OREANDA-NEWS. “Russian Railways has been playing an increasingly greater role on the global transport market since its foundation four years ago,” said Vladimir Yakunin, president of Russian Railways during today’s conference call dedicated to the Company’s results in recent years.

Vladimir Yakunin also stressed that the 70th General Assembly of the International Union of Railways (UIC) held in Moscow in June 2007, at which Russian Railways became a full member of the European regional assembly of the UIC, was an important milestone on the way to increasing the Company’s global competitiveness and the integration of Russia’s railways into the global transportation system.

The international business forum Strategic Partnership 1520 held in 2006 was widely recognised as an efficient instrument for the consolidation of strategic interests of railway companies, government bodies and the transport business on those countries using the 1520 mm broad-gauge track.

Yakunin also noted that development of cooperation on bi- and multilateral projects with railway companies and authorities in Germany, Poland, Belarus, Finland, China, Korea and other countries.

Thanks to the active positioning of Russian Railways, interest on the part of Japanese freight owners to making shipments by the Trans-Siberian Main Line is also increasing.

“Since the beginning of this year, the volume of container shipments carrying Japanese goods on Russia’s railways has increased by nearly 1.5 times. And the prospects going forward look very impressive. We have made test runs shipping Toyota car components by the Trans-Siberian Main Line and as part of the developing cooperation between us and Japanese business, we are conducting negotiations with Mitsui and are offering our services as a strategic partner in organising the shipment of Japanese container freight to Europe via the Trans-Siberian Main Line,” said Vladimir Yakunin.

In cooperation with the rail and transport authorities in Austria, Slovakia and Ukraine a project to to extend the broad-gauge track from Koszice in Slovakia to Bratislava and Vienna.

Work is also continuing on the project to build a new line between Kazvin and Astara via Resht, which will be of crucial importance for shipments along the North-South International Transport Corridor.