Development of transcontinental rail transport reduces carbon footprint
Oleg Belozerov, the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Management Board of Russian Railways, and Miroslav Antonovich, Chairman of the Committee of the Organisation for Cooperation between Railways (OSJD), discussed the development of transcontinental rail transport at a meeting held in Moscow on 14 September 2021.
As the men noted, work is currently underway through the OSJD platform to develop 13 transport corridors. Part of this system is the Russia – Trans-Siberian and North – South links, the main Eurasian transport corridors.
"The development of international transport corridors is an absolute priority for the Company. They ensure the maximum efficiency of container transportation, while minimising the carbon footprint arising from other types of transport," said the CEO of Russian Railways.
Belozerov also noted that the further development of international transport corridors requires market regulators, carriers, cargo owners and forwarders to coordinate their actions in the field of tariffs, the simplification of border crossing procedures, and the introduction of digital tools.
Oleg Belozerov and Miroslav Antonovich also said that at the same time it was beyond the competence and powers of individual companies to resolve all the issues relating to the organisation of international freight traffic and that it was therefore important to create coordinating bodies for the management of OSJD railway transport corridors.
During the meeting, Belozerov and Miroslav Antonovich also stressed the importance of the work carried out by the OSJD to update the existing and create a new regulatory and legal framework governing the organisation and implementation of international freight and passenger rail traffic.
Within the framework of OSJD, a draft agreement and rules on the carriage of containers as part of international container trains has been prepared and agreed upon. The draft establishes a unified procedure for cooperation between railway carriers and container train operators. The signing of this agreement will become the basis for further improvements in the regulatory legal framework in the field of container transportation.
Another issue discussed during the meeting was the digitalisation of the transportation process. Oleg Belozerov and Miroslav Antonovich agreed to continue joint activities in this direction within the framework of the OSJD in order to conduct transportation between China – Europe – China in a completely paperless format.