By Anton Kostyukevich
Called Nieman in Belarusian, the train is able to haul not just containers, but lorries with trailers, which can drive onto special platforms.
Such technology is still a novelty in the CIS, although is popular in Western Europe, where the idea is called a ‘running highway’: journeys can be made partly by train and partly by vehicle, uninterrupted. Naturally, this saves time — and money! It should greatly help ‘hauliers’ crossing the Belarusian-Lithuanian border, saving them from tiresome queues.
The Nieman train will cover the distance from Kolyadichi, near Minsk, to Kaunas in approximately 11 hours and 50 minutes — taking into account customs registration and border control. Igor Zgursky, who heads cargo work and foreign-economic activity for Belarusian Railways, explains, “Now planning for the new route is underway, we’re identifying possible bottlenecks and exact geography, with a view to making alterations.”
The destiny of the new train, to a large extent, will be defined by the hauling companies’ interest. However, preliminary analysis shows that Nemunas will be in demand.
