Amid the high loading of the Eastern Polygon, the issue of transportation planning is acute. Russian Railways OJSC (RZD) accepts cargo taking into account the volumes of unloading in ports and they do not let increase the transportation of petroleum products today. Over the first week of February 2023, the ports of the Far East rejected 14% of applications, according to Russian Railways head Oleg Belozerov cited by the company's Telegram channel.
When speaking at the dedicated meeting, Oleg Belozerov emphasized that the terminals proved to be not ready to handle even the agreed volumes of petroleum products. Therefore, the number of tank cars with petroleum products accumulated at the facilities of public railway transport infrastructure is 2.5 times above the standard.
Russian Railways call on ports to join the company’s information systems for participation in planning and management of loaded cars traffic. Only 23% of port terminal have joined this digital cooperation so far.
Gradual replacement of obsolete tank cars with the rolling stock of improved performance could be one more measure to increase traffic volumes. Models able to increase the efficiency of transportation by over 10% are now available in the market. Russian Railways is also working on technologies for transportation of petroleum products in six- and eight-axle tank cars.
Meanwhile, it is noted that eastward export of oil cargo rose in January 2023 by almost 5%, year-on-year. In 2022, the loading of crude oil and petroleum products on the Russian Railways’ network totaled nearly 216 million tonnes, down 0.7%, year-on-year. Internal transportation totaled 129 million tonnes (+2.3%), exports decreased by 4.9%, primarily due to the halt of transportation to Ukraine.
The loading of oil cargoes to be transported across the Eastern Polygon totaled 29.3 million tonnes in 2022, up 4.6%, year-on-year. The programme of subsidizing the transportation of petroleum products to the Far Eastern Federal District (FEFD) contributed to the growth of eastward domestic traffic - up to 20 million tonnes (+10%).
Apart from the Far East, transportation of petroleum products at a reduced rate will be expanded to some regions in Siberia (Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk regions) from 1 April 2023.