Today, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has ratified amendments to the Agreement between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of the Republic of Moldova on the operation of railway transport.

The adopted amendments will allow transit traffic on the section Etulia (Moldova) – Reni (Ukraine) – Giurgiuleşti (Moldova), without a three-day stop in Reni. This will apply to rolling stock of all forms of ownership and freight moving from stations in the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine or in transit through their territories in the direction of Giurgiuleşti in Moldova and Galați in Romania.

“These changes make it possible to significantly speed up and increase rail freight traffic between Ukraine and Moldova, as well as significantly increase the export potential of the Danube cluster ports. At the same time, we are focusing our efforts on restoring and developing the infrastructure of the seaports of Izmail and Reni to expand the range of freight. The work on logistics changes lasted for a year in close and productive cooperation with our Moldovan colleagues. The results show that together we are able to effectively improve logistics and infrastructure,” said Oleksandr Kubrakov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine.

The adopted changes will also help increase the capacity of the Frikatsei–Etulia and Reni–Giurgiuleşti border crossing points.

Background

At the end of July, Ukrzaliznytsia’s Transport Logistics Centre and Moldovan railway operator Calea Ferată din Moldova (CFM) signed an agreement enabling Ukrzaliznytsia to provide freight transit services in all directions through Moldova.