Railway PRO July

Railway PROthe railway business magazine

Журнал железнодорожный бизнес

Year VIII ■ No. 3.7 (97) ■ 2013 OTIF: The development of interoperability on the

Euro-Asian axis is a necessity

Parliament approves EU draft budget for 2014-2020

A long-awaited measure: single authorisation for placing

in service a rail vehicle

Grup Feroviar Român takes over 51% in CFR Marfă

Encouraging signals throughout Europe for SHIFT²RAIL Initiative

Мы получаем положительные сигналы со всей Европы по инициативе SHIFT²RAIL йнтервью с генеральному директору Ассоциации Европейской железнодорожной промышленности (UNIFE),Филиппу Ситроену

Freight & Logistics

Interview with Mr. Philippe Citroen, Director General of the EuropeanRail Industry Association (UNIFE)

1editor’s note

The European Union leads a true guerrilla campaign to build a single

railway transport market, especially in the freight sector, or to maintain the current status-quo. The long-standing tradition of approaching the networks as independent-national structures with unique valences and with role in protecting local business has a say in market mobility. As we speak, the ministers and MEPs are besieged with divergent messages from lobby groups who want them to change the meaning of the proposed Fourth Railway Package by introducing exemptions and derogations that would permit, in the end, the preservation of a closed market, hostile to real liberalization. Although we are talking about a long-term vision which seeks to transfer a significant share of the cargo transport from roads to railways, the institutional and administrative barriers they want to preserve in Member States will perpetuate the market fragmentation by disrupting this desideratum.

Meanwhile, we are looking to the east, where the large geographical

areas tend to join again to create an attractive framework for the forwarders on the routes linking the Far East to Europe. Russia has carried out its railway restructuring plans, conveying the sector into a real business platform where both local magnates and multinational groups activate. Repositioning RZD in a company dealing mainly with infrastructure and investments and the outsourcing combined with the privatization of transport activities permit the concentration of public financial resources to the development of infrastructure and to the participation to large international projects, together with a dynamics of transport investors which seems to outrun by far the activities of the European companies. The international stock exchange listing has become a trend which permits the attraction of capital, but also a certain business visibility and credibility. In this context, it is not surprising the perseverance of Russia, together with Kazakhstan and Belarus, in carrying on the “Eurasia” project, by setting up a railway joint-venture that

would facilitate freight transport in the common space. Based on a joint technical and institutional tradition, interoperability is easy to ensure thus enabling the construction of attractive commercial offers for large intercontinental transport.

A similar vision can also be noticed in the central area of the Eurasian bloc. Among diplomatic crises and local ambitions, Turkey continues, with Georgia and Azerbaijan, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project (while still not permitting Armenia to join the project), while the joint project of Turkmenistan with Afghanistan and Tajikistan draws the attention of neighbours (China, Iran and Kyrgyzstan) to identifying faster and cheaper routes to the Indian Ocean. In this puzzle, it will be interesting to watch the future position of Iran which can get out of “isolation” over the next period and which, just like Armenia, seeks to ensure a north-south axis to link the Persian Gulf to Northern Russia.

eurasia, a dynamic platform for railway business

Евразия - динамичная платформа для развития железнодорожного бизнеса

Европейский союз ведет настоящие партизанские бои за построение единого рынка железнодорожного транспорта, в частности грузового сектора, или за сохранение нынешнего статус-кво. Давняя традиция подхода к сетям в виде национальных независимых сетей единой валентности, выполняющих роль защитника местного бизнеса, говорит за себя в части мобильности рынка. Даже в этот период министров и европарламентариев подвергают «бомбардировке» противоречивыми сообщениями от группировок лоббистов с целью изменения смысла предлагаемого Четвертого железнодорожного Пакета путем введения поправок и исключений, которые позволят, в конечном счете, сохранить закрытый рынок, враждебный в отношении реальной либерализации. Хотя речь идет о долгосрочной перспективе, которая направлена на переход значительной доли грузовых перевозок с автомобильного на железнодорожный транспорт, институциональные и административные барьеры, которые есть желание сохранить на уровне государств-членов ЕС, увековечат фрагментацию рынка, подрывая

поставленную цель.Между тем, мы смотрим на восток,

где обширные географические пространства проявляют тенденцию снова объединятся, чтобы создать привлекательные условия для перевозчиков на маршрутах, связывающих Дальний Восток с Европой. Россия продолжила планы реструктуризации железнодорожной отрасли, превращая его в настоящую бизнес-платформу, где присутствуют как крупные местные магнаты, так и многонациональные группы. Пересмотр позиции РЖД, как в основном по части инфраструктуры и инвестиций и аутсорсинга, в сочетании с приватизацией транспортной деятельности, позволяет сосредоточить государственные средства на развитии инфраструктуры и участии в крупных международных проектах, вкупе с динамикой инвестиций в транспортные компании, которая, похоже, значительно обогнала поведение европейских компаний. Листинг на фондовых биржах стал модой, которая позволяет привлечь капитал, но и обеспечить определенную видимость и авторитет бизнеса.

В данном контексте неудивительна настойчивость России, Казахстана и Белоруссии продолжить проект

«Евразия», закладывая основу для нового совместного предприятия для облегчения грузовых железнодорожных перевозок на общем пространстве. На фоне общей технической и институциональной традиции, обеспечение совместимости легко достижимо, что позволит создать привлекательные коммерческие предложения для крупного межконтинентального транспорта.

Аналогичную точку зрения можно заметить в Центральном блоке Евразии. Посреди дипломатических кризисов и местных амбиций, Турция продолжает наряду с Грузией и Азербайджаном проект Баку-Тбилиси-Карс (но держа Армению вне игры), в то время как совместный проект Туркменистана с Афганистаном и Таджикистаном привлекает внимание соседей (Китая, Ирана и Кыргызстана) на предмет поиска более быстрых и дешевых маршрутов до Индийского океана.

Во всей этой головоломке будет интересно наблюдать будущую позицию Ирана, который может выйти из «изоляции» в следующий период, и который вместе с Арменией давно наметил для себя обеспечение оси север-юг, связывающей Персидский залив с Севером России.

Issue published with the support ofRomanian Railway Industry Association & Club Feroviar – The Railway Business Club

Журнал издаётся при поддержке Асоциации Железнодорожной Промышленности и

Club Feroviar – ЖД Клуб Деловых Людей

July 2013 | www.railwaypro.com

content2

encouraging signals throughout europe for sHiFt²rAiL initiativeInterview with Mr. Philippe Citroen, Director General of the European Rail Industry Association (UNIFE)

26

LeAders

Мы получаем положительные сигналы совсей Европы по инициативе SHIFT²RAILИнтервью с Генеральныйдиректор Филиппу Ситроену, Ассоциации Европейской железнодорожной промышленности (UNIFE),

50

need for a new approach

on intermodal transport

The freight transport in the EU is mostly performed by trucks (47.3%), followed by seagoing ships (37.8%), by trains (11.2%) and by

ships using the inland waterways (3.7%).

Потребность в новом подходе к интермодальному транспорту

РАЗВИТИЕ РЫНКА

Грузовые перевозки внутри ЕС в большинстве случаев осуществляется с помощью грузовиков (47,3%), затем морскими кораблями (37,8%), поездами (11,2%) и транспортными средствами,

использующими внутренние водные пути (3,7%)

stAtistics

Railway PROthe railway business magazine

ISSN - 1841 - 4672

Publisher: Editura de Transport & Logistică S.R.L.30, Virgiliu Street, Sector 1 Bucharest, postal code: 010881Tel.:+4 021 224 43 85; +4 021 224 43 87 Mobile: +40 721 723 724Fax: +4 021 224 43 86 E-mail: [email protected]: www.railwaypro.com

Editors:Elena [email protected] Luică[email protected]

Department of translations: Alina Vuţulicu

Paula BădescuGentil Traduceri SRL

Graphic design:Petru Mureşan

Layout and DTP:Petru Mureş[email protected]

Photo:Radu Drăgan

Marketing Manager:Cristina [email protected]

Advertising Enquiries:[email protected]. railwaypro.com/advertise

editor’s note

1 Eurasia, a dynamic platform for railway business

The European railway transportis at a crossroads. The oldchallenges linger, while newones appear. The Europeanrailway industry has all thenecessary resources to face thesechallenges.

Европейский железнодорожный транспорт находится на перепутье.Старые вызовы остаются актуальными, появляются новые. Европейскийжелезнодорожный транспорт имеет все необходимые ресурсы для того, чтобы успешно справиться с ними.

Freight statistics58

MArKet deVeLoPMent

phot

o: c

lub

fero

viar

PoLicies & strAteGies

MArKet deVeLoPMent


MArKet deVeLoPMent

Europe seeks solutionsto reduce rail noise. DG MOVE could launch a study for the efficient reduction of freight wagon noise

46

Need for a new approach on intermodal transport50

Urban logistics can be redefined52

Europe will have more silent trains48

European Union ratifies Transport Protocol within the Alpine Convention

60

Lex

ЛИДЕРЫ

www.railwaypro.com | July 2013

Parliament approvesEU draft budget for 2014-202016

EC meets economic challenges by launching an action plan for the steel sector

18

A long-awaited measure: single authorisation for placing in service a rail vehicle

19

Positive efforts of rail freight operators are not enough. Further measures are necessary to increase efficiency and competitiveness

21

Quality of rail freight transport, affected by infrastructure sub-financing

22

The European railway industry is the main global product supplier

24

TEN -T core network will have to rely on the European freight corridors

30

New discussions to speed up the completion of the North-South Corridor

31

OTIF: Development of interoperability on the Euro-Asian axis is a necessity

32

Rail Baltica fills in missing link36

Croatia plans full liberalisation of railway services38

Serbia, closer to the EU42 European rail freight transport still needs firm development strategies

51

The historical Silk Road…reinvented on railways54

Better prepared to face climate change55

Four companies submit offers for the acquisition of 75% in HZ Cargo

40

Grup Feroviar Român takes over 51% in CFR Marfă41

Republic of Moldova prioritizes the harmonization of railway policies to EU legislation and the allocation of investments

44

Products&tecHnoLoGies

Galaţi and Iaşi, two important intermodalhubs on the Eurasian platform

53

South-East Gateway programme, still in negotiations56

3content

1 Евразия - динамичная платформа для развития железнодорожного бизнеса

СТАТИСТИКА

ЛЕКС

ПОЛИТИКА И СТРАТЕГИЯ

РЕдАКцИОннАЯ СТАТьЯ

Железнодорожного статистика54


РАЗВИТИЕ РЫнКА


Парламент одобрил проект бюджета ЕС на период2014 - 2020 гг.

16

Европейская комиссияотвечает на вызовыэкономического характера с помощью запуска плана действий для сектора чернойметаллургии

18

Единое разрешение на введение на рынокжелезнодорожных транспортных средств

19

Положительныеусилия операторовжелезнодорожныхгрузовых перевозок неявляются достаточнымиОстается ряд мер, которыенеобходимо реализовать в целях повышения эффективности и конкурентоспособности

21

Качествожелезнодорожных грузовых перевозок оказалось под влиянием недофинансированияинфраструктуры

22

Европейскиежелезнодорожные перевозки все еще нуждаются в жесткихстратегиях развития

24

Центральная сеть TEN-Tбудет основываться наевропейских коридорахгрузовых перевозок

30

Новые дискуссии обускорении завершениястроительства КоридораСевер-Юг

31

ОТИФ: Развитиевзаимной техническойсовместимости пооси Европа-Азия - этонеобходимость

32

Rail Baltica - „не хватающее звено”, которое начинает приобретать контур

36

Хорватия планирует провести полную либерализацию железнодорожных услуг

38

Сербия - все ближе к ЕС42 Европейскиежелезнодорожные перевозки все еще нуждаются в жесткихстратегиях развития

51

Исторический Шелковыйпуть ... вновь изобретен нажелезной дороге

54

Насколько мыосознаем последствияклиматических изменений?

