Rail transport

Rail freight means carrying goods in wagons, or in containers on flat wagons, from the station of departure to the station of destination, often across several countries and several railway administrations. For large volumes and long overland distances, rail combines a moderate price, a high payload per wagon and independence from weather and road driving bans.

Rail carries raw materials and bulk cargo, steel, grain, chemicals, building materials, machinery and containers of goods. Cargo can run from a company’s private siding to the consignee’s siding or, where there is none, with road delivery to and from the station. Between Ukraine and the EU, rail has one feature that shapes the whole process: a different track gauge.

ETIKO organizes rail freight both on its own and in combined schemes with road or sea: it chooses the rolling stock, agrees the transport plan, prepares documents and coordinates the gauge change and customs clearance.

Ukraine’s track gauge is 1520 mm, while most EU countries use 1435 mm. An ordinary wagon cannot simply roll from one network to the other, so at the gauge break either the cargo or the wagon is prepared to continue. Besides the gauge, the loading gauge also differs: a load that passes freely on the 1520 mm network may not fit the smaller European profile, and this is checked in advance.

• Transshipment from a wagon of one gauge to a wagon of the other at border stations, directly or via a warehouse.
• Container transfer by crane from flat wagons of one gauge to those of the other: the simplest and fastest option for containerized cargo.
• Bogie exchange under the wagon without unloading, so the cargo stays in the same wagon.
• Variable-gauge wheelsets that change width while passing through a special installation.
• Transfer to road when the final consignee is near the border.

Each method has its own cost, time and risks. Transshipment adds handling and requires securing a second time, and bogie exchange is not available for every wagon or station. The gauge-change method is therefore chosen together with the route.

A container train is made up of container flats and runs as a single unit between terminals, either to a timetable or once enough cargo is collected. It is faster than single-wagon shipments because it is not broken up at marshalling yards. On long routes between Asia and Europe such trains are used as an alternative to sea and air in terms of price and transit time.

A container makes it easy to change gauge and mode: it is lifted by crane onto a flat of the other gauge, a truck or a ship without opening or rehandling the cargo. That is why rail is often part of a multimodal chain, where a container arrives by sea at a port, continues by train and covers the last kilometers by road.

1. Request: cargo, volume, weight, stations or addresses, preferred shipping period.
2. Signing a mutual non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before work starts.
3. Choosing rolling stock, the route and the gauge-change method.
4. Checking the loading gauge, securing requirements and dangerous goods rules.
5. Agreeing the transport plan with the railways, calculating carriage charges.
6. Placing the wagon or container, loading, securing, sealing.
7. Issuing the CIM, SMGS or CIM/SMGS consignment note and customs documents.
8. Gauge change: transshipment, container transfer or bogie exchange.
9. Tracking wagons, customs clearance at the border and at destination.
10. Unloading, delivery to the consignee, return of the empty wagon or container.

ETIKO coordinates the railways, wagon operators, terminals, the customs broker and road carriers for the first and last mile.

• Choosing rolling stock: covered wagon, gondola, flat wagon, container flat, tank wagon, hopper, heavy-load wagon.
• Route planning and agreeing the transport plan with the railways.
• 1520/1435 mm gauge change: transshipment, container transfer, bogie exchange.
• Container shipments in container trains.
• Loading gauge and securing checks, loading plans for oversized cargo.
• Documents: CIM, SMGS or CIM/SMGS consignment notes, dangerous goods documents.
• Customs clearance for export, transit and import.
• First and last mile by road where there is no siding.
• Tracking of wagons and containers.

International law

• The Agreement on International Goods Transport by Rail (SMGS) of OSJD in the 1520 mm area and other member countries.
• COTIF and the CIM Uniform Rules in OTIF member states, including the EU.
• The common CIM/SMGS consignment note (CIT and OSJD) for carriage between the two systems without re-consignment.

Track and loading gauge

• Track gauge: Ukraine 1520 mm, most EU countries 1435 mm.
• Loading gauges differ between networks, so the dimensions of the load on the wagon are checked for the whole route.

Loading and securing

• Technical Conditions for Loading and Securing Goods (SMGS Annex 3) on the 1520 mm network.
• UIC loading guidelines on 1435 mm networks.
• A loading and securing plan for oversized and heavy cargo, approved by the railways on the route.

Dangerous goods

• SMGS Annex 2 in the OSJD area.
• RID (COTIF Appendix C) in the OTIF area.