OREANDA-NEWS. December 30, 2008. Russian Railways has been very active in strengthening its market positions in Eurasian transport services and infrastructure during 2008, reported the press-centre of Russian Railways.

The Company paid particular attention to improving efficiency in its cooperation with railways in the CIS and Baltic states using the 1520 mm broad-gauge track and reached important agreements with them on harmonising the strategic development of the railway network, including the reform and provision of transit shipments.

Based on a concessionary agreement, on 1 June, 2008, South Caucasus Railways, a Russian Railways’ subsidiary, began managing Armenia’s railways. The concessionary period is for 30 years with an option to extend it for another 20 years. Under the terms of the agreement, Russian Railways will invest in the infrastructure of Armenian Railways and upgrade its rolling stock.

The Company also worked consistently to improve conditions in order to attract transit goods to the East-West Eurasian corridor, including the Trans-Siberian Main Line. A joint venture with Deutsche Bahn and an enterprise including railways from Germany, Poland and Belarus began work. Two container trains from China to Europe in 2008, which ran between Beijing and Hamburg and were organised jointly by railways in China, Mongolia, Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany, showed the potential of this route.

Work with Japanese and South Korean shippers and forwarders was also intensified with the aim of attracting more freight to the Trans-Siberian.

In 2008, Russian Railways and Deutsche Bahn worked closely on joint projects in logistics (creation of a terminal at White Raste in Moscow Oblast) and in training of highly qualified personnel (international logistics centre at St. Petersburg State University). These agreements are designed to optimise the shipping process and increase the volume of freight using International Transport Corridor Number 2.

Conditions were established for the practical realisation of the project to rehabilitate the Trans-Korean Main Line. To this end, a joint venture was established in 2008 in North Korea to implement the pilot phase, namely a project to reconstruct the railway line between Khasan - Rajin (54 km) and construct a container terminal at the port of Rajin and to then use this infrastructure for transit goods with access to Russia’s rail network.

Important agreements were reached to expand cooperation between Russian Railways and Ulaan-baatar Railways.

Russian Railways was also constantly focused on the North-South International Transport Corridor with the aim of developing Eurasian transit shipments using Russian transport links to the countries of the Persian Gulf and India.

In order to improve the commercial viability of this route, Russian Railways, in cooperation with partners in Azerbaijan and Iran, is working on developing a direct land link to the west coast of the Caspian Sea by constructing a new line in Iran between Qazvin - Rasht - Astara.

In 2008, the Company’s active work on the project to construct a line with the 1520 mm broad-gauge track from the Slovak city of Kosice to Bratislava and Vienna helped to reach agreement on the potential feasibility and benefits to all parties involved. In order to increase transit traffic and earn revenue, it was decided to develop a new container route for Russian Railways as part of International Transport Corridor No. 5 from the ports of the northern Adriatic via Eastern Europe. In 2008, TransContainer, a subsidiary of Russian Railways, therefore took out a long-term lease on a transhipment terminal in eastern Slovakia.

The Company also devoted a lot of attention to cooperation with foreign partners in high-tech fields. In 2008, Russia began integration in the pool of countries that operate high-speed trains. A first electric train was delivered to Russia in December 2008 for trials under a contract signed with the German company Siemens to supply electric trains for the Moscow - St. Petersburg route.

Agreements were also reached with Alstom to develop and use the latest innovations in rolling stock. Russian Railways understands the need to ensure the greatest possible compatibility of the Russian high-speed rail system with its European counterparts.

In 2008, Russian Railways also took steps to enter the international market for infrastructure projects. For example, the Company signed a number of important international agreements and contracts to provide construction and engineering services and supply equipment and technology to Libya (construction of the 554-km railway line between Sirte - Benghazi), Iran (electrifying the 46-km railway line between Tabriz - Azarshahr) and Algeria (construction of suburban rail transport in the country’s capital. The contract is currently being agreed by the Algerian government).