55


Европа находится в поисках решений для снижения шума на железной дороге

46

Четыре компании подают заявки на приобретение75% акций компании «HZCargo»

40

«Груп Феровиар Ромын»получит 51 % акций компании «ЧФР Марфэ»

41

Республика Молдоваотносит к числу приоритетовприспособлениеn железнодорожной политикик законодательству ЕС ивыделение инвестиционныхсредств

44

Потребность в новомподходе к интермодальномутранспорту

50

Городская логистикаможет быть пересмотрена52

Галац и Яссы - два крупных интермодальных центра евразийской платформы

53

РАЗВИТИЕ РЫнКА

ПРОдуКТОВ И ТЕхнОЛОГИй

Европейский союзратифицировал Транспортный протокол в рамках Альпийской конвенции

60

LL тормозные колодки– одним шагом ближе косвидетельствованию

48

EUR 231 Million for the modernisation of over 20 km of railways between Trencian-ska Tepla and Belusa. This is the third major project approved for Slovakia by the European Commission and it also represents a significant progress in attracting EU funds in the country, declared the spokesperson of the Ministry of Transport in Slovakia. china, iran and Kyrgyzstan may join turkmenistan-Afghanistan-tajikistan railway project

internAtionAL: Construction of the Turkmenistan - Afghanistan - Tajikistan (TAT) rail corridor which began in the beginning of June is of great importance to the strategic, political and economic in-terests of all countries participating in the project, according to the Strategic Planning Institute under the Ministry of Economy of Turkmenistan. The report notes that “China, Iran and Kyrgyzstan may also join the project later.” It is planned that the 400 kilometers-long new TAT railway will come into operation by 2015.“The future rail network will not only con-nect the countries of the region, but also

5

FYr Macedonia plans to review the infrastructure access charge

FYr MAcedoniA: Macedonian railway infrastructure operator Makedonski Zeleznici - Infrastruktura is seeking a con-sultant to review the track access charges as part of Corridor VIII railway project, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).The consultant should deliver a metho-dology for the evaluation of the elements for decision making on the level of fees charged for the use of the rail infrastruc-ture, organisation and regulation of rail traffic, the EBRD said. The deadline for sending expressions of interest is July 25. It is anticipated that the assignment will start in October 2013 and will last six months. The estimated cost of the contract is EUR 220,000.

Gazprom and rZd to convert locomotives to gas

russiA: Gazprom and Russian Railways signed a memorandum of cooperation whose aim is to use gas as a fuel for railway applications. This will make it possible to reduce transportation costs due to the fuel used and to mitigate adverse environmen-tal impacts.The parties will jointly develop and imple-ment programs for designing, testing and using gas–powered locomotives. A draft Federal Target Program on Natural Gas as a Motor Fuel for the Railway Rolling Stock between 2014 and 2020 will be prepared.The number of gas-powered locomotives and their maintenance facilities will be gradually increased along with the deve-lopment of NGV fuel production capaci-ties and refuelling infrastructure.Russian Railways will coordinate the pro-duction of natural gas-powered locomo-tives, will take part in adapting production & technical facilities of operating compa-nies to NGVs and will organize a system of vocational training.Gazprom will coordinate the construc-tion of NGV infrastructure in line with synchronization schedules for the devel-opment of gas-powered rail transport. The Company will fuel rail transport at locations agreed with Russian Railways and will ensure that NGV infrastructure meets the present-day requirements. The Company will also contribute to testing prototype models of rail transport.

HZ infrastruktura to receive state guarantees for loan

croAtiA: Croatia’s competition authority, AZTN, said it has approved extending state guarantees for a HRK 650 Million (EUR 87 Million) loan that state-owned rail op-erator HZ Infrastruktura plans to take out from Erste&Steiermaerkische Bank.The loan will be used to finance rail infra-

russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus create joint transport and logistics company

internAtionAL: The national railway companies of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus signed an agreement on the establishment of a joint transport and logistics company (UTLC), that will transport goods within the Common Economic Space.The rolling stock, equipment and other property of the new company will be provided by its shareholders.According to the business plan, the total turnover of the new company will hit 4 million twenty-foot equiva-lent units in 2020. Additional income of the national railway companies from the infrastructure is expected

to reach USD 1.6 billion by 2020. The cumulative contribution to GDP of the countries of Common Economic Space, according to estimates, will reach USD 11.3 billion in 2020, includ-ing USD 5 billion in Russia, USD 5.3 billion in Kazakhstan and USD 1 billion to Belarus.Vladimir Yakunin, Presi-dent of Russian Railways declared that he estimated the new company’s authorised capital transferred by the Russian party at USD 980 Million.

news

В мире: Государственные компании железных дорог России, Казахстана и Беларуси подписали 21 июня договор о создании общей компании по транспорту и логистике на Общем экономическом пространстве.

македония: Администратор железнодорожной инфраструктуры Македонии намеревается заключить договор об оказании консультационных услуг ввиду пересмотра налога на использование инфраструктуры.

ХорВатия: Хорватская антимонопольная организация AZTN объявила об утверждении предоставления государственной гарантии на получение кредита в

размере 87 млн. евро.россия: «Газпром»

и «Российские железные дороги» подписали меморандум сотрудничества, целью которого является использования газа в качестве горючего для железнодорожной деятельности.

азербайджан: Всемирный банк утвердил кредит в размере 220 млн. долларов на оптимизацию железнодорожных услуг в Азербайджане.

В мире: Генеральный директор Южно-Кавказской железной дороги Виктор Ребец обсудил возможности строительства коридора Южной железной дороги.

structure maintenance activities in 2013.Since the funds are earmarked to ensure the smooth operation of public infra-structure and the creditor bank has been selected through a public tender, it was determined that the guarantee does not constitute state aid, AZTN said in a state-ment.

iran-Armenia railway construction prospects discussed

internAtionAL: General Director of the South Caucasus Railway JSC Victor Rebets has discussed the prospects of construc-tion of the Southern Railway from Iran to Armenia during a visit to Tehran.In particular, the discussion covered pro-jected traffic flows as well as the possibility of building a logistics centre at Yeraskh station, the South Caucasus Railway press office reported.The launch of the Southern Railway Armenia and South Expressway Armenia projects estimated at $3 billion were an-nounced in January 2013. EU finances Trencianska Tepla – Belusa rail projectSlovakia: The European Union will grant

phot

o: v

isual

.rzd.

ru


exceeding 70% on its Prague – Ostrava – Bohumin services, although it witnessed a temporary decline recently as a result of the flooding which disrupted train services.The company has fully booked trains on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Leo Express competes with fellow open-access operator RegioJet on the Prague – Ostrava route, as well as incumbent operator Czech Railways. Geodis wilson expands rail freight services in china

internAtionAL: Geodis Wilson an-nounced the expansion of its Asia-Pacific operations to include domestic rail freight services in China, with intercontinental services between China and Europe also planned. “In Geodis Wilson we follow closely the development of this segment, particularly when it involves interconti-nental connections between China and Europe”, says Kim Pedersen, Executive Vice President of Geodis Wilson. As part

Germany increases track access charge based on noise pollution

internAtionAL: DB Netz AG intro-duced a new rail track pricing system that includes an additional noise payment fee for loud freight trains on 1 June. The aim of the railway corporation is to reduce noise emissions from the railway by 50% (start-ing from the level in 2000) by 2020. The new noise-linked rail track pricing system initially includes a 1% surcharge on top of the normal price. Over the eight years to 2020, this surcharge will be steadily increased.

Leo express records good results despite competition

cZecH reP.: Czech passenger transport operator Leo Express announced that it has carried more than 400,000 passengers in the six months since the launch of its full timetable on January 18. Leo Express says it is achieving average load factors

provide them with access to the markets of more distant states. Such routes will allow the continental and closed Central Asian countries to fully realize their economic potential,” according to the report.This route will open a new corridor between Central Asia and global markets through the ports on the Indian Ocean.Its length is twice less than through Russia to the coast of the Baltic Sea.

wB approves credit for increasing rail transport capacity

AZerBAiJAn: The World Bank approved a USD 220 Million loan to Azerbaijan as additional financing for the Rail Trade and Transport Facilitation Project. The project supports implementation of Azerbaijan’s national railway development program aiming at improving railway services in the country to foster trade and attract transit cargo between Europe and Central Asia.Rail transport and transit services are important elements of Azerbaijan’s eco-nomic diversification strategy. By investing in railway infrastructure and operations, Azerbaijan intends to attract increasing volume of transit in the Central Asia and Black Sea region, thus benefiting from its geographical location as the shortest route between Central Asia and Europe.The new grant adds to the original USD450 Million World Bank loan. The additional financing will be mostly used for power conversion and upgrading the railway signalling system along the East West corridor from Baku to the border with Georgia. “

6

В мире: Китай, Иран и Кыргызстан могут присоединиться к проекту линии Туркменистан - Афганистан - Таджикистан.

В мире: Финансируемый ЕС проект Sustrail нацелен на продвижение модального трансферта за счет перехода от автомобильного к железнодорожному транспорту.

В мире: Геодис Вильсон объявил о расширении операций в Азиатско-Тихоокеанский регион, которое включает железнодорожные услуги внутри Китая.

В мире: DB Netz AG с 1 июня ввела новую систему определения

налога на использование инфраструктуры, которая включает дополнительный налог для товарных поездов с повышенным уровнем шума.

ЧеХия: Чешский оператор пассажирских перевозок Leo Express объявил о том, что начиная с 18 января и по настоящее время перевозил более 400.000 пассажиров

В мире: Компания Transport for London (Tf L) объявила названия четырех компаний, включенных в краткий список претендентов на присвоение договора о работе на линии Crossrail.

болгария: Болгарское Агентство

по приватизации приняло решение отменить процедуру приватизации БДЖ Карго.

россия: Крупнейшая российская горная компания СУЭК намеревается создать подчиненного себе оператора.

В мире: Армении не будет позволено участвовать в проекте Баку-Тбилиси-Карс (БТК) до тех пор, пока она не прекратит оккупацию азербайджанской территории.

слоВакия: ЕС выделит 231 млн. евро на модернизацию свыше 20 км железной дороги между Тренчанска Тепла и Белусой.

sustrAiL- sustainable rail freight transport: designing the freight vehi-cle – track system for higher delivered tonnage with improved availability at reduced costs

internAtionAL: A sustainable and effi-cient freight transport in Europe plays a vital role in having a successful and competitive economy. The EU-funded project Sustrail aims to promote modal shift of freight in Eu-rope from road to rail, complaining with the European Commission targeted objectives of shifting 30% of road freight over 300km to other modes such as rail or waterborne transport by 2030. To this end Sustrail will contribute to a new era in the rail freight sec-tor by adopting a holistic approach and im-plementing a clear methodology to develop innovations in both freight vehicles and track infrastructure components. This deliber-ate approach will account for innovations in both vehicles and infrastructure. Higher vehicle speed and increasing axle load will be achieved by means of new vehicle sys-tem design and novel lightweight materials; while higher infrastructure efficiency will

be achieved by means of optimized track geometry, ground stabilization and novel monitoring techniques.The exploitable results of the project will be discussed at the upcoming mid-term confer-ence to be held on 4 December 2013. SUSTRAIL is jointly developed with main co-ordinator Consorzio TRAIN (Italy), the Con-sortium for research and development of innovating transport technologies. The cost of the entire project is of EUR 3 Million, the fi-nancing source being FP7. Participating part-ner countries are Italy, Great Britain, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Sweden, Spain, Norway and Russia. The project was initiated in June 2011 and will complete in May 2015.

news

phot

o: w

ww

.aze

rnew

s.az


phot

o: w

ww

.aze

rnew

s.az

7

matches the Neftetransservice’s and Glo-baltrans’ fleet of gondola cars.SUEK is the largest customer of rail trans-port among coal companies, its demand covers almost 10% of the Russian market of gondola cars. The main partners of SUEK now are the Federal Cargo Com-pany (owned by RZD), Freight One, and Neftetransservice. Azerbaijan not to allow Armenia’s participation in BtK project

internAtionAL: Armenia will not be able to participate in Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project until it doesn’t stop the occupation of Azerbaijani lands, Transport Minister Ziya Mammadov said.“Only after the end of the occupation of Azerbaijani lands, Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan can think on the accession of Armenia to the participation in the project,” Mammadov said.The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions of Azerbaijan.

