Russia cut the gas to Ukraine,Hungary did the same, the Donbas, region the source of Ukranian coal is in the hands of separatists (Russians), today a railroad in Odessa is blown up, maybe to cut of the port from the rest of the country.
The goal is clear: deprive Ukraine population from electricity and energy in the middle of the winter, destroy the economy, maybe people will rise against Poroshenko, and make the situation unstable at least. In this situation what are Ukraine options?
Ukraine consumed 70,246 millions metric tonnes of coal in 2008, At a price of 70$/metric tonne it will need 4,9 billion dollars for coal only.
Let's suppose that Odessa port will be cut off, and Ukraine cannot use it for imports, then the next step is to transport it by rail.
But Ukraine is using the rail broad gauge of 1,524 m while Romania,Poland,Slovakia and Hungary have standard gauge of 1,435 m.
So the wagons must change their wheels when they cross the border, this slowing down the transport.
If you look on this map you will see that Ukraine has very thin connections with countries from its west.
Should Ukraine change it's rail tracks? No, because its broad gauge allows bigger wagons and heavier loads can be transported. Even Austrians wanted to build a broad gauge line between Kosice and Viena.
An interesting article which describes the rationale of choosing the rail gauge.
Poland with its production of 217,7 million metric tonnes can be a source of coal, if the Ukraine and Poland rail systems are connected.And this can be done: the Lublin basin is 200km west from Ukranian border. At a cost of 2 million $/km, it will cost 400 millions this means 8% of the value of the coal that can be exported in year in Ukraine (4,9 billions).
Ukraine consumed 70,246 millions metric tonnes of coal in 2008, At a price of 70$/metric tonne it will need 4,9 billion dollars for coal only.
Let's suppose that Odessa port will be cut off, and Ukraine cannot use it for imports, then the next step is to transport it by rail.
But Ukraine is using the rail broad gauge of 1,524 m while Romania,Poland,Slovakia and Hungary have standard gauge of 1,435 m.
So the wagons must change their wheels when they cross the border, this slowing down the transport.
If you look on this map you will see that Ukraine has very thin connections with countries from its west.
Should Ukraine change it's rail tracks? No, because its broad gauge allows bigger wagons and heavier loads can be transported. Even Austrians wanted to build a broad gauge line between Kosice and Viena.
An interesting article which describes the rationale of choosing the rail gauge.
Poland with its production of 217,7 million metric tonnes can be a source of coal, if the Ukraine and Poland rail systems are connected.And this can be done: the Lublin basin is 200km west from Ukranian border. At a cost of 2 million $/km, it will cost 400 millions this means 8% of the value of the coal that can be exported in year in Ukraine (4,9 billions).
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