DORNESTI, ROMANIA — With a capacity of 3 million tonnes annually, Grampet Group’s recently inaugurated grain transshipment terminal in Dornesti, Romania, is expected to strengthen the country’s position as a railway and logistics hub in Central and Southeast Europe while aiding grain traffic from Ukraine. 

The facility was built through a public-private partnership with an investment of €10 million by Grampet Group, a leader in Romania's private rail freight transport industry. The cutting-edge technology and design of the terminal will enable around-the-clock operations, Grampet Group said. The terminal uses equipment similar to Romania’s river and seaports and is expected to streamline transshipments to the Port of Constanta.

Situated on the Ukraine border in northwest Romania, the new terminal also is anticipated to help facilitate grain shipments from Ukraine, a major supplier of wheat, corn, barley and sunflower oil to global markets. Romania is among several EU countries that became alternative transit routes for Ukrainian grain to help offset slower exports via Ukraine’s Black Sea ports after Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

“Here the simultaneous transshipment of eight Ukrainian-type grain wagons, which are with wide gauge, and eight Romanian-type wagons, with normal gauge, is allowed,” said Gruia Stoica, president of Grampet Group, during the inauguration ceremony. “All other terminals in Europe allow the transshipment of up to two wagons simultaneously.”

The ceremony on May 31 was attended by dozens of officials, representatives of the Romanian and Ukrainian authorities, ambassadors and diplomats.