Logistics company UTLC ERA has signed cooperation agreements with Slovak rail freight operator ZSSK Cargo and Lithuanian Railways. Both deals are dedicated to the improvement of container shipments on the China – Europe – China routes, especially to/from Slovakia and Lithuania. The documents were concluded at the International transport and logistics exhibition TransRussia 2019, which was held in Moscow last week.

UTLC ERA and ZSSK Cargo will collaborate in organising rail freight shipments of containers between China and Slovakia. The parties will exchange information on freight traffic, route schedule and prospective amounts of cargo export from Slovakia and neighbouring countries to China. UTLC ERA will be solely responsible for freight transportation by the 1520-millimetre gauge, while ZSSK Cargo will carry cargo in its domestic market.

Both companies also plan to analyse their potential customer base and their needs. The agreement is another step forward in strengthening the partnership between UTLC ERA and ZSSK Cargo in order to develop transit container traffic. In March the parties signed a Memorandum on Cooperation during the International Railway Congress in Vienna.

Postal traffic

The second agreement was concluded between UTLC ERA and Lithuanian Railways for developing postal container traffic from China to Lithuania. The partners intend to organise the shipment of postal packages (deliveries and e-commerce goods) by cargo trains on China – Europe – China routes on a regular basis. UTLC ERA will be responsible for loading containers with postal items at the Dostyk and Altynkol stations operated by Kazakhstan Railways as well as for further transportation via Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus.

Lithuanian Railways will transport containers from Kena railway station on the Belarusian border to Vaidotai railway station where Vilnius intermodal terminal is located. The rail operator will also distribute postal items to the warehouses of the Lithuanian national postal company Lietuvos pastas. “I am perfectly confident that the agreements signed with our partners will contribute to the active growth of the transit transportation market, thus enabling UTLC ERA to strengthen its leading positions in cargo shipments on Europe – China – Europe routes,” noted Alexey Grom, President of UTLC ERA.

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