The development of an environmentally friendly, intelligent and safe transport requires investments for the development of the research and innovation sector, for increasing the competitiveness of industry and for meeting the mobility challenges imposed by society.
From the development of railway technology for passenger and freight transport, including logistics and infrastructure to the implementation of innovative solutions, a complex process for the launch of new products is developed, all these having a common denominator – investments.
To this end, EU, the countries in Eastern Europe and those in Central Asia (EECA) are determined to consolidate cooperation in research and innovation as these regions are facing a significant number of challenges, especially related to climate change, environment and energy. Cooperation between the EU and EECA has a strong development potential on different areas and this could be approached by stimulating the participation of organizations in Central Asia in the implementation of the Programme FP7. As part of the research and innovation budget of EUR10.8 Billion for 2013, EC announced in July the supply of a financing of EUR 8.1 billion for FP7 projects, this being the last and the biggest grant for FP7 projects.
The biggest trade partners of Europe are the countries in Asia and, although trade is currently using roads for most transport activities, the two regions are interested to develop their railway infrastructure so as to create a reliable link between them. In this context, collaboration for railway research could be built on mutual understanding as regards technical interoperability problems and consequently, the shift to common standards. The coordination of actions will support cooperation between research and innovation centres in Asia, Europe, including Russia and China.
According to the programme reviewed in July 2012, the project establishes the use of centres and will involve the parties interested in identifying key interoperability problems in order to deliver an efficient railway transport between the two continents; also, technological problems will be established, a comprehensive study of the research centres in the region will be elaborated and connections for railway research cooperation will be facilitated.
As regards the impact of implementing these projects, it is intended to create a railway research network to include European and Asian countries, to launch a pattern for the systematic understanding of the market requirements and to define and identify the fields and subjects relevant to support the development of an efficient railway transport of the Europe-Asia axis.
To approach these problems, the seventh edition of the Railway Days event – Railway Investment Summit in the Wider Black Sea Area (WBSA) that will take place in Bucharest on 9-10 October 2012, is focused on analysing the necessities of research and innovation on all axes: infrastructure, railway passenger transport, freight and logistics and urban transport. Apart from the need to develop the research segment in order to improve railway traffic, participants will debate on the importance of building a long-term financial and political framework in the WBSA countries, the importance of developing the Iron Silk Road and the Danube Region, the North-South Corridor, routes which improve connections between Europe and Asia and to deliver a non-interrupted traffic between the two regions. The Wider Black Sea Area, the median area of the Eurasian platform, is facing an intense economic evolution which must be supported and stimulated through railway investments to facilitate the interconnection of regional, national and transcontinental railway networks, thus increasing the sustainable mobility of freight and passengers. An intense industrial activity, rising domestic consumption, increasing direct foreign investments, especially in the eastern side of the WBSA, the boost in trade volumes on the East-West axis, these are the main factors that trigger railway development opportunities.
The dialogue partners will be represented by railway infrastructure managers, railway transport operators, companies in the railway industry, logistics, railway customers, port authorities and operators in over 50 countries. Among them:
Ovidiu Silaghi, Romanian Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Jan Ilik, Ministerial Counsellor – Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic, Helmut Meelich, Project Manager TER – UNECE, Stefan Schimming, Secretary General, OTIF, Silvia Maffii, Team Leader Transport Policy Expert – TRACECA – IDEA, Nicolas Furio, Infrastructure and Electrification Manager – UNIFE, Holvad Torben, Economic Adviser – ERA, Gennady Bessonov, General Secretary – Coordinating Council on Transsiberian Transportation, Cavit Uğur, Managing Director – The Freight Forwarders &. Logistics Service Providers Association in Turkey (UTIKAD), Vitalie Struna, General Manager of Moldovan Railways, Ştefan Roşeanu, General Manager CFR Călători, Szorad Robert, Deputy Director of MAV Start.
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