A build up of cargo trains waiting to be unloaded in southern Far East could be eliminated only by spring 2009, a Far Eastern rail spokeswoman said Tuesday, RIA Novosti reports.
In the past 24 hours the number of trains carrying coal and oil products, which are waiting to be unloaded in ports in the Primorye Territory and the KhabarovskTerritory, has risen by 13, to 120. Rail officials warn that the growing build up threatens to paralyze the Far Eastern section of the Trans-Siberian railway.
Dock staff had failed to deal with growing amounts of cargo. The situation has also been aggravated by weather conditions, when rains and subsequent cold spell made the coal freeze together.
A total of 60 trains bound for the Vostochny Port are standing on sidings at the Nakhodka-Vostochnaya rail station. The port now unloads 530 cars a day, not 717 as it was previously agreed, making the build up grow further.
The Vostochny Port press service refused to comment on the situation, saying that the official statement would be delivered later.
A total of 33 trains have been stationed near the Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk, while 17 are waiting to be unloaded near the port of Posyet.
Ten trains have been sent to the neighboring sections of Trans-Baikal and East Siberian rails in an attempt to ameliorate the tie-up.