On January 20, at 5.00 p.m. (Moscow time, GMT +3) the first container clock train carrying car components for German manufacturer Volkswagen was sent from Brest to the station Kaluga. The total cargo volume was of 116 TEU. It is planned, that on January 22 at 2.00 a.m. (Moscow time) the cargo will reach its destination point – Volkswagen plant in Kaluga. By July 2008 the train will be running on the weekly basis.

As is known, in November 2007 JSC TransContainer and Volkswagen Rus signed the agreement on car parts transportation for VW Passat, VW Jetta, VW Tuareg and Skoda from Koshice (Slovakia) and Mlada-Boleslav (Czech) to the Volkswagen plant in Kaluga. TransContainer’s partner in the project is German company Schenker Automotive Railnet, an affiliate of Deutsche Bahn AG. It is planned that transportation will be carried out during three years, using own rolling stock of TransContainer.

Meanwhile, until now containers were transported as single shipments. “Since we launched services though Brest 800 loaded 40-feet containers (1,600 TEUs) destined to Kaluga station were transported and 1,400 empty 40-feet containers were sent for loading in Czech and Slovakia”, - told JSC TransContainer Director General during the presentation of the new scheduled container train.

“Today rates and volumes of container shipments are approaching plan figures, stated by Volkswagen, which allowed launching of the scheduled block trains to Kaluga and on the opposite direction, - he added”.

Mr. Peter Baskakov also mention, that by this summer train will be delivering loaded containers right to the plant’s approach roads via station Perspektivnaya. Now cargoes are transported using TransContainer platforms to Kaluga station, and from that point to the plant using road transport.

“According to the Volkswagen projects, in 2008 TransContainer will carry to Kaluga plant about 44,000 TEU of cargo. Currently the Company in co-operation with the partners coordinates work technology of our own agency, which will be established soon at the territory of Kaluga plant, and will undertake all the transport and logistics tasks for the enterprise”, stated Mr. Peter Baskakov.