The Sea News Agency announces that the JSC “Russian railways” is planning to invest about $60mln in the Novorossiysk railway station development. That was reported by the chief engineer of the Technical and Economic Researches and Projecting “Giprotranstei” (the branch of JSC “Russian Railways”), Yuriy Chepurkin at the exhibition “Trans Ukraine2005” that was held from September,29 till October,20 in Odessa.

In accordance with the Federal Target Program “Modernization of the Russian Transport System”, the transits by rail freightage of Novorossiysk Port are to be increased from today’s 29mln tons up to 41mln tons per year. It’s planned to increase the oil terminal capacity for the construction of a new grain trans-shipment complex as well as a container terminal for 250 thousand of TEU and a Novorossiysk logistic centre.

$60mln has been invested in the development of the port's Rail Way Stations in Novorossiysk and Tuapse for several last years. In 2004 41mln tons of cargo were shipped through them, that constitutes almost the half of the total volume of handling operations carried out at all sea ports of the South Region of Russia, and 35 per cent of the total volume of the cargo trans-shipped by sea transport. By 2010 the transit by rail freightage of the port of Tuapse will increase from 12 up to 17mln tons mainly owing to oil transportation. The rail freightage to the port of Caucasus is expected to be increased twice and to the port of Temruk – 4 times the amount.

The volume of rail freightage is expected to reach here 135mln tons, including sea ports – more than 100mln tons a year. In 2004 the volume of the foreign trade shipment in the South region, including the railway ones constituted 82mln tons, the share of the sea ports in which, including the Ukrainian ones, was 72 per cent.