2,500 km of railways to be built

turKeY: Turkey will build at least 2,500 kilometers of high-speed rail line in the next five years to connect 14 cities, Trans-portation Minister Binali Yıldırım has said.In framework of the draft of the tenth de-velopment plan, the central administration will allocate a considerable budget for the railroad transformation.

of a mixed rail, sea, air and road trans-portation solution, Geodis Wilson’s new Chinese rail freight service will offer cus-tomized, flexible, and reliable door-to-door services. Shipment of goods on container block trains as well as all pre- and post-rail transportation services will be offered. These value-adds will include, pick-up, pre-carriage and on-carriage, reloading, control of trans-shipments, railway wagon planning, freight documentation and real-time tracking and tracing.“Each customizable solution matches our priorities of safety, timely delivery and sus-tainability,” explains Farhad Kayyum, Rail Freight Manager, China for Geodis Wilson in Shanghai.

Four companies shortlisted in the crossrail project

internAtionAL: Transport for London (Tf L) announced the name of the four companies shortlisted in getting the con-tract to operate the Crossrail project. The four companies are Arriva Crossrail Limited, Keolis/Go Ahead, MTR Corpo-ration (Crossrail) Limited and National Express Group PLC.The invitation to tender will be launched in September 2013 and the winner of the contract will be announced at the end of 2014. The selected operator will begin services in May 2015 linking Liverpool Street to Shenfield. The line, fully opera-tional in 2019, will have 118 km and 37 rail stations. sueK could set up railway operator

russiA: SUEK, the largest coal min-ing company in Russia, wants to create a captive railway operator, “Kommersant” newspaper writes, quoted by rzd-partner.com.“This idea appeared long ago, but it wasn’t put in practice. An active discussion recommenced in recent weeks,” specify sources of the newspaper.Currently, the company manages its rolling stock by itself. It has approximately 2,400 railcars (in property and financial leasing), and over 15,000 wagons rented from the other companies. SUEK constantly needs about 40,000 gondola cars, and the figure

“We will construct at least 2,500 km high-speed rail line in the next five years. We will bring together 14 cities, with a total population of 37 million people,” Yıldırım said.Meanwhile, a code on the liberalization of Turkish railways by allowing private sector operations and investments in state-domi-nated railways came into force in May.

transmashholding-tognum agreement on engine production

russiA: Transmashholding Chairman, Andrey Bokarev, and Joachim Coers, the CEO of Tognum, have signed a memoran-dum to jointly set up a plant to manu-facture diesel engines in Kolomna (near Moscow), MTU Transmashholding Diesel Technologies.The parties will invest EUR 80 Million in the project. The facility will manufacture up to 1,000 engines per year for the rail-way and mining sectors and will include an engineering centre for the development of new engines. Production will start in 2015.

sale of rail stations is questionable

cZecH reP.: It is possible that the plan of the Czech operator Ceske Drahy (CD) of selling rail stations worth several billion koruna to the infrastructure manager, SZDC, could not be implemented, shows “Mlada Fronta Dnes”, quoting Ministry of Finances, Miroslav Kalousek, who opposes the plan, which is yet to be ap-proved by the Government. Kalousek said that he is not happy with the fact that the state-owned SZDC should be buying assets, which CD gained for free in past. The item specified that the assets have been preliminary evaluated to be worth CZK 6.5 Billion (EUR 253 Million), but a proper value assessment is yet to be made by the experts.

Украина: Премьер-министр Украины обратился с просьбой к Министерству инфраструктуры о разработке предложений по замене и постепенной модернизации парка подвижного состава.

тУрция: По словам турецкого Министра Транспорта, на протяжении ближайших пяти лет будет построено 2500 км высокоскоростной железной дороги.

россия: Подписано соглашение

между Трансмашхолдингом и Тогнумом на производство двигателей

Трансмашхолдинг и Тогнум подписали меморандум о создании производственной площадки дизельных двигателей.

В мире: Maersk Line продала компанию European Rail Shuttle (ERS), являющейся интермодальным железнодорожным оператором, расположенным в Роттердаме, Группе Freightliner Group (Великобритания).

news

Authorities abandon privatization of BdZ cargo

BuLGAriA: The Bulgarian Agency for Pri-vatization and Post-Privatization Control has decided to cancel the procedure for the privatization of the freight unit of the Bul-garian State Railways Company. The Agency has noted that the decision was coordinated with the Ministry of Transport.

The PM Plamen Oresharski hinted that it would stop the privatization of the freight unit soon after it took over at the end of May.In mid-November 2012, Bulgaria’s Privati-zation Agency launched a second privatiza-tion procedure for BDZ’s Freight Services, after the first one fell through. The second attempt to sell the cargo unit of BDZ only included strategic and financial investors.

phot

o: G

eodi

s Wils

on


phot

o: w

ww

.tcdd

.gov

.tr

turkmenistan-Afghanistan railway, completed in 2015

turKMenistAn: The Turkmen Ministry of Railway Transport will act as a customer and a general contractor for the construc-tion project of the “Atamyrat-Ymamnazar (Turkmenistan) - Akina (Afghanistan)” railway line, Turkmen President Gurban-guly Berdimuhamedov’s decree stated. According to the decree, the project also includes the construction of addi-tional facilities and two bridges along the railway. The construction work at these facilities will begin this month and they are planned to be put into operation in June 2015. A solemn ceremony for launching the construction was held in the Lebap region of Turkmenistan in early June with participation of the presidents of the three countries - Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. The project is being implement-ed within the tripartite memorandum of understanding signed in March 2013.

wealth Fund to allocate usd 14 Billion to infrastructure projects

russiA: The Russian Government will invest up to RUB 450 Billion (USD 13.7 Billion) in infrastructure projects from its sovereign wealth fund together with private capital, President Vladimir Putin said. Up to half the money to be invested in the projects will come from the National

Wealth Fund, Russia’s USD 87 Billion sovereign wealth fund made up of windfall oil export revenues.“Key conditions will be an assessment by private business that the projects are viable and effective, and co-financed from their side. The infrastructure projects should eventually return the money invested. I know that investors’ interest in infrastruc-ture projects is very significant, especially if government is ready to ensure risks are minimized and act as a co-investor”, Putin said. ec is unsatisfied with the track access charge established by eurotunnel

internAtionAL: The European Com-mission has called on the French and Eng-lish governments to analyse the pricing structure of Eurotunnel which manages the Channel Tunnel. The EC says that the track access charges imposed by Euro-tunnel exceed reasonable limits both for passenger and freight transport, resulting in the transfer of higher costs to pas-sengers and in preferring the road freight transport to the detriment of the railway freight transport. “Channel Tunnel is not being used to its full capacity because of these excessive charges”, Vice-President

of the European Commission Siim Kallas declared. The EC has also indicated that the regulator supervising the tunnel ma-nagement, the Intergovernmental Com-mission, lacks power and independence.

Freightliner Group buys ers

internAtionAL: Maersk Line has sold European Rail Shuttle, ERS, its Rotterdam-based European intermodal rail operator, to the UK-based Freightliner Group for an undisclosed sum.ERS has a fleet of 16 multi-system electric locomotives for international cross-border transport and 550 intermodal wagons. ERS Railways developed into a fully operational railway undertaking, holding locomotive operating licences in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Austria.

eurasia Finance investment fund is ready to invest in construction of railways in Mongolia

internAtionAL: Eurasia Finance investment fund can participate in the construction of railways in Mongolia.Eurasia Finance could cover 26% of the project of construction of almost 2,000 kilometres of new tracks in the south of Mongolia. The project is estimated at USD 5.2 Billion. The investment fund is ready to invest USD 1.2 Billion.The new railway is needed to develop the Tavan-Tolgoi coal field. RZD wanted to participate in the project earlier.

rZd discusses the set up of a consortium for the sale of Greek companies

russiA: RZD is negotiating the possibi-lity to participate in the privatisation of the Greek transport companies as part of a consortium with Greek and West-Euro-pean companies, declared RZD President Vladimir Yakunin. The funds used by RZD for the acquisition of the Greek companies will mostly come from funds. According to the data received by RZD, the starting price will be of EUR 100 Million for Thes-saloniki Port, EUR 30 Million for Train-OSE and EUR 10 Million for Rosco.

8

россия: Российское правительство будет инвестировать 450 млрд. рублей (13,7 млрд. долларов) в проекты инфраструктуры.

В мире: Инвестиционный фонд Евразия Файнанс может принимать участие в строительстве железных дорог в Монголии.

В мире: ЕК обратилась к правительству Франции и Великобритании с просьбой проанализировать тарифную структуру Еurotunnel, который управляет железнодорожным туннелем под каналом Ля Манш.

тУркменистан: Министерство

железнодорожного транспорта (Туркменистан) будет играть роль клиента и генерального подрядчика по проекту строительства линии Атамырат - Имамназар (Туркменистан) - Акина (Афганистан).

ЧеХия: План чешского оператора Ceske Drahy о продаже вокзалов на сумму в нескольких миллионах крон администратору инфраструктуры SZDC, возможно, не будет осуществляться.

россия: ОАО РЖД ведет переговоры по возможному участию в приватизации транспортных компаний в Греции.

ukraine wants to modernise 500 coaches per year

uKrAine: On June 26, at the Govern-ment’s session Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov instructed the Infrastruc-ture Ministry to ready propositions con-cerning gradual replacement and mo-dernization of rolling stock.Mykola Azarov emphasized these days there had emerged the need to upgrade the rolling stock through its considerable depreciation and for the sake of ensuring necessary supply in passenger convey-ance.“There are objective difficulties: the lack of passenger cars. Four fifth of carriages are exploited more than 28 years. In the nearest years we will have to solve this problem in system. We need to renew

minimum 500 carriages year-on-year. Let’s work in this direction, search for in-ternal reserves and financial instruments to solve the problem. I commission the Infrastructure Ministry to ready proposi-tions concerning gradual replacement and modernization of the rolling stock,” Mykola Azarov has said.

news

phot

o: w

ikim

edia

.org


phot

o: v

isual

.rzd.

ru

doha rail project to benefit local private sector

internAtionAL: Qatar Chamber chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani has said the involvement of local companies in the Doha Metro and Rail projects will support the national economy and benefit the country’s private sector. “The decision of Qatar Rail to integrate Qatari companies in the Doha Metro and Rail projects won by foreign companies’ represents a real support to the country’s economy, strengthens the private sector role and enables it to benefit as much as possible,” he said.Abdul Aziz bin Nasser al-Khalifa, Qatar Development Bank executive director (Strategic Planning and Business Development), said: “There is no doubt that the contribution of local companies in the consortia which were awarded contracts for the Doha Metro Project, will help in transferring the knowledge to these reputed companies. Qatar Building Company (QBC) managing director Ali Mustafawi said: “The efforts of Qatar Rail to implement such a huge project will have a positive and immediate impact on all business sectors in Qatar. This is especially due to the fact that the scope of work will attract a large number of experienced employees and high-quality foreign companies.Upon completion of Qatar Railway projects, thousands of job opportunities will be available. There will be a lot of opportunities for the local market.

rasht – Astara railway should be constructed over a short timeframe

internAtionAL: A taskforce comprising representatives of Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia and India is working over the issue of building Rasht-Astara (Iran)-Astara (Azerbaijan) railway, Iranian Tasnim news website quoted Iran Railways administration official Mohammad Reza Mohammadi Arasi as saying.

The construction of the Qazvin-Rasht-Astara railway was discussed at the fifth session of the Coordination Council on the International North-South Transport Corridor which was held in Baku on June 24-25; participants noted the importance of constructing it over a short timeframe. “There is a railway from the Iranian Bandar-Abbas port to the Qazvin city. The

construction of the Qazvin-Rasht railway should be completed in the first half of 2014,” Arasi said. According to him, the working group discussed the construction of the railway, investment in construction work and other issues. The results of discussions will be introduced for making a decision at the next meeting of deputy foreign ministers of the four mentioned countries.

