Notably, between March and December of last year, the company recorded an average monthly increase of 23% in cargo transportation compared to the same period in 2022. This increase occurred despite challenges following a large-scale intrusion.
Due to the ongoing temporary occupation of territories, Ukrzaliznytsia has been unable to match pre-invasion freight transportation levels. However, the opening of the Ukrainian sea corridor and ports has enabled an increase in export transportation. Yevhen Lyashchenko, Chairman of the Board of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia, explained that despite attempts to disrupt the country's transport system, particularly maritime operations, coordinated efforts by various national bodies facilitated the launch of the Ukrainian maritime corridor. In the five months since the corridor's operation, 8.8 million tons of cargo were transported to the Black Sea ports, an 8.6% increase from the same period in 2022. December 2023 saw a record unloading of 3.8 million tons for Black Sea ports since the invasion began. Additionally, transportation towards the Danube ports increased by almost 33%, including transit through Moldova and Romania.
In total, 22.3 million tons of cargo were transported through seaports in 2023, with 34.4 million tons passing through land crossings. The average monthly cargo transport by Ukrzaliznytsia exceeded 12 million tons, with November marking a record month with 14.1 million tons transported.
Domestic transportation saw the most significant growth last year, increasing by 11.4% to 84.8 million tons compared to 2022. In terms of cargo nomenclature, grain cargo led with 30.6 million tons (a 5.9% increase), followed by construction materials at 29.6 million tons (a 29.6% increase), iron and manganese ore at 27.5 million tons (a 13.2% decrease), hard coal at 26.2 million tons (an 11.2% decrease), and ferrous metals at 8.2 million tons (a 10.6% decrease).
