Bypassing Blockade: Ukrainian Railway Transports Trucks from Polish Border by Train
Ukraine has sent the first batch of trucks to Poland by rail, bypassing the blocked road checkpoints, the press service of Ukrainian railways operator Ukrzaliznytsia reports.
The company noted that the move had been in the works for two weeks.
The contrailer train, which was heading to Poland on the Sknyliv (Ukraine) - Slawkow (Poland) route, had 23 platforms on which 13 tractor trailers were loaded, and the drivers were taken across the border by bus.
"Customs and border clearance of the cargo takes place at the Izov-Hrubeshiv railway border crossing. Currently, there are still formal issues regarding the fast crossing of the Polish border, and experts are already working to speed up the process. Similar runs will be organised in the opposite direction," Ukrzaliznytsia said.
From the Slawkow station, the trucks will go to their destination by road.
Ukrzaliznytsia added that it is now possible to order such truck transportation from Ukraine to Poland through the Liski Transport Service Centre branch of Ukrzaliznytsia, and in the opposite direction through UZ Cargo Poland.
The blockade of the border with Ukraine by a group of Polish carriers has been going on for over a month. Recently, Slovak carriers have joined the blockade.
Charities and NGOs that supply military aid to the Ukrainian armed forces have faced several weeks of delays in critical supplies of drones, electronics and pickup trucks due to the blockade.
In recent weeks, the governments of Ukraine and Poland have been engaged in a dialogue in an attempt to find compromise solutions to unblock the border. The Ministry of Infrastructure said it expects Poland to resume talks with the blockade after empty trucks began to pass through the Uhryniv-Dolhobyczów checkpoint.
The European Commission said it opposed the resumption of the permit system for Ukrainian truckers demanded by Polish and Slovak border blockers.
The spokesman for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said on Ukrainian television that as of December 8, about 3,300 trucks were stuck at four checkpoints with Poland due to strikes by Polish carriers.