Business ,
17 Feb, 18:20
Kemerovo vice-governor asked to check the work of Russian Railways due to idle cars
In February, Kuzbass enterprises were unable to send 17,000 wagons of coal products. The vice-governor of Kemerovo called the situation “critical” and asked to check the work of Russian Railways, which is experiencing problems with personnel due to “omicron”
Photo: Alexander Kryazhev / RIA Novosti
A “critical situation” with the export of coal products has developed in Kuzbass. Since the beginning of February 2022, coal mining companies have not been able to send 17.3 thousand wagons, or 1.2 million tons of coal.
This is stated in a letter from Kuzbass Vice Governor Andrey Panov, which he sent to Deputy Transport Minister Valentin Ivanov and Deputy Energy Minister Petr Bobylev on Wednesday, February 16. RBC has a copy of the letter, its authenticity was confirmed by a source in the coal company, and received by a representative of the Ministry of Energy.
Kuzbass accounts for almost 60% of coal production in Russia. But it is not possible to take it out due to the idle time of the cars on the Russian Railways network, follows from Panov’s letter. Since the beginning of February, the state-owned company has been “systematically” failing to comply with the standard for average daily loading within the boundaries of the Kuzbass Territorial Administration of the West Siberian Railway, the official writes. During February 1–15, loading was 7,554 wagons per day, while the standard was 8,710 wagons.
Coal miners and stevedores also point to the “extremely unsatisfactory organization of work” on the part of Russian Railways for the timely dispatch of goods accepted for transportation, the vice-governor points out, referring to a meeting at the Ministry of Energy: “Only within the boundaries of the West Siberian Railway, as of the current date, movement of 138 trains, including 91 trains to the west, 47 trains to the east. As a result, according to him, the warehouses of coal terminals remain with minimal stocks or without coal, which threatens not only to disrupt the fulfillment of contractual obligations and loss of income, but also “total loss of sales markets.”
The issue of loading, transporting and transshipment of coal from Kuzbass is under constant control, says a representative of the Ministry of Energy. Together with coal companies, stevedores and Russian Railways, options are being worked out to get out of this situation, he adds. The vice-governor believes that the Ministry of Transport should conduct an independent check of the availability of technical and human resources at Russian Railways.