Mou between the organisation of the Black sea economic cooperation and uic

internAtionAL: The negotiated Memorandum of Understanding between the Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation and the International Union of Railways was approved at the Foreign Affairs Council held in Odessa in June 2013. The Council approved the Memorandum of Understanding and authorised the Secretary General of BSEC PERMIS to sign said Memorandum on behalf of BSEC. This successful collaboration is the result of efficient work undertaken by BSEC, His Excellency the Ambassador Traian Chebeleu, the Deputy General Secretary

and by UIC’s Mr Vincent Vu and Mr Teodor Grădinariu. We expect the official signature of the memorandum to be signed by Dr Victor Ţvircun, Secretary-General of the Permanent International Secretariat of BSEC, and Mr Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, UIC Director General.

Libya holds talks with russia and china to restart national rail Project

internAtionAL: Following the announcement in February 2013 that plans were to be revived to build railways in Libya, the Libyan Rail Implementation Authority has held talks with the China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) in an attempt to reach a framework agreement to reactivate contracts which have been on hold since the revolution. The 12 Billion USD Libyan railway project saw contracts split in 2008 between Russian Railways, to build the line between Sirte and Benghazi, as well as the CRCC building railways between Tripoli, Khoms and Al-Hisha Sebha. Transport Minister, Abdel-Qader Ahmed, has already communicated with the Russians about restarting their contracts.

10

sHiFt²rAiL – supports a coordinated approach to r&i in the rail sector

internAtionAL: The European Commis-sion launched, on June 28, a stakeholders’ consultation on a proposal for an EU coordi-nated approach to R&I in the rail sector under Horizon 2020 in support to the completion of the Single European Railway Area. Back-ground studies have shown that R&I in the rail sector is currently carried out in a fragmented manner with fragmentation lines. This leads to a situation in which the absence of a critical mass in resources restricts ambitions and nec-essary breakthroughs; the rail market fails to attract more advanced, customer-focused in-dustrial sectors as potential providers of ideas

and solutions; when particular innovation ac-tions are devised, the difficulties of generat-ing equitable returns to all the players in the rail value chain hinder market deployment and risk sharing levels are low when develop-ing new technologies, products and services supporting internal market goals and the Eu-ropean transport industry in maintaining its world leadership. SHIFT²RAIL is the first Euro-pean initiative to seek focused Research and Innovation (R&I) and market-driven solutions by accelerating the integration of new and advanced technologies into innovative rail product solutions, matching key objectives of the EU 2011 White Paper on Transport and the Framework Programme for Research and In-novation Horizon2020.

В мире: Недавно - 28 июня - Европейская комиссия запустила проведение общественных консультаций по предложению о координированном подходе Исследования и Инновации в железнодорожном секторе в рамках проекта Горизонт 2020 в поддержку завершения осуществления Единого Европейского железнодорожного пространства.

В мире: Совет по иностранным делам Организации экономического сотрудничества в Черноморском пространстве (OCEMN), который провел заседание в Одессе, утвердил Меморандум понимания, по которому OCEMN провела переговоры с Международным союзом железных дорог (МСЖД).

В мире: Строительство целого отсека Казвин-Рашт-Астара, который является частью Коридора Север-Юг, обсуждалось в рамках V Координационного совета

по Международному коридору Север – Юг, проведенного в Баку в середине июня. Участники подчеркнули важность строительства линии в кратчайшие сроки.

В мире: По словам председателя Торговой палаты Катара Шеиха Калифы бин Яссим бин Мохамед аль-Тани, решение о привлечении местных компаний в национальный железнодорожный проект и в проект Метро города Доха будет поддерживать национальную экономику и одновременно частный сектор страны.

В мире: После объявления в феврале 2013 года национального плана реконструкции железнодорожного транспорта, Учреждение по осуществлению железных дорог в Ливии провело различные переговоры с компанией China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) и РЖД в попытках достижения соглашения по возобновлению контрактов, приостановленных в связи с революцией.

news

phot

o: m

etra

cons

ult.i

r


operating contractor and the SRO. SRO chief Mohammad Al-Suwaikit said the dry port will witness huge developments in the near future. The current contract includes developing the port’s infrastructure according to the highest international standards. The SRO is also expanding according to a strategy that will connect industrial cities with the railway line as soon as this is feasible. Coordination with relevant bodies is now under way.

Portuguese-spanish agreement for stimulating railway freight transport

internAtionAL: The operators RENFE (Spain) and Comboios de Portugal (Portugal) have signed a technical collaboration agreement for the increase of the market share of the freight transport sector in the Iberian Peninsula. The agreement will last for two years and can be renewed. Another agreement signed by the two companies stipulates that the Portuguese operator will be able to sell tickets for the passenger transport services of RENFE.

“Full service Model” - for the benefit of european passengers

internAtionAL: The CEOs of European passenger railways agreed to launch a joint project, “Full Service Model”, designed to enhance end-to-end journey information and make it easier to book train and intermodal journeys on a diversity of distribution channels during their meeting on June 14, in Spiez, Switzerland. The project will facilitate cross-distribution and allow railways to provide more choice and information to passengers, by making the most out of modern information technology (IT) developments. European passenger CEOs agreed to run the project jointly with the ticket vendors’ associations ETTSA, ECTAA and GEBTA. The main goal of this project will be to reinforce

construction of a 115-kilometre European-gauge (1,435 mm) railway track from the Lithuanian-Polish border to the city of Kaunas. The European-gauge track will be built parallel to the existing wider-gauge (1,520 mm) line. The project also includes the reconstruction of a 60-kilometre wider-gauge track from the city of Šiauliai to the Lithuanian-Latvian border. Both the newly built and the reconstructed lines will allow train services to run at up to 120 kilometres per hour. As part of the future Rail Baltica route, this will be the first European-gauge track built in the Baltic countries to open a direct connection with the railway network of Poland and potentially to continue passenger and freight transportation to other European Union countries.

riyadh dry port to be privatized

internAtionAL: The Saudi Railway Organization (SRO) is to develop the dry port in Riyadh which has been under great pressure recently due to increased numbers of incoming containers and limited space. In May, the port witnessed its largest number of incoming containers since its establishment. SRO chief Mohammad Al-Suwaikit said the infrastructure of the dry port will be rebuilt, a move that will raise capacity and increase efficiency in handling large numbers of containers. He said the port will be privatized and that returns will be shared between the

Libya has offered to pay the companies 50% of the original agreed terms, with remaining fees payable in two further tranches. It is unclear whether this offer was met with a favourable response.

new high-speed line Albacete – Alicante

internAtionAL: In June, Spain inaugurated a new high-speed section, Albacete-Alicante, part of the line Madrid-Castilla-La Mancha-Murcia. The new section reduces the travel time between Madrid and Alicante by 50 minutes to two hours and 20 minutes. For the beginning RENFE will provide 9 daily pairs of trains between Madrid and Alicante with prices starting from EUR 19.45. The 165km project, initiated nine years ago, demands an investment of EUR 1.92 Billion. Over the past year and a half, around 300 km of new high-speed lines have been commissioned and the Spanish high-speed network amounts to over 3,100 km.

nordic investment Bank finances rail Baltica in Lithuania

internAtionAL: Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) and Lithuanian Railways (Lietuvos gelezinkeliai) have signed a 19-year-maturity EUR 114 Million loan agreement for the construction of a European-gauge track as part of the future Rail Baltica route, as well as for modernising parts of the Trans European East-West corridors in Lithuania. The loan financing is earmarked for the

11news

dB and etihad rail sign freight operations agreement

internAtionAL: Deutsche Bahn (DB) and Etihad Rail have establishes a new partnership to run freight services in the Arabian Peninsula. Etihad Rail DB Opera-tions LLC will be responsible for running freight services on the 1,200km rail network

currently under construction in the United Arab Emirates, connecting Saudi Arabia with Oman. The passenger and freight line, which is being built in three phases, is expected to cost around EUR 8.4 Billion. Dr Rüdiger Grube, chief executive of DB, said: “The Etihad Rail network heralds a new era in transportation. DB Schenker Rail is proud to be part of it.

В мире: Государство, расположенное на Пиренейском полуострове в июне запустило новый отсек высокоскоростного транспорта Альбасете-Аликанте на линии Мадрид - Кастилья - Ля Манча - Мурсия. Новый отсек позволяет сократить время пребывания в пути между Мадридом и Аликанте на два часа и двадцат минут.

В мире: Deutsche Bahn (DB) и Etihad Rail заложили основу нового партнерства, направленного на осуществление железнодорожных грузовых перевозок на Аравийском полуострове. Компания Etihad Rail DB Operations будет отвечать за управление поездами по всей продолжительности в 1200 км железной дороги, строящейся в настоящее время в Объединенных Арабских Эмиратах.

В мире: Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) и Железные дороги Литвы

(Lietuvos gelezinkeliai) подписали соглашение о финансировании на 19 лет, стоимостью 114 млн. евро, на строительство линии с европейским стандартом колеи.

В мире: Совет Европейского союза принял решение открыть новую главу (Главу № 22) в рамках переговоров с Турцией о вступлении в ЕС. Об этом объявляется в сообщении для печати учреждения. Глава № 22 является очередным условием ЕС для вступления новых государств в данную организацию, и она касается региональной политики и координирования структурных инструментов.

В мире: Операторы RENFE (Испания) и Comboios de Portugal (Португалия) подписали соглашение о сотрудничестве по техническим вопросам ввиду увеличения доли рынка по сегменту грузовых перевозок на Пиренейском полуострове.

phot

o: a

dif.e

s


phot

o: w

ww

.ara

bian

supp

lych

ain.

com

that EU foreign ministers have backed a German proposal to postpone further EU membership talks with Turkey for about four months. The EU-Turkey talks had been scheduled to resume on June 26. But Germany, Austria and the Netherlands have criticised Turkey’s crackdown on anti-government protests. Germany’s Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle played down tensions with Turkey, saying he had had a “really good, constructive” discussion with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu.

Khasan – rajin line project in final phase

internAtionAL: During a meeting of RZD President, Vladimir Yakunin, and North Korea’s Minister of Railways (MOR), Jeong Gil Soo, on implementing a joint project to reconstruct the railway stretch between Khasan – Rajin. The parties confirmed that the project to reconstruct the line from Rajin station to Khasan station and the port of Rajin is already in the final stages. According to the document, it is planned to create a single control centre with the participation of experts from the joint ventures RasonKonTrans and ZHTK Donghae MOR from North Korea to handle traffic

business partnerships by making it easier for both railways and third party ticket vendors to display accurate and transparent data about available rail products, whilst respecting the commercial freedom about distribution channels and partners. It will concentrate on the functional requirement specifications for an IT infrastructure providing system capabilities for increased IT interoperability in the field of distribution. The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) will support it in an advisory capacity.

dB schenker rail to provide new connection to turkey

internAtionAL: As of September, DB Schenker Rail will provide a new conventional and container rail freight transport service between Germany and Turkey (Halkali-Istanbul), called “Bosporus Shuttle”. For the beginning, the connection will be made by three pairs of trains and then by five pairs of trains. The new service will consolidate the transport offer between Western Europe and destinations in Turkey. DB Schenker Rail Bulgaria will transfer the trains directly to Turkish Railways. The travel time is five days. The trains pass through Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.

eu opens new round of negotiations on turkey’s accession

internAtionAL: The Council has agreed to open Chapter 22 of the accession negotiations with Turkey, the institution announced in a press release. Chapter 22 is another condition of the EU on the accession of a country and concerns regional policy and the coordination of structural instruments. The Inter-Governmental Conference with Turkey will take place after the presentation of the progress report elaborated by the European Commission and, following the discussions with the General Affairs Council (GAF) the position of the Council on the opening of Chapter 22 will be confirmed and the date of the accession conference will be set. But, bbc.co.uk states

management and facilitate collaboration with the entire railway network in North Korea. As part of the Khasan - Rajin project, it was planned to reconstruct the combined dual-track railway with 1520 mm and 1435 mm gauges on the stretch from the Russian border to the port of Rajin in North Korea, a distance of 54 km, reconstruct three tunnels, repair a border railway bridge and construct a freight terminal with an annual capacity of 4 million tonnes at Port Rajin. eiB provides new loan for Ankara-istanbul project

internAtionAL: The European Investment Bank is providing EUR 200 Million to the Turkish State Railways for the high-speed line Ankara-Istanbul. This additional funding brings total EIB support for this high speed railway line to some EUR 1.5 Billion. The project was first financed by the EIB in 2006. The total value of EIB financing for the Turkish rail system in the last five years comes to some EUR 2.5 Billion. The project constitutes a key element of the Government’s plans to increase the share of rail transport by improving the productivity and effectiveness of railway operations. The European Union is also providing a grant of EUR 120 Million to the HSL project through its Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA) funds.

