The decision to interconnect the region of the Danube River for improving mobility and multimodality by developing inland waterways, as well as road, railway and air links is extremely important for the development of the above-mentioned region basin.
Road, rail and air infrastructure is often inefficient or simply missing, especially cross-border connections. Implementation of TEN-T priority projects and the Rail Freight Corridors according to Regulation (EC) No 913/2010 must be on time. The future Transport Community Treaty provides for better integration of the Western Balkans Region. Multimodality and interoperability, exploiting the potential of the river as a core element in modern logistics, are crucial. North-south connections are also needed.
The Board of the Priority Area 1b, whose activity area includes projects for enhancing the mobility and multimodality of road, railway and air connections, has analysed the project “Rehabilitation and future development of Ukraine’s transit potential as part of the main hubs of the pan-European transport network”.
The analysed project was approved on April 4. The project stipulates the continuation of railway links on the route Timişoara – Arad corridor to Cluj – Suceava (four Romanian cities) – Cernăuţi – Vinnitsa (in Ukraine). The cross-border project will be carried out in 2012 – 2014.
The members of the Committee have decided that this project contributes to the actions of the European Union’s Strategy for the Danube Region. Consequently, the Committee, which included the representatives of the countries in the Danube Region (the 14 involved in the project) named by national governments, demands the entities with a potential financing capacity to consider granting an appropriate financing support to this project.
Other major projects in Ukraine include the development of a ferryboat service between the port of Izmail and the Romanian city of Tulcea, the construction of a railway between the port of Reni to Odessa – Izmail railway, the set up of Naval Information Services in the Ukrainian side of the Danube River, as well as a ferryboat service dedicated to the international passenger and freight transport.
It is important to say that in February 2012 the Ukrainian Parliament has passed the project on setting up a public rail transport joint-stock company, as well as a project for amending the legislation of the railway system in Ukraine.
Under the project, the joint-stock railway company will be 100% owned by the Ukrainian state and will be set up through the merger of Ukrzaliznytsia to railway state-owned companies and organisations. The new company will also include the stakes held in other companies created with the participation of rail transport companies.
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