OREANDA-NEWS. May 23, 2014. Russian Railways and Chinese Railways have signed an agreement on strategic cooperation. The document was signed by Vladimir Yakunin, President of Russian Railways, and Sheng Guangzu, CEO of Chinese Railways, in Shanghai.

According to the agreement, the parties intend to develop rail border crossings between Russia and China and railway infrastructure on the approaches to these border crossings in order to increase the through and carrying capacity of the railways and increase the volume of international passenger and freight rail transport between Russia and China and transit traffic through their territories.

The two sides will also improve the process of organising transport and optimising border crossings.

In addition, the parties intend to optimise the conditions and technology of container shipments, including by organising regular container trains according to timetables and to promote the development of competitive tariff conditions for China - Russia - Europe rail transit routes.

Russian and Chinese Railways also plan to conduct the work necessary to reduce the delivery times of goods in transit across the territories of their states, improve security and expand the terminal and storage facilities along the main routes of transportation.

The parties further agreed to develop passenger services by improving passenger comfort, reducing the time spent in transit trains, developing joint fare plans and marketing campaigns and improving the ticket sales system.