PJSC TransContainer (part of Delo Group) has finished renovation of its terminal at Zabaikalsk station, which is a strategic border-crossing point on Russia-China border. It accounts for about 30% of all overland container traffic between Russia and China.

Implementation of several stages of the project resulted in tenfold increase of the site’s handling capacity since 2006, up to 555,000 TEUs per year. In the period from 2006 to 2022, TransContainer allocated over 5 bln rubles to expand the terminal's capacity, all told.

The launch of "end-to-end" operation technology was the final stage of renovation. It became possible due to extension of the two receipt-and-departure tracks and arranging of a second connecting track at Zabaikalsk station - the terminal enables trains arrival and departure in both directions. Therefore, beginning from January 1, 2023, we will be able to increase transit of block trains with import from China from present 4-4.5 to 8-9 trains per day, meeting the growing demand for transportation in traffic with the Asia-Pacific countries (APAC).

The "end-to-end" technology was launched on Monday during a videoconference between Moscow and Zabaikalsk with Sergey Shishkarev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Delo Group, and Oleg Belozerov, General Director and Chairman of the Management Board of the Russian Railways.

"We have finished one of the largest investment projects in TransContainer's history, which has become an example of private business’s and the state’s efforts effective synchronization. The launch of our "end-to-end" technology along with the finish of the reconstruction of Russian Railways' receipt-and-departure fleet at Zabaikalsk station enables increasing the volume of traffic on overland routes with APAC countries and relieve congestion in Far-Eastern ports. In the short term, we are planning to dispatch up to 12 trains per day," Sergey Shishkarev announced during the videoconference.

"The station and railway border-crossing point of Zabaikalsk together with train handling terminals represent a unique transportation hub, the importance of which in terms of trade with China keeps growing year on year. The target of Zabaikalsk development is not only to eliminate restrictions, but also to create sufficient reserves of carrying and freight capacity," - Oleg Belozerov noted. 

During the terminal renovation, the crane tracks were extended from 57 to 71 conventional wagons, which made it possible to handle trains in full, without excessive shunting movements, and more quickly. Moreover, a new inspection station with five additional checkpoints was put into operation, which helps to reduce container downtime during cargo operations. The covered area of the temporary storage warehouse was increased almost threefold (from 1,800 to 5,000 square meters). The fleet of reloading equipment was expanded and updated. In particular, the number of reach-stackers increased from 7 to 9, a truck crane was purchased in addition to the two gantry cranes. The total number of tracks increased from 6 to 10 with the purchase of a container yard located nearby in 2021.