Disruptions on the railway network connecting the port of Piraeus with Northern Greece, near Thessaly, due to the serious damage caused by the recent storm “Daniel”, have caused serious problems in the supply chain.
According to Piraeus Container Station (PCT) officials who spoke to “Naftemporiki”, every week 14 commercial train routes are carried out through the port of Piraeus, while every month approximately 1000 40-foot TEUs are transported to the countries of the Balkans and Central Europe.
This means that approximately 12,000 TEUs are transported by rail through the port of Piraeus every year, while market executives estimate that together with empty containers this number exceeds 50,000 TEUs.
As mentioned to “Naftemporiki”, due to the current conditions, most containership companies are following alternative routes for the containers that were transported by rail from the port of Piraeus, this time choosing Adriatic ports. From there, they will either choose road or rail transport of the containers, depending on the cost.
Executives of the shipping market estimate that the cost of transporting a container by road to Northern Greece has increased by approximately 100 to 150 euros on the total price, while for containers transported through other ports the cost is related to the number of days needed for delivery.
OSE’s lines carry an average of 30 trucks per day on the Athens-Thessaloniki section and another 30 trucks on the route Thessaloniki-Athens.
