The Russia 1 Channel. Vladimir Putin launched the Grain Terminal Zabaikalsk

The world's first and only grain railway terminal was launched in Zabaikalsk. It is a well-known fact that the Russian railway wheel track is wider than the Chinese one. The Terminal allows automatic reloading of grain to the PRC standard cars. This results in time and cost savings. President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin launched the new project while going live from Vladivostok.

This facility, as well as the cargo handled, has already been called strategic. This is a place where the Russian grain will be transshipped for further transportation to China. This is the main goal of the New Land Grain Corridor with the Grain Terminal Zabaikalsk as a core element of its supply chain.

“This is the world’s first grain railway terminal and the Russia’s largest grain logistics facility. Its transshipment capacity is 8 million tons a year. The Terminal resolves the problem of difference in the Russian and Chinese railway wheel tracks (author’s note – different track width) arising during grain deliveries. This is also the shortest and the most cost-efficient route of grain supply to China”, said Karen Ovsepian, CEO of Grain Terminal Zabaikalsk LLC.

From Ural to Siberia, the wide Russian network of railways will become a transport corridor with the accumulating grain elevators. And the Russian grain farmers will also benefit from the new market of the Celestial Empire. And here it is – the official launch.

Vladimir Lyashenko, reporter: “The process of through connection has been launched. Each of these cars contains 71 tons of grain. They will be processed at the grain terminal, reloaded to the Chinese cars and further go to the PRC. This will be export products, Russian grain.”

The project investments amounted to 9.5 billion rubles. About 200 new jobs were created, and there will be even more jobs. However, at the very beginning this project seemed to be a hopeless dream.

“More than 10 years ago, when the idea of creating a container terminal in Zabaikalsk, which initially was a cargo one, came nobody believed in success. At the design stage, this cargo terminal eventually turned into the Grain Terminal Zabaikalsk”, said Chairman of the General Assembly of the Zabaikalsk Territory Yuri Kon.

The grain transportation process is controlled by more than 240 surveillance cameras.

“The Border Guard Service of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation and the Customs Service have access to the integrated security system, particularly, the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance to weighing complexes, thus providing for the full transparency of the Terminal before the regulatory authorities and facilitating all surveillance procedures”, said Karen Ovsepian, CEO of Gran Terminal Zabaikalsk LLC.

The designed capacities also enable to process up to 5 railway trains daily, which are 71 Russian and 84 Chinese grain-carrying cars.

“Four shifts will work respectively, accepting and shipping grain at the same time. When necessary, we are able to put grain into elevator towers, but for a short period. For this purpose, we have 16 containers of 5 thousand tons each”, said Vasily Kataev, head of the elevator complex of GTZ LLC.

The Terminal launch will speed up the grain delivery process. Cargo will be delivered within 2-3 weeks to any part of China compared to 3 months by sea.

This is the largest enterprise and new jobs in the region.