Economic relaunch begins its worldwide conquest. One of the first sectors to breathe easily after overcoming the effects of the financial downturn is container transport. Present at the summit of the Coordinating Council on Transsiberian Transportation held in Bratislava, Slovakia, RZD President Vladimir Yakunin has presented the investment program that Russia plans to implement in the near future to make the CIS state a hub for container traffic between Europe and Asia. Russia plans to build a new broad gauge line to link Far East to Central Europe. This line could become the main goods transport route between Europe and Asia. A study put together by consultancy company AT Kearney shows container transport in Russia will soar by 2020.
Vladimir Yakunin, Russian Railways President, has opened the 19th meeting of the Coordinating Council on Transsiberian Transportation by saying that container traffic on Russia’s most important freight route has continued to grow in the last period, with a record volume reached for the first time in 2010 after 1988. The volume shipped in containers has increased by 32%, while container traffic shipped through Far East ports has known a 23% growth. Yakunin said the extension of the corridor towards West to Vienna is vital to supporting this growth and that the Trans-Siberian should become the main container transport route between Europe and Asia and not only. There are also projects to connect Russia to Alaska on rails, via the Bering Strait, that would develop the route even more. “Significant investments are necessary to easing traffic. We are planning to invest around RUB 700 Billion in the Trans-Siberian Corridor and the Baikal-Amur section by 2020”, declared Vladimir Yakunin.
The RZD President believes it is essential to build a broad gauge line to Vienna for which a feasibility study is underway whose conclusions will be made public at the end of October 2010. Although, the Russian initiative has been well received by the countries the corridor should cross, Slovakia and Hungary changed position and are now playing the waiting game due to the political changes they face.
The new Slovakian Prime Minister Iveta Radicova thinks the corridor that would also cross Slovakia is too expensive. The first independent estimates of the 1520 mm gauge line between Cierna nad Tisou and Vienna vary around EUR 3-35 Billion. In 2009, RZD signed a contract for the 15-year concession of Cierna Dobra container terminal. Former Prime Minister, Robert Fico, believed the project is a turning point in harmonizing relationships between the ex-communist state and Russia, while companies such as Tatravagonka established the first trade relationships and contracts with Russian partners and presented a container transport wagon for the Russian market that has already been certified and bought by RZD. The critics of the Trans-Siberian extension through Hungary and Slovakia say there is already a viable route, in Poland, Hutnicza Szerokotorowa Line (LHS) whose potential, especially in container traffic, has never been turned into account.
AT Kearney: 41% growth in container traffic by 2020
The consultancy company AT Kearney has elaborated a study on container traffic in Russia and has foreseen a sustained growth (41% by 2020) following two factors: Russia’s opening to imports, as it has one of the highest rates of goods imports which increased container flows to Asia, the main container goods supplier of the CIS countries and investments in container terminal infrastructure which attracts container transport instead of bulk. Railway transport has attracted a significant part of container traffic due to lower costs and the favourable tariff policy applied by operators, who charge container transport services in Russia to 1,000 km/ carried. The price decreases according to the distance and frequency of container trains. Road transport costs on the same distance are up to 20% higher, for 3,000 km distances the price for railway transport being half the road transport price.
by Alin Lupulescu
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