{"id":183250,"date":"2025-03-06T19:03:38","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T09:03:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=60422"},"modified":"2025-03-06T19:03:38","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T09:03:38","slug":"rail-freight-transit-to-kaliningrad-through-lithuania-down-by-a-third","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=183250","title":{"rendered":"Rail freight transit to Kaliningrad through Lithuania down by a third"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lithuanian rail freight transit to the Russian exclave Kaliningrad has shrunk by 30 per cent in 2024. The trend has prompted Russia to look for alternatives to rail transportation to supply the region. It is entirely surrounded by EU states, which control what enters and leaves the exclave overland.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>Russian media say that EU sanctions limit rail transportation of particular goods by setting quotas for their transit. Trucks are not a possible substitute – the sanctioned goods are unwelcome on EU roads.<\/p>\n

Transit through Lithuania to Kaliningrad has thus shrunk by 30 per cent over the past year. Only the quota for cement supplies has reportedly grown by 20,000 tonnes. The transit reduction forces Russia to look for alternative modes of transportation – with sea shipping being the only real other option.<\/p>\n

Currently, there are around 30 ships providing freight transportation services to Kaliningrad from Russia. Last year, Russia announced plans to build extra rail ferries to send rail freight to the exclave across the Baltic Sea. The head of the region said at the time that he wanted to achieve “total independence” from the EU for logistics needs. By the end of 2024, the volume of subsidies to support sea shipping to Kaliningrad amounted to 4,6 billion rubles (48 million euros)<\/p>\n

Russian ban on dual-use goods<\/h2>\n

Both Russia and the EU have imposed limitations on transiting freight. For its part, Russia introduced a new ban on dual-use civilian-military goods transiting its territory to the EU from October 2024. It is possible that that is leading to a decrease<\/a> in freight transiting Russia in the China – Europe direction.<\/p>\n