Russian shipment fall forces Estonia rail job cuts

Transit trade has fallen dramatically as Russia reoriented its resource rich export trade away from Estonian ports, leaving railway and port volumes down on previous years. It is not possible to confirm how many workers will be fired, it could be several hundred, but the reasons are many," said Urmas Glase, spokesman for the state-owned company. The fall in transit trade was the main reason as the railway required less staff.

Upgrades and automatisation of lines in the south meant fewer workers were needed, he added. He said the number of trains from Russia had fallen from the highs at the beginning of 2007 of around 35 trains a day to 16 a day in May this year. The management board will decide on the fate of the workers in June, Glase added.

Estonia's main oil export port in the the first five months of the year shipped 18.5 percent less oil products, at 9 million tonnes, than the same period of 2007. Until May 2007, Estonia was the transit route for up to 25 million tonnes per year of Russian fuel oil.

After May, Russia's state railway reduced shipments via Estonia after political ties hit a low.

Source http://in.reuters.com/article/oilrpt/idinl0658787120080606

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