $8,000 per container.

Transcontainer has dominated the Russian rail cargo market for the past several years. In the first nine months of the year, the company's container cargo traffic rose 17.7 per cent year on year to 1.31 million TEU, reported IHS Media.

Russian railway company RZD owns a controlling stake in Transcontainer. RZD operates 45 container terminals in Russia and 19 in Kazakhstan and has 67,000 containers under its management.

As a result, Transcontainer has been able to operate on most of RZD's rail routes linking China and Russia and has typically been the sole option for rail cargo delivery from the Asia Pacific to Russia.

The new operator will be able to compete with Transcontainer on most Asia-Russia rail routes.

Furthermore, Transcontainer will be sold to private investors no later than April, and the new logistics operator will be established by RZD from the private-sale funds and will function as a separate company.

An RZD spokesman said the company has enough skilled personnel to organise a new, full-scale logistics business, which will include both operator's services and forwarding.

The proposal has received the support of the Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service.