OREANDA-NEWS. December 16, 2013. Russian Railways is constantly working to improve the operational efficiency of its infrastructure by introducing logistical transportation technologies, developing heavy-duty transportation, introducing faster container trains on the Trans-Siberian Railway, and ensuring that freight trains run according to schedule," said the President of Russian Railways Vladimir Yakunin, who was speaking at the plenary session of the conference "The Transport Service Market: Cooperation and Partnership", which is b eing held in Moscow.

However, he also said, that the measures implemented by the Company involved unresolved issues with regard to the formation of an efficient and competitive transport market.

"I am deeply convinced that the establishment of effective competition, including in transportation, is possible only if, as a minimum necessary condition, there is surplus infrastructure capacity. Otherwise, competition between carriers arises for the customer not by improving the quality of service, but as a result of scarce infrastructure resources," said Yakunin, who added that this view is supported by international research.

The head of the Company also said that before talking about competition in transportation and attracting private investors in locomotive traction, it was necessary to resolve the situation with the wagon fleet. A competitive market for operating freight wagons has now been in existence for at least 4 years, but today the question is again being addressed about the feasibility of establishing a consolidated fleet.

"Taking into consideration the existing experience, I believe that to run an experiment to create local carriers, it is crucial to implement changes in the regulatory framework in advance and consider carefully once again whether we are prepared for such experiments when there is substantial growth in competition from other modes of transport in both cargo and passenger traffic," said the President of Russian Railways.