OREANDA-NEWS. March 01, 2010. The President of Russian Railways Vladimir Yakunin took part in the 72nd session of the Inland Transport Committee of the UN Economic Commission for Europe, reported the press-centre of Russian Railways.

In his talk on the Company’s work in developing Eurasian transport links, Vladimir Yakunin said that "as a natural transit bridge between Europe and Asia, Russia can play a significant role in this trade. One of the Company’s main goals, which was set out in the Government-approved Development Strategy for Rail Transport in Russia until 2030, is therefore to achieve deep integration into the Eurasian transport system." 

"Transit flows in the near future should be based on transporting container cargo along key international transport corridors, especially East-West transcontinental traffic along the Trans-Siberian Railway," said Vladimir Yakunin.   According to the President of Russian Railways, the Company has developed an "Action Program for the Development of Container Transport using the Trans-Siberian Railway up to 2015", which envisages a gradual increase in speeds and faster delivery times for transit cargo between Nakhodka and Krasnoe from the current 910km/day to 1400km/day by 2012 and to 1500km/day by 2015. 

"As early as 2012, cargo delivery times from Russia’s eastern to western borders will be cut to 7 days, and by 2015 it will take that time to reach Brest on the Belarusian-Polish border. The most promising area for attracting traffic to the East - West transport corridor is goods traded between Europe, China, South Korea and Japan," said Vladimir Yakunin. 

Speaking about the construction of the broad gauge 1520mm railway line between Kosice, Bratislava and Vienna, Yakunin said that "the purpose of the project is to connect the rail system in Central Europe with the regions accessed by the Trans-Siberian Railway, to attract cargo to the Asia - Russia - Central Europe route and to increase the competitiveness of rail."

In 2009, four companies founded a joint venture responsible for coordinating the construction of railway lines and a logistics transportation terminal, evaluating the economic effectiveness of the project, preparing the investment rationale and attracting funding.   Yakunin also reported on the Company’s work to develop other international transport corridors and the ferry service between Ust-Luga, Baltiisk and German ports. 

"Implementing Russian Railways’ plans to integrate the Company into the Eurasian transport system and increasing the transit potential of Russia’s railways require the support of international organisations and will contribute to the establishment of mutually beneficial relations with all partners," said Vladimir Yakunin.   In the afternoon, the President of Russian Railways visited the exhibition "Russia from the Train Window", whose opening was timed to coincide with the start of the 72nd session of the Inland Transport Committee of the UN’s Economic Commission for Europe. The exhibition will run at Geneva’s Palais des Nations until 12 March 2010. 
 
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Russian Railways regards as highly important the work done by the Inland Transport Committee of the UN’s Economic Commission for Europe, whose main task is to harmonise the legal base of the transport sectors and transport infrastructure in Europe. 

Experts at Russian Railways are actively involved in the activities of numerous working groups of the Inland Transport Committee, including railway transport, intermodal transport and logistics, the transport of dangerous goods and customs issues related to transport. 

An important event in 2009 was when Russian Railways received the official right to represent Russia in the Trans-European Rail Network project (TER) of the UNEEC, which comprehensively addresses the integration of the rail networks of the countries involved, most of which are in Central and Eastern Europe, with the pan-European network and which pursues a coherent investment policy in developing the railway infrastructure. 

Russian Railways has been directly involved in developing the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) within the framework of the UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in recent years.

In 2007, Russian Railways became a full member of the International Union of Railways, in which it now plays an active role. The Company’s membership in the Union means it is mainly interested in two topical issues: the development of international transport corridors and the establishment of quality standards and certification. 

At the International Union of Railways, Russian Railways is a member of the Contact Group established jointly by the Organisation for Rail Cooperation and the European Railway Agency. Russian Railways is also actively involved in the activities of the Working Group on Car and Rail Transport in the EU-Russia Transport Dialogue.

In the course of regular meeting, the Company exchanges information on the development and implementation of transport legislation, discusses problems in harmonising technical standards, establishes logistics centres and develops a common reference system and workflow of electronic documents.