OREANDA-NEWS. September 02, 2013. A working meeting took place between Vladimir Yakunin, President of Russian Railways, and Sergey Eroschenko, Governor of Irkutsk Region, during which the two discussed the main aspects of cooperation. The meeting was held in Irkutsk.

Following the meeting, a session of the East Siberian Interregional Coordination Council was held to consider the prospects for developing the Baikal-Amur Main Line (BAM), as well as the organisation of public suburban railway transport services. Taking part in the session were representatives of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Buryatia, big business and Russian Railways.

"The work of coordinating councils with representatives from governments is extremely important to us. We developed this system two years ago, and it has proved to be very positive," said Vladimir Yakunin in his address. Yakunin also expressed his gratitude to the head of the Irkutsk Region for the successful development of mutual relations with Russian Railways.

One of the most important topics for the Interregional Coordination Council has become the development of BAM. Vasily Frolov, the head of East-Siberian Railways, spoke about the prospects and priorities for the modernisation of main lines within the boundaries of East-Siberian Railways.

"The potential for developing rail freight on the BAM largely depends on the prospects of major Russian companies in the mining and processing sectors expanding large-scale investment projects," said Frolov. "The development of the region's vast natural resources will lead to a more active development of industrial production, reduce the proportion of raw materials and exert a significant impact on the development of the transport market."

The development of transport infrastructure in the northern regions of Eastern Siberia will in turn encourage the large-scale development of new fields and deposits, and thus to even greater potential volumes of rail freight.

At the conclusion of the Interregional Coordinating Council, Vladimir Yakunin and Sergey Eroschenko signed an agreement on cooperation between Russian Railways and the Government of the Irkutsk Region covering the period 2014-2017.

The document focuses on making level crossings safer. The Company and representatives of the regional authorities face the urgent question of whether to close the 18 level crossings subject to the heaviest use and most accidents in Irkutsk Region. However, this would require the construction of alternative routes such as bypasses and road overpasses at several levels.

"The trains on the Trans-Siberian run at intervals of 8 minutes, so we are well aware of the difficulties that arise from citizens and motorists as a result. Solving such problems obviously requires constructing the crossings of the roads and railways at different levels," said Vladimir Yakunin.

The head of Russian Railways said that support at all levels of the legislative and executive branches of the Irkutsk Region would solve the problem.