Eurasia Rail Summit is one of the largest events in the railway field, dedicated to the Eurasian region. The conference is designed to provide valuable information about infrastructure modernisation, as well as development projects and procedures. This year, the summit was held in Istanbul, Turkey, during February 10-11, 2010. Eurasia (Central Asia and the Caucasus region) is one of the most prolific economic regions, with projects that contribute to the economic growth. However, this region is facing the same problems related to rail infrastructure development. That is why the Eurasia Rail Summit focused on the strong development of intermodal transport in the region. In Eurasia, the challenges in the field of infrastructure differ, to some extent, from those encountered in other countries from UNECE. Most of these countries have developed joint policies for economic growth and, in consequence, there is the need to prioritize investments for rail and road infrastructure development, as well as for the efficient development of cross-border points. This was the second edition of the Eurasia Rail Summit organised in Turkey and it represented the perfect environment for bringing forth new products, services and solutions. This event was a good opportunity for organising reunions and debates with the target audience in Eurasia. Rail Turkey 2010 brought one of the largest railway exhibitions, involving the railway industry in Turkey. The event was attended by Süleyman Karaman, General Manager and Chairman of the Management Board at Turkish Railways, Abdullah Akansu, Chief Engineer for Marmaray project, Kadir Topbas, mayor of Istanbul, Recep Altepe, mayor of Bursa (Turkey), Azat Bekturov, Vice-Minister of Transport and Communications in Kazakhstan, Martha Lawrence, Senior Specialist on transport, World Bank, Stefan Schimming, Secretary General OTIF and Vladimir Yakunin, President RZD. The conference held in Istanbul was divided into several workshops and specialized panel sessions, one of which focused on rail transport intermodality in the logistics and freight transport sector in Eurasia. In view of the objective to develop an efficient intermodal transport system, railway freight transport is a key target both for the governments and transport operators in the region. Moderated by a representative from the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA), the interactive workshop put forward a practical vision on the way in which the railway could become an actual catalyst for intermodal freight transport development. The participants analysed various case studies elaborated at international level, in order to find out how they can transpose these successful stories in the operations they undertake.
Railway transport, key role in Eurasia
The summit organised in Istanbul brought into discussion various topics related to the key role of railway transport in the future of the Eurasian logistics market. The participants agreed that co-modality is the solution for reaching future objectives in the field of transport. Other discussion topics concerned the investments made for modal transfer development as a governmental strategy; the recent amendments brought to the legislation regulating freight transport and how it affects intermodality in Eurasia; joining all governmental strategies in Eurasia and stabilizing all types of freight transport for an efficient intermodal transport system. One of the most important discussion topics was identifying opportunities for rail transport in order to help develop the freight logistics chain in the region. More precisely, the participants outlined the advantages of this type of transport, compared to other modes of transport. Another matter discussed at the summit was the development of intermodal transport for an efficient door-to-door logistics service. The participants also discussed about intensifying the technical standardization process in the rail transport sector for more cost-efficiency and for an efficient intermodal and cross-border transport.
by Elena Ilie
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