We proposed sending the oil south instead, through Hungary to the Slovenian port of Koper. The key point on the route is the East West Gate terminal at Fényeslitke, close to the Hungarian–Ukrainian border. Both gauges run into it: 1,520 mm broad gauge from the Ukrainian side and 1,435 mm European gauge. So the containers are not transferred at a border station. The train arrives on Ukrainian wagons straight into the terminal, cranes move the containers onto European wagons, and the train for Koper is made up there.
Flexitanks on rail come with limits. The oil moves with the train, and under hard braking or shunting the whole mass pushes against the bulkhead at the container door. So we used only flexitanks that had passed the COA rail impact test, and picked containers with sound floors and walls and no signs of repair. Each booking was cleared with the shipping line separately. A block train was also a safety choice: it runs from the terminal to the port without being broken up in marshalling yards, where the jolts are far harder than ordinary braking.
The paperwork was prepared so the train would never wait. The export declaration was filed in Ukraine, and across the EU the oil moved under a T1 transit declaration in NCTS all the way to Koper. Ukraine has applied the Convention on a Common Transit Procedure since October 2022, so there was no need to re-declare the transit at the Hungarian border. The certificate of origin, the quality and safety documents and everything the destination country requires were agreed with the buyer before filling. That way the port of arrival had no questions.
From East West Gate the train crossed Hungary and Slovenia to Koper, where the containers went to the terminal for the booked vessel. The client told us afterwards that it had been quite fast. The reason is simple: between the plant and the sea the containers changed wagons only once, at the Hungarian terminal. The train did not queue at the border.