Write-off of railcars by age may lead to an economic catastrophe in Ukraine
The Federation of Transport Employers of Ukraine said that the decision of the Ministry of infrastructure to write off railway cars by age will lead to disastrous consequences for the domestic economy.
General Director of the Federation V. Gusak said, "if the relevant order is adopted, almost 50 thousand units of rolling stock, primarily gondola cars and grain carriers, will have to be written off by 2028, which will make up half of the existing fleet. At the same time, the Ministry of infrastructure hopes that the corresponding number of cars will be built for replacement, in particular, 15-20 thousand cars will be purchased or built by Ukrzaliznytsia and 30 thousand cars will be provided by private market participants. However, neither private businesses nor UZ have the funds to purchase new railcars, and the initiators of the decision do not name the sources from which it will be possible to take money."
Ukrzaliznytsia has not implemented its investment program for a long time, and even in the best years, its implementation did not exceed 70%. In 2019, the company completed only half of its stated capital investments. Therefore, there are significant doubts about the ability of UZ to build the right number of cars.
Private market participants need UAH 50-60 billion to purchase 30 thousand railcars, which they do not yet have.
The Federation believes that the adoption of this decision will lead to a significant shortage of railway cars and, as a result, billions of dollars in losses for the state and private businesses. Experts estimate the potential shortage of railcars at 20-30 thousand, as a result of which Ukrzaliznytsia may reduce railway cargo transportation by 20% or 60 million tons, which is equivalent to UAH 15 billion.
Earlier, ex-minister of infrastructure V. Omelyan said that it is necessary to update the mobile fleet of Ukrzaliznytsia, but first it is desirable to modernize the railway infrastructure and improve the quality of Transportation.