1212

serbian railway sector opened in 2014

serBiA: The launch for the liberalisation of the railway sector is projected for Janu-ary 2014. As part of the process, Zeleznice Srbije will be initially separated into two companies: the infrastructure manager and the railway freight and passenger transport operator, said director Dragoljub Simonovic. The two companies resulted will be finan-cially and operationally independent. The operator will be then separated into two dif-ferent companies, for freight transport and for passenger transport. Private companies

will gradually receive license to operate in the railway freight transport sector. The new law regulates the route acquisition proce-dures from the infrastructure manager and gives wider responsibilities in adopting rail and intermodal transport regulations to the railway directorate. The directorate will be tasked with the decision-making to prevent disloyal competition and discrimination and will manage the route requirements. The Law also stipulates the implementation of a national railway infrastructure programme which should be elaborated and proposed to the Government and then adopted by the Parliament for a period of 5 years.

сербия: Начиная с января 2014 года сербское государство запустит процесс либерализации железнодорожного сектора. В рамках данного процесса, компания Zeleznice Srbije сначала будет разделена на две части: администратора инфраструктуры и оператора железнодорожных грузовых и пасажирских перевозок. Об этом заявил директор компании, Драголюб Симонович.

В мире: Исполнительные директора европейских компаний для железнодорожных пассажирских перевозок приняли решение о запуске совместного проекта - “Full Service Model” - нацеленного на увеличение объема информации о поездке от пункта отправления до точки назначения, а также на способствование бронированию билета на поезд или на интермодальные поездки.

В мире: В рамках встречи председателя ОАО РЖД Владимира

Якунина с министром железнодорожных путей сообщения Северной Кореи Джонг Гиль Су был подписан протокол о линии Кхасан - Раджин. Обе стороны подтвердили, что проект реконструкции линии от станции Раджин в сторону Кхасана и порта Раджин уже вступил в завершающий этап.

В мире: Саудовская организация железных дорог (SRO) будет развивать грузовой терминал в Риаде, который в настоящее время находится в затруднительном положении в результате увеличения количества контейнеров, но и по причине ограниченного пространства для осуществления маневров на его территории.

В мире: Начиная с сентября этого года, DB Schenker Rail введет новую услугу для условных железнодорожных грузовых перевозок и для перевозок контейнеров между Германией и Турцией, которая будет называться „Bosporus Shuttle”

news

phot

o: T

CDD

.net


Metropolitana Milanese s.p.A to participate in Moscow rail projects

russiA: Milano Metro (Metropolitana Milanese S.p.A.) signed an agreement with Millenium Bank to set up a company that would participate in the re-designing of the small ring line in Moscow aimed at transforming the line from freight-dedicated to passenger-dedicated.The line will have 30 intermodal stations and the completion is scheduled for late 2015. Future traffic is estimated at 280 million passengers a year. The new company will also participate in the modernisatin of the metro network in the Russian capital. tender for trams in Germany

internAtionAL: VIA Transport, the company responsible for operating the light rail networks in the German cities of Essen, Oberhausen, Mülheim-an-der-Ruhr, and Geslsenkirchen/Bochum has issued an international tender notice for a contract to supply 18 LRVs with an option for two additional vehicles.The 30m-long bi-directional LRVs must be 2.30m wide with a ground clearance of 65mm and be equipped for operation under 600V dc and 750V dc electrification systems. A minimum 70% low-floor area is specified for each tram.

Bristol wins the european Green capital Award 2015

internAtionAL: Bristol was awarded the European Green Capital 2015. The city located in South West England received special praise from the Jury for its achievements, notably in terms of tackling climate change, improving air quality and reducing noise pollutions.Bristol impressed the Jury with its investments plans in transport and energy.

The city has committed a budget of EUR 500 Million for transport improvements by 2015 and up to EUR 300 Million for energy efficiency and renewable energy by 2020 (this includes a confirmed EUR 100 Million investment in renewable energy).Carbon emissions have been reduced in Bristol starting with 2005 and the authorities are planning to transform the city into “a hub of low-carbon industry”.Bristol demonstrated 4.7% growth in the green economy in 2012 and it is also the “greenest” city in the UK.

Alstom to deliver trams to Avignon

internAtionAL: Alstom was selected by officials of the Greater Avignon Metropolitan Area to supply 24 Citadis Compact trams. The contract is worth

about EUR 45 Million. Scheduled for delivery in the spring of 2016, Citadis Compact trams will travel on both lines of the future 14.5-kilometre network. Entry into commercial service is planned for late 2016. The tram, which is 24 metres long, can carry from 133 and 146 passengers. The rolling stock will be manufactured at Alstom’s factories in France.

sofia buys new trams

BuLGAriA: Sofia municipality has signed a contract with Polish manufacturer PESA Bydgoszcz to supply 20 new low-floor trams. The order is estimated at EUR 33.5 Million.The contract also includes the delivery of spare parts, equipments for diagnosis and staff training. The acquisition will be financed by the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment through SOP Environment 2007-2013.

Alstom signs agreement for the production of trams in ukraine

uKrAine: Alstom and TramRus ( JV of Alstom and Transmashholding for production of trams) signed an agreement with City Transport Group (subsidiary of LAZ Group and the main manufacturer of buses in Ukraine) on the production of rapid trams for the Ukrainian market. The objective of this partnership is to organise the manufacturing, operation and maintenance of modern trams by City Transport Group in Ukraine, under the license of TramRus. The new tram will be built of composite materials which will reduce energy consumption by 10%. The Citadis CIS vehicles are specially designed for the CIS and Russian markets; they will have a life expectancy of 30 years compared to 18 years, the life expectancy of the vehicles currently in operation in Ukraine. uK: new order for Vossloh

internAtionAL: Vossloh España has been awarded a contract to supply 7 Tram-Trains to South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, to ensure the

1414

Ministry of transport to suspend the M6 line project for the otopeni Airport link and develop a rail project instead

roMAniA: The Romanian Minister of Trans-port, Relu Fenechiu, declared that the invest-ment for the underground Line 6 that should link the existing network to the Otopeni Airport is “enormous” and it is not explained by the ex-isting traffic. He said he would come up with a surface, cheaper project instead.“Regarding the connection between Gara de Nord and Otopeni, Line 6, allow me to say that I believe the EUR 1.2 Billion of investments that this line requires is enormous and I don’t think that we will ever have as many passengers as to make this line efficient. If this line is only to con-nect the Otopeni Airport to Gara de Nord, I want you to think that the maximum level of passen-gers that the line can have is the maximum level of passengers of the airport. We are in a delicate

position, because we have a contract with the Japanese. I will propose to the Government to replace this project with a surface project be-cause we have railway infrastructure close to the Otopeni Airport and we could extend this infrastructure and maybe build an underground section close to the airport and we could do this ten times cheaper and the travel times could be similar”, the minister said in a press confe-rence.For now, the minister has not talked to Prime Minister Victor Ponta about this project, but they will establish if the proposal is feasible or not.

рУмыния: Министр Транспорта Румынии Релу Фенекиу заявил о том, что инвестиции в Магистраль № 6 бухарестского метро, которая должна соединить существующую сеть с Аэропортом Отопень, являются «громадными» и необоснованными нынешним уровнем передвижения.

россия: Миланское метро подписало соглашение с банком Миллениум Банк на создание компании, которая будет участвовать в перепроектировании малой кольцевой линии Москвы.

В мире: Город Бристоль был объявлен победителем звания Зеленой столицы Европы на 2015 год.

болгария: Мэрия города

София подписала договор с польским производителем PESA Bydgoszcz на поставку 20 новых трамваев с низкой платформой.

Украина: Компании «Альстом» и «ТрамРус» подписали договор с Группой City Transport Group на производство высокоскоростных трамваев для украинского рынка.

В мире: VIA Transport (Германия) объявила международный тендер на поставку 18 легких железнодорожных транспортных средств.

В мире: Компании «Альстом» присужден контракт Метрополитенным участком Авиньон на поставку 24 трамваев Citadis Compact.

news

phot

o: C

lub

Fero

viar

phot

o: e

c.eu

ropa

.eu


connection between the centre of Sheffield and Rotherham Parkgate. The rolling stock, which will be built in the Spanish factory of Vossloh, will be commissioned in 2015. Tram-Train vehicles will be compatible for operation on the tramway network of the city and in the conventional railway network. The project has a total budget of approximately GBP 60 Million (about EUR 70 Million), an amount which will cover the purchase of the trams, the electrification of the section between Rotherham Parkgate and Meadowhall and the construction of a 400 metre line that will link the tramway network to the conventional railway network. new security measures for Moscow Metro

russiA: Moscow Metro could benefit from the introduction of an oxygen system in the network, similar to that used by the metro in Tokyo, “Izvestiya” reports.In case of smoke, special sensors would send an alarm and oxygen is to be supplied to stations or cars automatically. Moscow City Duma is going to budget the establishment of this system in 2014 as part of the “Safe City” Program. Phase one of the security program was put in place – CCTV was modernized and emergency stands were installed at all stations. It is now time to implement phase two – ensuring passengers’ safety in case of an incident.

1515

eBrd to credit Belgrade Metro

serBiA: Negotiations with EBRD to get a credit for Belgrade Metro project have been success-fully concluded, Mayor Dragan Djilas declared.The EBRD loan will be used to finance construc-tion works estimated at EUR 600 Million and due to begin in 24 months. France will finance the acquisition of units and electric equipments for lines.

The credit will be granted on a period of 20-25 years and will require state guarantees.

сербия: Успешно завершены переговоры с ЕБРР на получение кредита по проекту белградского метро.

В мире: Компании «Vossloh Es-paña» присужден контракт на поставку 7 трамвайных поездов, которые будут использованы для соединения центра

города Шеффильд и Rotherham Parkgate.Венгрия: Последний вагон

метро советского производства, использованный для передвижения по красной ветке (линия № 2) будапештского метро был снят с эксплуатации после того, как он служил 43 года.

news

Vienna: potential tram tender

AustriA: Vienna’s public transport operator Wiener Linien is considering whether to launch a new tender for LRVs instead of exercising an option for 150 additional Ultra Low-Floor (ULF) vehicles from Siemens.Wiener Linien awarded Siemens a contract for 150 ULFs in 1997, and placed a second order in 2004 for a further 150 vehicles, all of which will be delivered by 2015.The ULF has been criticised in a report by the audit department of the City of

Vienna, which claims that up to 25% of the ULF fleet is out of service for maintenance.

Budapest removes Line 2 soviet metro trains

HunGArY: Budapest’s last Soviet-made metro carriage was decommissioned after 43 years of service on the city’s 2nd (red) metro line. The Soviet vehicles covered nearly 2 billion km overall on the city’s east-west M2 line during their lifespan.The Russian trains made by the Mitishinsky railway factory have been replaced by 22 Metropolis trains produced by Alstom.


16

on 19 June, negotiations on the European multi-annual budget reached an outcome that the Par-

liament considered incomplete and discus-sions were resumed in the first week of July. President of the Parliament, Martin Schulz, the chief negotiator Alain Lamassoure (PPE, FR), Prime Minister Enda Kennz, Minister of Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore and President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso have reached an agre-ement which has also gained the support of the main political groups of the Parliament and of Member States.

