In 2022, almost 50 million tonnes of goods were transported by rail in imports and more than 14 billion tonne-kilometres of transport work was performed. The weight of goods transported in imports is 4.1% higher and the transport work performed is 17.7% higher compared to 2021. Imports were by far the most popular direction of international trade. For exports, the volume of goods transported decreased slightly (by 0.9%) compared to 2021, while the volume of transport work performed increased by 1.4%. The volume of goods transported in exports amounted to 30.4 million tonnes and the volume of transport work to 8.6 billion tonne-kilometres. In transit, on the other hand, compared to 2021, there was an increase of 8.0% in the weight of goods transported through Poland and an increase of 8.3% in the volume of transport work performed. In transit, 8.2 million tonnes of goods were transported through Poland, while the transport work performed amounted to almost 4.8 billion tonne-kilometres.
"In 2022, there was an increase in weight and freight work in international transport compared to 2021. The dynamically changing geopolitical situation in 2022 required appropriate actions on the part of the companies responsible for the supply chain of the respective groups of goods. Following Russia's aggression against Ukraine, some carriers had to open up new directions and start transporting goods such as coal or grain on a larger scale than in previous years," notes Ignacy Góra, President of the Polish Railway Transport Office.
As in previous years, the structure of goods transported in international traffic shows a significant share of coal. In 2022, more than 21.7 million tonnes of this commodity will be transported by rail, compared to 20.2 million tonnes in 2021.
In 2022, 43 licensed hauliers carried goods in international transport.
This article originally appeared on our sister publication sektorkolejowy.pl
