Waiting times at the Terespol–Brest checkpoint reached 12 hours 14 minutes for trucks entering Poland at 19:30 Warsaw time on 9 October, according to real-time data aggregated by KolejkaNaGranicy.pl. Passenger-car delays stood at 2 hours 15 minutes in the opposite direction. The portal attributes the bottleneck to a combination of the continued closure of Połowce and Sławatycze, stricter customs inspections linked to EU sanctions, and a seasonal spike in produce shipments ahead of Orthodox harvest festivals. For exporters, the queue translates into missed delivery slots and demurrage penalties. A Warsaw-based FMCG importer told Global Mobility News that two refrigerated trailers carrying fresh dairy products had to be diverted via Litakovo rail terminal in Lithuania after drivers exceeded EU driving-time limits while idling at Terespol. Business travellers are also affected: coach operators report schedules slipping by up to eight hours, forcing overnight hotel stops in Biała Podlaska or Brest. Polish HR managers moving staff between company sites in Minsk and Warsaw are advising travellers to switch to the Minsk–Vilnius train and fly onward via LOT’s evening service to Warsaw until congestion eases. The Polish-Belarusian Chamber of Commerce has called on both sides to introduce a “green lane” for perishable goods and time-critical business passenger traffic. So far, neither customs authority has committed to the idea. Companies relying on just-in-time components from Belarus should review inventory buffers; freight forwarders expect elevated wait times to persist through the end of the month.