On 3 July, the EP approved the EU mul-ti-annual draft budget by accepting the budget long-term negotiated package. “It was a good day for Europe. Through its overwhelming vote in favour of the Euro-pean budget for 2014-2020, the European Parliament has opened the way for putting in place a seven year growth and jobs fund worth almost EUR 1,000 Billion for the next 7 year”, declared the Financial Pro-gramming and Budget Commissioner Ja-nusz Lewandowski.

Parliament approves eu draft budget for 2014-2020

Thus, the Parliament obtained the key pri-orities of its negotiation mandate, namely an almost complete flexibility of moving the non-paid funds (payment appropriations) from one year to another and a broader fle-xibility of transferring commitments from one year to another and from one category of expenditure to another, in order to foster the fight against youth unemployment, re-search and the Erasmus for all programme and support for SMEs.

A success of the EP was the introduction of the revision clause in order to give the next Parliament and Commission a say on a budget. Revision will begin in 2016. The Commission will have to present a revi-sion of the operation of the multi-annual financial framework while considering the respective economic situation. The revision will be accompanied by a draft revision pro-posal.

The Council said it would keep its pro-mise of covering the rest of the 2013 pay-ments, estimated at EUR 11.2 Billion and the ministers of economy and finances in the Member States will make an official

decision on the first instalment of EUR 7.3 Million by 9 July and on the second instal-ment by autumn. The Parliament will not approve on the Regulation of the multi-annual financial framework, nor will they adopt the 2014 budget until the Council will not adopt these budget amendments to cover the deficit, as recommended by the Commission. The outcome of negotiations will be included in a regulation and in an attached inter-institutional agreement that the Parliament will have to approve with its majority of members plus one. The Parlia-ment is ready to vote for the regulation on a multiannual financial framework and inter-institutional agreement this autumn.

On 27 June, the EP and the Council reached an agreement for infrastructure projects regarding the Connecting Europe Facility, the new European fund being es-timated at EUR 30 Billion dedicated to joint-interest projects for Trans-European transport networks, energy and telecom-munications.

Парламент одобрил проект бюджета ЕС на период 2014 - 2020 гг.

3 июля 2013 года Европейский парламент одобрил проект многолетнего бюджета ЕС на период с 2014 года по 2020 год, после получения одним из ключевых приоритетов в переговорном мандате, а именно речь идет о получении почти полной гибкости для переноса неоплаченных средств (кредитов к оплате) с одного года на другой и широкой гибкости переноса обязательств.

Кроме этого, было введено положение о пересмотре, которое позволит будущему Парламенту и Комиссии высказывать свое мнение по вопросу бюджета.

On 3 July 2013, the European Parliament approved the EU multi-annual draft budget for 2014-2020, after obtaining the key priorities of its negotiation mandate, namely an almost complete flexibility of moving the non-paid funds (payment appropriations) from one year to another and a broader flexibility of transferring commitments. Moreover, the revision clause was introduced giving the possibility to the Parliament and the Commission to have a view point over the budget.

[ by Pamela Luică ]


Elements of the political agreement on the European Union’s future budget 2014-2020

Global margin for payments 1. Every year, starting in 2015, as part

of the technical adjustment referred to in Article 4, the Commission will adjust the payment ceiling for the years 2015-2020 upwards by an amount equivalent to the difference between the executed payments and the MFF payment ceiling of the year n-1.

2. The annual adjustments shall not exceed the following maximum amounts (in 2011 prices) for the years 2018-2020 as compared to the original payment ceil-ing of the relevant years:

2018: EUR 7 billion; 2019: EUR 9 bil-lion; 2020: EUR 10 billion

3. Any upward adjustment shall be ful-ly offset by a corresponding reduction of the payment ceiling for year n-1.

Specific flexibility to tackle youth unemployment and strengthen research

Up to EUR 2 543 million1 (in 2011 prices) may be frontloaded in 2014 and 2015, as part of the annual budgetary procedure, for specified policy objectives relating to youth employment, research, ERASMUS in particular for apprentice-ships, and SMEs.

These amounts shall be fully offset against appropriations within and/or between headings in order to leave un-changed the total annual ceilings for the period 2014-2020 and the total alloca-tion per heading or sub-heading over the period.


18

Европейская комиссия отвечает на вызовы экономического характера с помощью запуска плана действий для сектора черной металлургии

36 лет спустя после запуска последнего плана действий на рынке стали (План Давиньона, 1977 год), в июне 2013 года ЕС запустил план действий для европейского сектора черной металлургии, в целях оказания помощи данной отрасли справиться с нынешними вызовами. Мероприятия, проведенные ЕС, будут оцениваться в рамках анализа внедрения 1 год спустя после их начала осуществления.

w ith a turnover reaching EUR 170 Billion and an important presence in the value chain of

the industrial processing from many sec-tors, the European steel industry holds a strategic place in the economy, the steel having a significant cross-border dimen-sion: across the EU, 500 production fa-cilities are distributed in 23 states. Under these circumstances, Europe needs basic industries to stimulate the other branches in the reindustrialisation process. “The steel industry has a promising future in Europe. By continuing to lead in innova-tive products, its traditional strength, it can achieve a globally competitive edge. With today’s blueprint for the revival of the steel sector, we send a clear signal to the industry that it is a strategically im-portant sector for Europe and a motor for growth. The EU needs its real economy more than ever to underpin the economic recovery and we aim for industry to de-liver 20% of GDP by 2020. This is the start of a process; I am committed to monitor-ing the situation carefully so we can adapt our efforts as needed. Within a year, we will look at whether the actions proposed are having the effect we aim for”, Antonio Tajani, Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship, said.

In Europe, the demand for steel is 27% below the pre-crisis level, and the work-

ec meets economic challenges by launching an action plan for the steel sector

36 years after the last action plan for the steel market (Davignon plan in 1977), EU launched in June 2013 the action plan for the European steel industry to help this sector confront today’s challenges and lay the foundations for future competitiveness by fostering innovation, creating economic growth and jobs.

force in this sector decreased by 10% (in 2007-2011), but the EU remains the big-gest steel producer in the world, its ca-pacity amounting to 177 million tonnes of steel/year, which represents 11% of the global production. Although it has dropped, according to OECD, increases are estimated to 2.3 billion tonnes of steel by 2025 at world level, due to the needs in the transport, construction and me-chanical engineering sectors, especially on emerging markets. Therefore, it becomes essential that the EU steel industry should be able to consolidate its position on this competitive market.

In order to encourage the development of the steel sector, EU stimulates innovation by promoting eco-technologies for the de-velopment of new steel types and by stim-ulating innovation, in particular for the ex-tremely expensive pilot phases. Therefore, in 2014-2020 the research projects will be financed through the Horizon 2020 pro-gramme, and the steel sector will benefit from the European partnership on innova-

tion in the field of raw materials and from a financial support reaching EUR 280 Million in the same programming period, through the Research Fund for Coal and Steel.

Besides the financial support for the de-velopment of this sector, the new EU poli-tical strategy will also determine the adop-tion and the application of an appropriate regulatory framework through measures which include the evaluation by the end of 2013 of the global regulation task imposed to the steel industry by different policies and its impact on competitiveness. By means of the launched strategy, the EC also intends to optimise the access to the external markets and to ensure fair compe-tition conditions to support steel exports in the EU.

Manufacture of basic iron and steel and of ferro-alloys (ecsc); manufacture of tubes; other first processing of iron and steel and

production of non-ecsc ferro-alloys

Source: eurostat (sts)




19


A long-awaited measure: single authorisation for placing in service a rail vehicle

ity (TSIs and other legal measures) is now complete as far as the trans-European rail system is concerned. As already foreseen by the current legal framework, the large majority of TSIs are expected to be ex-tended to the whole rail system in the Eu-ropean Union by 2015. Beyond this date, TSIs will be subject to regular revision to keep up with technical progress, market trends and social requirements. Future revisions of TSIs should also simplify the regulatory environment, ensuring the rel-evance, effectiveness and proportionality of railway legislation. For example, greater use of voluntary European standards will be considered.

This simplification process, already pos-sible under the current legislative frame-work, is enhanced and further clarified by the Commission in its fourth package proposals.

Similarly, in the fourth package the Com-mission proposes clarifications regarding the application of TSIs when existing sub-systems are renewed or upgraded. In the

the Council introduced some changes in the proposal, such as the concept of “area of use” of a ve-

hicle, a longer transitional period and the possibility for national safety authorities to issue authorisations for vehicles operat-ing in one Member State only. Vice-Pres-ident Kallas emphasized the importance of a shorter transitional period, as the provisions are urgently needed to boost competitiveness and promote modal shift towards rail transport. He also underlined that deviations from the concept of a sin-gle EU-wide vehicle authorisation must be limited in time.

The current barriers in railway intero-perability include the lack of transparency of the national legal frameworks on the authorisation of vehicles and the fact that national norms are not public. These two aspects are approached by the European Railway Agency within its current activity related to the classification and correlation of national norms.

The problem of preserving national rules

Following long negotiations marked by intense debates and amendments proposed by European rapporteurs, in June, the European Transport Council set an agreement on increasing the quality and efficiency of railway services in Europe and managed, in the end, to eliminate technical barriers and to set the bases for railway interoperability. The vote of the Transport Council represents the approval of the European Commission’s proposal to review the Directive on Interoperability, part of the Fourth Railway Package. After adopting the proposal to review the Directive on Interoperability, the Council also adopted a “general approach” on the new rules introducing a single authorisation for placing in service the rail vehicles. The new rules will also enhance the role of the European Railway Agency.

that are redundant or are in conflict with the TSIs should also be approached more carefully by member states, first, and then by ERA. In fact, until the TSIs are not fully extended to the entire Union rail system, a large number of national rules is still being notified by Member States. Following the extension of the TSIs to the entire Union’s rail system and the closure of open points in the TSIs, Member States should remove national rules which are in conflict or re-dundant with the TSIs. The Commission’s fourth package clarifies this. Furthermore, the Agency should be given more power vis-à-vis Member States with a view to removing inconsistent/discriminatory/disproportionate national rules Therefore, the fourth package will enable the Agency to adopt opinions addressed to a Member State and stating the reasons why a na-tional rule which is redundant or in con-flict with the TSIs or any other EU legis-lation should not entry into force or be applied.

Secondary legislation on interoperabil-Ph

oto:

htt

p://

crea

tivi

ty10

3.co

m

[ by Elena Ilie ]


same package, the Commission emphasis-es the importance of the role and correct functioning of Notified Bodies by aligning the interoperability legislation with the new legislative framework for the market-ing of products.

Finally, the fourth package also addresses the difficulties experienced in the current vehicle authorisation process, by introduc-ing the notion of a single vehicle authorisa-tion for placing on the market which will be valid throughout the European Union. This will entail a reinforced role for the Agency and an increased focus by national safety authorities on supervision tasks.

According to the proposal of recasting the Directive on Interoperability, the vehi-cle authorisation for placing on the market is issued by the Agency and contains all information needed later by the railway undertaking to place a vehicle in commer-cial service.

The applicant (railway undertaking, manufacturer, etc.) may ask the Agency to complement the vehicle authorisation for placing on the market with a statement concerning the technical compatibility of the vehicle with a particular set of lines or networks defined by the applicant on the basis of commercial and/or technical considerations. This complementary state-

ment will facilitate the railway under-taking in its task of placing the vehicle in service.

In its recast proposal, the Commission introduced a series of new articles aimed at improving procedures and at support-ing the establishment of the Single Eu-ropean Railway Area. One of the new articles, shows that “the pursuit of inter-operability within the Union’s rail system should lead to the definition of an optimal level of technical harmonisation and make

20

Единое разрешение на введение на рынок железнодорожных транспортных средств

Европейская Комиссия приветствовала прогресс, достигнутый в рамках Транспортного Совета от 10 июня, в целях совершенствования и упорядочения железнодорожных услуг в Европе путем устранения технических барьеров. В ответ на предложение Европейской комиссии реформировать Директиву по взаимодействию, Транспортный Совет принял “общий подход” новых правил, который будет предусматривать единое разрешение на введение на рынок ЕС железнодорожных транспортных средств. Одновременно с этим, роль Европейского железнодорожного агентства будет укрепляться.

