TRACECA3 is an international programme aimed at strengthening transport communication in the regions of the Black Sea basin, South Caucasus and Central Asia. The programme builds on a Multilateral Agreement signed in 1998 among 12 countries and is actively supported by the European Commission through Technical Assistance projects. The overall objective of is to improve the transport links between these three regions and with the EU Trans-European Transport networksturning around the regional transport systems from a fragmented position to a state of integration, thus facilitating trade and enabling socio-economic and environment development in the region.
Railways play a major role in the TRACECA regions, as they are and will remain the main mode of transport in the region. The railway network is quite dense, as shown by the following figure and as far as long distance freight is concerned it is by far the main mode of transport.
According to the estimate of the transport model developed within the TRACECA IDEA 4 Technical Assistance project, the railway share in the market of long distance freight transport ranges from 37% of the tons km for the energy products to the 95% for the raw materials as shown in the following figure (fig. 2).
Future projections up to 2010 and 2030 show that this picture will change only marginally, road transport will increase its share but railway will remain the predominant mode. In the next twenty years accessibility of the three regions will continue to rely on the railway networks and railway services will affect regional competitiveness: trade, costs of exported and imported goods will all be influenced by the quality of the services provided by this mode of transport.
To guarantee an adequate level of service in terms of travel costs and times (including border crossings),reliability, safety and security both the networks and the rolling stock will require additional investments. So called “soft measures” aiming at improving the quality and the performances of the system in the short term are also badly needed. Interoperability, tariffs, seamless integration between rail and ferries as well as other modes represents basic pillars.
It is therefore not surprising that railways project were well represented in the two lists of priority projects that have been presentedat the TRACECA Investment Forums in 2010 and 2012, and that logistics and intermodal facilities were also extensively discussed.
The “Silk Wind” container block train from Kazakhstan to Turkey/Black Sea: a challenging project for the future of the railways in the region
In March 2012 preparations started for a new project connecting Kazakhstan (from the Chinese border) with Turkey and the Black Sea region via the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus. The background for this project is that with the implementation of the following railway and port infrastructure projects in Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan the time needed for transportation can be reduced significantly with improved quality of services:
– Construction of new railway line between Georgia and Turkey – to be operational in 2013, rehabilitation of the whole railway infrastructure from Baku to Kars;
– Construction of 988 km new railway line between Zhezkazgan and Beineu in Kazakhstan; shortening the distance from China to the Caspian Sea by appr. 1000 km – construction started, to be operational in 2016;
– Construction of the new Baku International Sea port in Alyat – first Phase to be operational in 2015;
– Modernization and extension of the port of Aktau, Kazakhstan.
At the same time, to ensure a seamless transportation of containers through all countries, the authorities of the involved countries, railway operators and ports involved started multilateral discussions concerning operational and handling issues of the future container block train. The main focus is on simplified border crossing procedures using a unified CIM/SMGS railway transportation and transit document for the whole route, which shall be transmitted electronically and in advance to the respective authorities.
Working groups to discuss both customs clearance issues and railway operations have been founded in June 2012 at the TRACECA Permanent secretariat with technical support from the EU TRACECA project LOGMOS. These working groups will prepare a multilateral agreement on the “Silk Wind” container block train to be signed next year.
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