Over the last 15 years, the interest shown to railway transport has grown as being in the van of economic and social development, but mostly as playing a significant part in both European and transcontinental transport system. The European Union has thus underlined the importance of developing transport corridors on the continent, as well as carrying on railway connections between the Caucasus and Central Asia.
The “Railway Days” Summit, organised by Club Feroviar and the Romanian Railway Industry Association (AIF), has reached its fifth edition and aims to impose as a connection platform between the transport markets in South Europe and the countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Many of these transport markets are part of countries with an emerging economy for which railway freight transport is an advantage. To meet these objectives, it is necessary to reconsider all operational and technical aspects by actually moving the barycentre and strategies from national plan to trans-national plan.
During October 5-6, 2010, the Summit participants have the opportunity to identify the best solutions for reinforcing passenger and freight railway transport links between the two continents.
An integrated transcontinental railway infrastructure network requires a stronger cooperation between infrastructure ma-nagers in what concerns investments and operational problems. During the Summit, the participants will propose solutions to create a balance between passenger and freight traffic on international major axis by allocating a sufficient capacity and prioritizing freight trains and bearing in mind the fact that the allocation of capacity and traffic management depend more and more on socio-economic considerations. Intermodality between railway transport and other means of transport, play a crucial role in the economic growth of WBSA countries. The fifth edition of the Summit aims to identify the business opportunities in the Wider Black Sea Area (WBSA), starting from the significant number of railway projects underway and the significant investments in plan to develop the railway transport system and to ease access in using freight terminals more efficiently.
An extremely up-to-date debate topic that the Summit organisers propose to participants refers to building a sustainable transcontinental transport system by highlighting the railway transport role.
Other important aspects, in this period when the WBSA countries await an economic recovery starting 2011 and debated during the Summit in Bucharest, refer at optimizing and reinforcing cooperation between infrastructure managers to eliminate border effects for freight traffic and optimise investments and capacity exploitation at international level, first of all on the most opportune routes. The business sector proposals for developing and managing intermodal terminals that serve the railway network are also important to debate.
What are the investment plans in the 28 WBSA countries, what are the most important infrastructure development plans, what are the plans of the business sector, what are the chances to develop a PPP (public-private partnership) taking the successful examples developed in the West, what are the chances of opening the railway freight transport in the Caucasus and Central Asia, what are the cost-saving methods, these are also among the interest topics that the Railway Days Summit organisers submit to debate. Intensifying the promotion of rail freight transport can have a significant contribution in creating an efficient and sustainable Eurasian transport system.
by Elena Ilie
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