Rhine-Alpine News
01.03.2022
We support the policy of the EU that stands united in its solidarity with Ukraine. The international legal order and the right of self-determination of countries are essential values that should not be tampered with.
Train traffic disrupted due to war in Ukraine
The main Europe-China railway corridor, Source: PLANET project
Because of Corona, the global supply chains are still disrupted anyway – now the distortions of the Ukraine war are added. As calculated in the PLANET project, in 2019, 2% of total container imports from China to the Rhine-Alpine Corridor came by rail. Duisburg was thereby identified as the strongest principal entry point for Eurasian rail freight in the Rhine-Alpine Corridor with 45K TEU in 2019. In recent months, the rail connection had experienced a boom. Because container ships started their voyages from Asia only irregularly and experienced enormous delays, many shippers switched to freight trains for urgent shipments. If these are now only partially cancelled, the delivery bottlenecks could worsen again.
In Duisburg, the construction of the trimodal Duisburg Gateway Terminal (DGT) – the largest hinterland freight terminal in Europe – will shortly start. The DGT shall go operational in 2023 and bolster duisport’s handling capacity, with the China trains increasing to up to 100 units per week. In view of the Ukraine war, it is uncertain whether rail containers from the Far East will be rolling to Duisburg at all in the near future. The rail connection from China’s east coast to the west has been interrupted since Russian troops invaded Ukraine.
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Impact of Russia-Ukraine conflict on transport by air, sea and road
Gas tanker, Source: Pixabay
The transport sector in Europe is affected by Russia’s invasion in Ukraine. The impact of the war in Ukraine is yet uncertain with regards to the Rhine-Alpine Corridor. On the roads in Europe, nearly 100.000 truck drivers from Ukraine are usually engaged. With many of them returning to Ukraine, a shortage of truck drivers in entire Europe is expected. The EU closed European airspace to Russian airlines on Saturday evening. Russia, for its part, responded with airspace closures. This affects air traffic and air cargo in entire Europe and thus also airlines and dispatchers on the airport hubs in the Rhine-Alpine Corridor. Many routes between Europe and Asia cannot be passed anymore and alternative routes require flight plan adjustments. The EU sanctions towards Russia also affect the seaports in the Norther part of the Rhine-Alpine Corridor. Many energy carriers are imported from Russia through the Port of Rotterdam. It is uncertain what the developments in the Ukraine will mean for these flows in the coming period. Further, it is possible that in the near future there will be more transports of defence materials a company in the port of Rotterdam – according to decades old agreements with NATO and the US Army.
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