As a part of its programme to upgrade and expand railway infrastructure at its Vanino Bulk Terminal, the SUEK Group commissioned the first connecting rail spur line between the Toki freight yard and the Vanino terminal station. The rail line stretches 3.5 kilometres and includes all necessary infrastructure such as a highway overpass, a parallel road, and power supply. The expansion of the Vanino station railway infrastructure began in April 2013. The connecting spur line is part of the programme to increase the annual loading capacity of the Vanino bulk terminal to 24 million tonnes.

The new connecting spur line between the terminal and the Russian Railways network significantly increases railcar flows, while eliminating track routing and allocation issues on the national rail lines. The start of operations reduces loading bottlenecks by enhancing the efficiency and capacity of the Toki yard and allowing the full utilization of the Vanino Terminal loading capacity. The terminal now accepts an additional 120 railcars, which effectively doubles its daily volume.

The launch of the second phase of the upgrade programme will enable continuous unloading operations and will eliminate bottlenecks. With an initial capacity of 12 million tonnes per year, the first and second parts of the upgrade programme will allow the terminal to process 24 million tonnes of coal per year.

The upgrade of the SUEK Group’s Vanino Terminal rail infrastructure is in parallel to Russian Railways’ project to develop the Eastern portion of its network. As part of this program, the upgrading of dozens of rail stations and junctions has already permitted a significant increase in network capacity and product flows. The new connection to the terminal provides a meaningful and immediate benefit to the Russian Railways network and its handling capacity as well as a sound return on investment.