TransContainer launches Riga–Moscow train

The service, launched on August 22, will deliver transit cargo originating in China to the Russian capital, via Riga, with empty boxes returning to Riga. The train will carry a total of 82 teu and will have a transit time of 48 hours.

Pavel Sokolov, deputy director of trade and intermodal carriages at Transcontainer, said: “The train [is in response] to increased demand for the transhipment of transit cargoes through the ports of the Baltic States, as well as huge congestion at the Port of St. Petersburg and [unreliable] road carrier services transporting goods across the Latvian border. We can offer reliable services with guaranteed delivery times.”

Transcontainer, with the support of LDz Cargo, plans to increase the frequency of the service to weekly as soon as possible. According to Sokolov, there is already enough cargo at the Port of Riga for three full runs. By the end of the year the company plans to carry about 3,000 teu on the route, and it is also investigating the possibility of launching a similar service from the Latvian port of Liepaja.