Совет внес несколько изменений по предложению Европейской Комиссии, такие как понятие “регион использования” транспортного средства, более длительный переходный период, и возможность того, чтобы национальные органы безопасности на железнодорожном транспорте выдавали разрешения на транспортные средства, которые передвигаются по территории одного государства-члена.


"GSM-R Asset & Evolution Management" Conference

Conference purpose » provide detailed information on GSM-R present, its evolution, and its strategy for the long-term future

» supporting the railways to look on wider opportunities for mobile applications

» promote the debate at the event and beyond

» demonstrate GSM-R technology & applications

Who should attend ? » railways & rail transport experts, and strategy decision makers

» authorities & standardization bodies (e.g. EC, ECC, ETSI, 3GPP, Sector)

» telecom, signalling, operation domains

» international audience

10-11 Sept 2013, Paris UIC Headquarters

www.gsmr-conference.orgContact: [email protected]

GSM-R technology & applications ExhibitionBooths available

it possible to facilitate, improve and de-velop international rail transport services within the Union and with third countries and contribute to the progressive creation of the internal market in equipment and services for the construction, renewal, up-grading and operation of the rail system within the Union”.

The final vote of the European Parlia-ment on the proposals submitted by the European Commission is scheduled for November 2013.

21


Figure 13 Rail track versus motorway length in EU-15, 1970-2008

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

RailLength of lines in use (km)

RoadLength of motorways (km)

Rail performanceTotal traffic units (tkm+pkm)

Road performanceTotal traffic units (tkm+pkm)

Index 1970 = 100

Source: European Commission, ETIF 2010

Rail services are only as good as the infrastructure they run on. CER together with MEP Dominique Riquet (EPP, FR) organised an exhibition in the European Parliament in May 2012 to present and demonstrate the use of the different financing instruments for railway infrastructure offered by the EU and member states, showing best practices and suggesting how financing could be optimised. The panels of the exhibition were compiled into a leaflet which can be downloaded from the CER website (www.cer.be).

THE

Kindly hosted by MEP Dominique RIQUET

CER_EXPO_EP_FLYER_V4.indd 1 5/21/12 11:34:25 AM 29

RA

IL FR

EIG

HT S

TA

TU

S REPO

RT 2

01

3

SET

TIN

G TH

E SCEN

E | CH

APT

ER I

towards paperless consignment notes and longer trains. On top of these initiatives, various companies have also launched new processes and products aimed at improving their offer and competitiveness.

Positive efforts of rail freight operators are not enough Further measures are necessary to increase efficiency and competitiveness

in spite of a significant development in intra-modal competition over the past decade, the much-needed modal shift

towards rail, which would bring energy efficiency and important CO2 emissions gains, is still far from being a reality. The imbalance between road and rail freight is increasing, in a worrying move for the sus-tainability of the transport system”, CER states in its “Rail Freight Status Report 2013. Rail freight after a decade of EU rail policy”, (April 2013). Nevertheless, railway transport has proved its commitment for quality and efficiency through the different quality schemes and quality management systems and seeks to improve the processes and the products of the sector and of the companies.

Only one of the objectives of the White Paper of Transport from 2001 (regarding rail freight transport) has been reached: increase of intermodal competitiveness whose stimulation has attracted a higher share of railway freight transport to the new entrants (25% in the EU-25 in 2010). But the situation is critical regarding the shift to rail, as road operators have increased their share in cargo transport which gener-ally led to the reduction of the rail trans-port share from 18.5% in 2000 to 16.2% in 2010, according to EU27 data. Although the situation is not favourable, the qual-ity of rail freight transport has been main-tained and, in some situations, optimised, and all companies have one of more qual-ity management systems or plan to acquire

During 10 years of policies which have set ambitious objectives in railway freight transport, the European Commission has introduced several measures targeting the growth vision of this segment and the promotion of an efficient and sustainable transport, the introduced measures and instruments being aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of railway freight transport. But, according to data, the impact of these measures has been limited.

such systems in the near future. Also, the punctuality and reliability of railway freight transport remained balanced in the past five years and this evolution is mainly due to the efforts of the industry for improving the quality of transport and competitive-ness “which proves that the rail sector has seriously approached the problem of qual-ity and has constantly sought to improve its services”, says the CER report. Aside from the various quality charters adopted by the sector, several projects have been launched to help improve specific segments of rail freight, such as combined transport or single wagonload, and to reinforce the competitiveness of the sector, with a move


Положительные усилия операторов железнодорожных грузовых перевозок не являются достаточнымиОстается ряд мер, которые необходимо реализовать в целях повышения эффективности и конкурентоспособности

На протяжении 10 лет проведения политик, наметивших весьма амбициозные планы на железнодорожные грузоперевозки, Европейская Комиссия ввела целый ряд мер по осуществлению взглядов на развитие этого сегмента и содействию устойчивому и эффективному транспорту. Меры и инструменты нацелены на укрепление конкурентоспособности железнодорожных грузовых перевозок. Тем не менее, по предварительным данным, воздействие этих мер было ограниченным.


ceec investment in rail infrastructure western europe investment in rail infrastructure

rail track versus motorway length in eu-15, 1970-2008

Source: Mind the Gap, cer

Source: rail Freight status report 2013- rail freight after a decade of eu rail policy, (April 2013) - cer

6The percentage of GDP invested by member states in inland transport infrastructure in Western Europe has been steadily decreasing from 1.5% in 1975 to 0.8% in 2009, but increasing in CEEC from 0.9% in 1995 to 2% in 2009. Although the total amount of investment in infrastructure in CEEC has risen in the last few years, the modal distribution strongly favours the road sector.

How much are member states investing?

Source: ITF 2011 (at current prices)

Distributionof infrastructure investment between modes

WEC: BE, DK, FI, FR, DE, IS, IE, ES, SE, UKCEEC: HR, CZ, EE, MK, HU, LV, LT, ME, PL, RO, SI, SK, Albania, Serbia

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

IWWRoadRail

2009200520001995200920052000WECs CEECs

1995

69

2 2 2 2

30 30 31 32

68 67 66 66

11 3 2 4

23 22 14 13

75 84 83

CEEC*Investment in rail infrastructure

Western Europe*Investment in rail infrastructure

In Western Europe, the development of transport infrastructure is trailing behind the growth of the economy.

Where large investments have been made in the past, this spending pattern might be sufficient. For the rail sector, which in post-war Western Europe has seen decreasing levels of investment compared to competing modes, investment in rail infrastructure clearly has not been sufficient.

The situation is even more dramatic in Central and Eastern Europe. While CEEC countries are increasing their spending on transport infrastructure, the rail sector is receiving increasingly less compared to other modes. In 1995, rail received 23% of total investment in transport infrastructure compared to only 13% in 2009.

Sources: ITF 2011

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000Road CEECRail CEEC

20090807060504030201009998979695941993

million EUR

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

45000

50000Road WECRail WEC

20090807060504030201009998979695941993

million EUR

* AT, DK, FI, FR, DE, IR, NO, PT, ES, UK* HZ, CZ, EE, HU, LA, LT, PL, RO, SK

22


In an increasingly congested infrastruc-ture network, it is more difficult for railways to be punctual. This is even more the case for freight trains. The rise in both passen-ger and freight traffic in 2010 has probably had an impact on punctuality. This negative trend has been reversed since then, thanks to important efforts by railway undertak-ings.

Качество железнодорожных грузовых перевозок оказалось под влиянием недофинансирования инфраструктуры

По данным исследований, качество железнодорожных грузовых перевозок зависит от качества и доступности железнодорожной инфраструктуры. Несмотря на это, железнодорожный сектор страдает от хронического недофинансирования инфраструктуры, а это сказывается на пунктуальности, снижая конкурентоспособность железнодорожных грузовых перевозок по сравнению с остальными видами транспорта, вопреки усилиям, приложенным данным сектором для укрепления своей привлекательности.

Quality of rail freight transport, affected by infrastructure sub-financing

The economic crisis had a negative impact on the railway freight sector, as well as on other transport modes, such as road cargo transport. Considering the strategic importance of the rail sector in Europe, it is important to understand the causes of this relative decline. This situation can be explained through various factors related to the fact that the policy measures introduced in the past decade have not been accompanied by vital frame-conditions such as appropriate infrastructure investments and fair measures for all transport modes.

studies show that the quality of rail transport mostly depends on the quality and availability of railway in-

frastructure. However, the rail sector suffers from severe under-financing of the infra-structure which affects punctuality and re-duces the competitiveness of the rail freight transport compared to the other transport modes in spite of the efforts made by this sector to consolidate its attractiveness”, says the CER study “Rail Freight Status Report 2013. Rail freight after a decade of EU rail policy”, (April 2013).

In EU15 and Central and Eastern Europe, the highest share of investments in the transport infrastructure (over 2/3 in 2009) is dedicated to road infrastructure and this lack of balance has been accentuated in CEE since 2002 generating a significant drop in the investment shares allocated to railway infrastructure. This is a serious issue given the negative impact of insufficient in-vestments in the railway infrastructure over the quality of freight transport. “The trend should be reversed as a matter of urgency in order to reinforce the competitiveness of rail freight and to trigger further improve-ment of the quality of rail freight services”,

the report says. The acute under-financing of the railway

infrastructure is visible when we compare the development of railway infrastructure to that of road infrastructure in the EU15 in 1970. In 40 years, the length of lines was reduced by 14%, while the length of road infrastructure increased three-fold; although confronted with few investments, the railways have managed to increase their transport volume by boosting productivity. Meanwhile, even though road has benefited from a much greater share of the public budget, the growth of volumes transported by road has not matched the growth of mo-torway’s length, indicating a deterioration of road freight productivity.

Also, the insufficient allocation of invest-ments in infrastructure has a negative im-pact on transport punctuality which is an important element of railway transport. Therefore, the punctuality level depends not only of the individual processes and ef-forts of railway companies, but also of ex-ternal factors, among which the infrastruc-ture. An appropriate network is an essential parameter in ensuring the punctuality of the transport process.

Source: rail Freight status report 2013- rail freight after a decade of eu rail policy, (April 2013) - cer



Besides, poorly maintained infrastructure and deferred renewals and/or upgrades lead to speed restrictions and delays, and ultimately to poor quality and punctuality for the customer. In the longer term, it can lead to the closure of lines, which creates an additional loss of competitiveness with respect to other modes.

Infrastructure quality and availability therefore has a tremendous impact on the quality and competitiveness of rail freight services, due to its influence on key parameters of modal choice for freight customers identified in section 1.2, such as reliability of transport, available capacity or transport time. Sufficient investment in rail infrastructure is therefore a must to reach the goals of the 2011 Commission White Paper.

1.6.2 Chronic underinvestment in rail infrastructure

In both EU-15 and CEEC, the biggest proportion (more than 2/3 in 2009) of transport infrastructure investment goes towards road infrastructure. This has been the case since 1992, as demonstrated by Figure 12. This imbalance has substantially increased in CEEC as of 2002, with a deep rise in the share of transport infrastructure investment going towards road infrastructure, and a deep decrease in the share allocated to rail infrastructure. This situation is problematic, given the negative impact of insufficient investment in rail infrastructure on rail freight’s quality, as shown in section 1.6.1. The trend should be reversed as a matter of urgency in order to reinforce the competitiveness of rail freight and to trigger further improvement of the quality of rail freight services.

