News

On 4 March in Helsinki, Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Lithuanian Embassy in Finland and company “Lietuvos geležinkeliai” (“Lithuanian Railways”) are holding an international conference “Opportunities for Cooperation between Finnish and Lithuanian Carriers and Freight Forwarders”. Over 60 Finnish and Lithuanian transport, logistics, commercial enterprises and business associations’ representatives will take part in the conference.

Finnish entrepreneurs will be acquainted with the possible use of the container train “Viking” - the trilateral project of Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine – for carrying cargo to the Black Sea region, with particular focus on the prospective destination to Turkey. Increase in the load volume of the regular container train will not only contribute to the growth of the trade volume in the region, but will also allow to promote the development of environmentally friendly rail transport.

Presentations at the conference will be made by Lithuania’s Transport Vice Minister Arūnas Štaras, Director General of the “Lietuvos geležinkeliai” (“Lithuanian Railways”) company Stasys Dailydka, Director of Marketing at the Klaipėda State Seaport Artūras Drungilas, President of the Association of Lithuanian Stevedoring Companies Aloyzas Kuzmarskis, President of the Lithuanian National Freight Forwarders’ Association Vytautas Levickas.

It is expected that Lithuanian and Finnish freight forwarders, logistics companies and carriers will establish contacts and will discuss prospects for cooperation.  The conference would address joint efforts that may shape cargo flows and forward more of them through the container train “Viking” in the direction of the Black Sea.

This international project of Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine successfully links the Black Sea region and Western Europe, as well as the Scandinavian countries. Currently, the route of the train “Viking” links Ilyichevsk, Kyiv, Minsk, Vilnius and Klaipėda. From 2004 to 2009, the cargo volume has increased by 20 times, as it grew from 1.9 thousand TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit, based on the volume of a 20-foot long intermodal container) to 39.5 thousand TEU. In 2009, as compared with 2008, the cargo volume increased by 16 percent.

The main advantages of transporting the foreign trade and transit cargo on the “Viking” train are based on gains in time, simplified customs procedures and good rates as transportation rates are one-third or even one-half less than those of carrying goods by motor transport.