Either it is about the Central European States or about the former soviet bloc states using the broad gauge, the interoperability applies to all railway services and refers to the harmonisation of technical specifications for rolling stock, control and command, signalling and telecommunication systems, operational rules, maintenance and repairs. Interoperability improves railway services, favours technical and operational innovations, ensuring unitary cross-border connections. The railway interoperability has a “catalyst” role for the increased regional integration but also for the support of trade and foreign investments in Russia and the Community of Independent States.
The countries forming the Community of Independent States are worth analysing not only in terms of the growth potential expected for the new passenger trains and for technology segments in the railway transport system but also as regards the accessibility of the local market for international players which can offer modern railway technology. For a long time, the investments in the modern railway technology have been neglected in this region and now it has to catch up by means of rolling stock, as well as infrastructure and signalling systems. The major reasons which may stimulate these investments are the upcoming important sport competitions to be carried out in the region, especially in Russia, and the establishment of international freight transportation corridors. The Russian economy depends on the ability to transport natural resources via rail to other destinations, indicates a study received from SCI Verkehr , “The railway market in Russia and the CIS”.
Approximately 90% of the activity of the transport sector belongs to the railway freight transport, but, at the international level the CIS region is on the third place in terms of railway passenger transport, behind Asia and Western Europe.
More precisely, in the CIS, 79% of the railway freight transport and 68% of the railway passenger transport is registered in Russia; Ukraine with 9% of railway freight transport and 20% of railway passenger transport is on the second place and Kazakhstan with 8% for the railway freight transport and 6% for the railway passenger transport occupies the following place. The remaining CIS countries do not register high performances for the railway freight transport or for the railway passenger transport.
With a drop by 12.7% in 2009 – 2010, the railway freight transport in the CIS has overcome the crisis much better than expected in 2009 and also better than the markets in North America and Western and Eastern Europe.
In urban railway transport, 80% of the transport activity belongs to Russia and 16% to Ukraine. After a constant decline in the passenger-km segment in the period 2002-2007, the figure stabilised in 2008 and then dropped again by 9% in 2009. By improving the general economic conditions, the transport performance increased between 2010 and 2011 due to the catch-up effect, a theory according to which the economies of certain poorer countries develop faster than the already strong economies, in time both of them converging towards the same income per capita. In the medium and long run, moderate growth is forecast, mostly due to new Russian underground lines. In the urban railway environment, transport performance has also reached by 2011-2012 the levels before the crisis of 2008, and the annual growth rates up to 2016 are projected to reach approximately 1.5%. In the long run, perspectives are even higher, as it is estimated that the Football World Cup in 2018 held in Russia will open the way to expansion projects in the 13 host cities in Russia.
In addition, the projects aiming at developing light rail transport systems in the large cities of Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine indicate the increase of the railway infrastructure capacity, as well as the efficiency of the railway industry.
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