31.05.2022

In connection with the conflict in Ukraine, the usual rail routes on the New Silk Road were
also disrupted. They normally went through Małaszewice and Russia, or via Ukraine and
entered Slovakia via Dobrá terminal near Čierna nad Tisou, but the trend of increasing
shipments was stopped by the war. Although the flow of goods did not stop completely, the
Silk Road department in METRANS worked intensively with its partners to find a new route
and an alternative to the usual northern corridor.

This was successfully done in the first half of May when a new gateway to Europe for the
flow of goods from China opened for METRANS. This is the so-called Middle Corridor when
containers from China arrive on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, cross it by boat and
arrive on the European coast in the Romanian port of Constanta. From there, we take over
the containers at METRANS and direct them further into the European hinterland.

The pilot train was full on 100% and, despite a longer transit time than the northern route, it
arrived according to METRANS standards at its destination station in Mannheim, Germany
on time. We have thus been able to respond flexibly to the emerging conditions and provide
our customers with a new and alternative route so that goods for import and export to and
from Asia never stop.