Rail Shortages Are Knocking Ukraine's Grain Expansion Off Track
- Railway is key for two-thirds of grains that Ukraine exports
- State rail monopoly won’t invest in new grain cars until 2019
A train moves along the track near the town of Vuhlehirsk.
Photographer: Dmitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images
This article is for subscribers only.
Ukraine’s grain industry is thriving, but its expansion is being hobbled by an aging railway.
The entire rail network is operated by state-run Ukrzaliznytsya, hauling about two-thirds of all grains that go from farmers’ fields to the the country’s ports in the Black Sea area. With most freight locomotives and rail cars dating from the 1980s, the company has struggled in recent years to haul bumper harvests, at times leaving wagon shortages.