Figure 12 Rail and road modal share of transport infrastructure investment in EU-15 and CEEC, 1992-2009

Road EU-15

Road CEEC

Rail EU-15

Rail CEEC

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

200920082007200620052004200320022001200019991998199719961995199419931992

RAIL

ROAD

Source: ITF/ECMT, 2011

The chronic underinvestment in rail infrastructure is visible when comparing the growth of rail infrastructure with the growth or motorways in EU-15 since 1970 (see next figure). Indeed, in 40 years, the length of railway lines fell by 14%, while the length of motorways was almost multiplied by 3. In spite of this chronic underinvestment, rail has managed to grow in absolute volume, through productivity gains. Meanwhile, even though road has benefited from a much greater share of the public budget, the growth of volumes transported by road has not matched the growth of motorway’s length, indicating a deterioration of road freight productivity.28

RA

IL F

REIG

HT S

TA

TU

S R

EPO

RT 2

013

S ET

TIN

G T

HE S

CEN

E |

CH

APT

ER I

rail and road modal share of transport infrastructure investmentin eu-15 and ceec, 1992-2009

Figure 15 Quarterly rail freight development (in million tkm), Europe, 2007-2012

CEECEurope EU-15+CH

0

20 000

40 000

60 000

80 000

100 000

120 000

Q2 2

012

Q1 2

012

Q4 2

011

Q3 2

011

Q2 2

011

Q1 2

011

Q4 2

010

Q3 2

010

Q2 2

010

Q1 2

010

Q4 2

009

Q3 2

009

Q2 2

009

Q1 2

009

Q4 2

008

Q3 2

008

Q2 2

008

Q1 2

008

Q4 2

007

Q3 2

007

Q2 2

007

Q1 2

007

Source: CER, 2012

Five years after the start of the crisis, rail freight traffic has not gone back to pre-crisis levels, in both EU-15 and Switzerland and in the CEEC. The Q2 2012 level for EU-15 and Switzerland is more than 20% below the Q2 2008 level for the same zone, while the Q2 2012 level for CEEC is more than 14% below the Q2 2008 level.

Figure 16 Rail freight in Europe: comparison of Q2 2012 level to pre-crisis level (in million tkm)

0

10 000

20 000

30 000

40 000

50 000

60 000

70 000

80 000

90 000

Q2 2012Q2 2011Q2 2010Q2 2009Q2 2008Q2 2007

33 894 31 701

22 89726.021

27 192

71 73776 593

55 934

65 629 66 27661 087

29 424

pre-crisis level

-20.2%

-14.2%

CEEC EU-15+CH

Source: CER, 2012

32

RA

IL F

REIG

HT S

TA

TU

S R

EPO

RT 2

01

3

RA

IL F

REIG

HT M

AR

KET D

EV

ELO

PM

EN

TS | C

HA

PT

ER 2

rail freight in europe: comparison of Q2 2012 level to pre-crisis level

(in million tkm)

SPIACTBRAŞOV

www.railforce.ro

Rail passenger transport Rail freight transport

Shunting services

Contact:2 Oltului St.

500283 - BrasovRomania

Tel: +40 268 310 697Fax: +40 268 310 859

24


pliers. In infrastructure, EU is leading the top of the countries which develop long life-cycle steel, rail fastening systems, switches and high-quality concrete and plastic sleep-ers, whose role is to maintain certain limits of maintenance costs and to guarantee the safety of operations. The highest competitor in this segment is Japan.

The EU spends significant amounts of re-sources in R&D ranging between 4% and 10% for the more technologically advanced market segment of locomotives and rolling stock and signalling and electrification. For the infrastructure segment this R&D ex-penditure is much lower at 2% due to dif-ferent R&D requirements. Also, estimates regarding the mere technological develop-ment vary significantly of the type of tech-nology. For vehicles, the stress will fall on improving design, for engines, on increas-ing efficiency and on reducing the pollution level. Generally, the development of the R&D will aim at making mobility efficient, especially in urban areas.

In June, the European Commission, the Directorate General of Enterprise and Industry, published the report on the competitiveness of the railway industry according to which the EU has a strong leader position compared to non-EU countries, which also have a developed market. Europe is in the top of global trade, a situation also confirmed by the analyses and the competitive advantages of Europe. Regarding the delivery of complex technological solutions, the European railway industry is also among the top suppliers.

the European railway industry is a significant economic sector being estimated at EUR 40 Billion (2010)

with a gross added value of 30% of produc-tion. Regarding the value of production, the rolling stock and locomotive market is the most important market which equals the market segment of railway infrastructure, followed by signalling and electrification.

As a result, the rolling stock and the lo-comotives create the largest and most glo-balised market, shows the report on the competitiveness of the European railway sector, launched in June by the European Commission, the Directorate General of Enterprise and Industry (Sector Overview and Competitiveness Survey of the Railway Supply Industry, conducted by Ecorys).

The EU is in the lead as a top exporter ac-counting for 21% of railway total trade. In addition, the EU is the most important pro-ducer of railway products, “the good per-formance of the railway industry indicating the optimisation of competitiveness. More-over, the industry has improved its gross

the european railway industry is the main global product supplier


Европейские железнодорожные перевозки все еще нуждаются в жестких стратегиях развития

Сообщество европейских железнодорожных компаний (CER) опубликовало отчет, который предоставляет детальный взгляд на текущее состояние европейских грузовых железнодорожных перевозок. Доклад CER анализирует последнее десятилетие, отмеченное многочисленными стратегиями и целями, намеченными главным образом для того, чтобы оживить рыночную долю железнодорожного транспорта в Европе и укрепить свои позиции по отношению к другим видам транспорта.

operating rate and productivity levels”, the study states. The European railway industry has improved compared to the USA and Japan whose market share in production and total of exports dropped. Compared to China, the EU has a global competitive advantage, although China is trying to fill in the gap. This advantage can be noticed in the commercial data where China runs a trade surplus in railway products with all the countries except for the EU.

The European railway industry has a series of key elements compared to non-EU coun-tries: an important advantage of the railway electrification industry is the development of the ERTMS, a system also implemented by non-EU countries; another point refers to the significant development of integrated solutions, such as merging the technology of vehicles with intelligent signalling systems, the optimisation of operations and the man-agement of services. Moreover, the Europe-an railway suppliers have qualified essential components such as the braking systems de-livered by specialised and experienced sup-

Source: un coMtrAde


26 Sector Overview and Competitiveness Survey of the Railway Supply System

infrastructure. Also it should be acknowledged that on average and in absolute terms, EU RSI exports are two times bigger than imports. The following sections provide a more detailed analysis of EU trade per segment. Figure 2.8 Distribution of EU railway industry exports: Total value (€ million)

Source: UN COMTRADE

Figure 2.9 Distribution of EU railway industry imports: Total value (€ million)

Source: UN COMTRADE

Locomotive and rolling stock The EU has increased its total trade - exports and imports - of locomotives and rolling stock. The level of exports has increased almost continuously between 2002 and 2010 reaching its peak in the last year. Imports have increased as well, although, at a lower rate. Even though, the economic crisis has affected trade in locomotives and rolling stock, decreasing the amount of exports in 2008, the additional years in the series – 2009 and 2010 – shows a positive development in exports. This is in contrast with EU imports which have declined since they peaked in 2008. As a result of these

distribution of eu railway industry exports: total value (€ million)

The Wider Black Sea Area (WBSA), a median area of the Eurasian platform, expands from Central Asia

to Central Europe and from Northern to Southern Europe and Asia Minor. The macro-area includes

28 dynamic railway markets, a mixture of mature, developing and ascending markets, that bring

about a spectrum of opportunities across the railway sector.

THE WIDER BLACK SEA AREA RAILWAY INVESTMENT SUMMIT

8th edition8-9 October 2013

Bucharest, Romania

For further details please contact us:Tel.: +40(21) 224 43 85 / Fax: +40(21) 224 43 86 / E-mail: [email protected]

Organisers:

INNOVATIVE RAILWAYS. COMPETITIVE BUSINESS

Join the summit for railway business champions

www.railwaysummit.com

Under the aegis of:

Main Partners:

Partners:

Media Partners:Railway PRO

the railway business magazine

26


The European railway transport is at a crossroads. The old challenges linger, while new ones appear. The European railway industry has all the necessary resources to face these challenges. However, considering the fact that other regions of the world launch important and ambitious programmes for the modernisation of transport and infrastructure, it is essential that the European transport would continue to develop and invest in preserving its competitive position. Therefore, the railway industry plays a significant role and the SHIFT2RAIL initiative represents a solution to the current challenges of rail transport. The recent railway events have triggered objective and pertinent questions about the success or the failure of the long-awaited Fourth Railway Package and its impact in the industry, about creating the Single European Railway Area, increasing the role and the attributions of the European Railway Area or about the cross-border interoperability of the European transport networks. We have tried to find the answers to some of these questions from the Director General of the European Rail Industry Association (UNIFE), Philippe Citroën.

LeAders

Phot

o: U

NIF

E

27


UNIFE promotes the full deployment of ERTMS which would bring significant benefits in terms of interoperability, safety and performancePhilippe Citroën

encouraging signals throughout europe for sHiFt²rAiL initiativeInterview with Mr. Philippe Citroen, Director General of the European Rail Industry Association (UNIFE)

RailwayPRO: What news can you tell us about the progress with the SHIFT2-RAIL initiative?

Philippe Citroën: As you and many of your readers know, after more than 10 years of already close R&D coopera-tion within EU projects, the European rail supply industry in concert with a growing number of operators and infra-structure managers are now pushing for a real step change in rail Research and De-velopment. They are calling on the Euro-pean Institutions to set up a multiannual public-private research initiative, dubbed SHIFT²RAIL, in the framework of the upcoming Horizon 2020 Programme. As well as coping with growing demand, this initiative would result in increased user satisfaction with Europe’s railways, whilst at the same time reducing their cost and augmenting the competitiveness of the European rail supply industry.

The latest developments on SHIFT²RAIL include the extension of the SHIFT²RAIL promoters’ circle, the finalisation of the technical preparatory work by the signatories as well as the growing interest and support for the ini-tiative throughout Europe and within the European Institutions.

The 15 founding companies – including two major European infrastructure man-agers: Network Rail and Trafikverket – have now been joined by numerous other industrial partners as well as other promi-nent railway undertakings and infrastruc-ture managers (ADIF, FS, SNCF). Alto-gether they are now working on finalising the technical preparatory work for each of the 5 Innovation Programmes (respec-tively dedicated to Rolling stock, Signal-ing systems, Infrastructure, e-Ticketing & Passenger information, and Freight). Also, it is important to note that the pro-moters of the initiative are paying special attention to the rail transport issues of the Central and Eastern European coun-

tries—especially with regard to solving problems related to aging infrastructure. Moreover, the initiative has gotten signif-icant support from the Polish transport ministry and industry stakeholders. With regard to Romania, we really hope that we can involve Romanian stakeholders and obtain the support of the Romanian government.

For its part the consortium is ready to establish the Joint Undertaking and start R&D operations as soon as 2014. The SHIFT²RAIL promoters have therefore called on the European Commission to adopt an official Regulation Proposal as soon as possible and asked the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament to then adopt this Proposal so as to start the Joint Technology Initiative without delay.

There are an increasing number of en-couraging signals throughout Europe with more and more Member States, Members of the European Parliament and rail stakeholders– including nu-merous SMEs, research institutes and clusters – supporting this initiative and placing great confidence in its success. In fact, the European Commission of-ficially stated in its recent Communica-tion on the 4th Railway Package: “The SHIFT²RAIL initiative would contribute to developing rail as a transport mode by promoting step-change innovations for passenger rolling stock, freight transport, traffic management systems and rail in-frastructure”.

RailwayPRO: One of the directions of the European Union is setting a single European rail transport market. What are the hindrances from the point of view of the industry in meeting this objective?

Philippe Citroën: In order to set a Single European Railway Area we should turn a few key-words into reality. The first one is interoperability: transport nowa-days goes beyond the national borders

and therefore it is in everyone’s interest to make cross border transport as smooth as possible from both a technical and an administrative point of view. Procedures for rolling stock authorisation should be harmonised and made faster across Eu-rope by enhancing the role of the Europe-an Railway Agency, making it the single central agency for a Single European Rail-way Area. Moreover, all rail stakeholders should help EU decision makers and ERA eliminate the unnecessary national techni-cal rules; there are around 11000 that are applied in Europe today. This leads me to the second key word that should become reality: investment. As it is clear that rail is key in order to meet the future societal and environmental challenges, Member States and the EU should coordinate their efforts in order to invest in our sector. In this respect, we welcome the revision of the TEN-T programme and the related financial instrument called Connecting Europe Facility that should give a boost to rail project implementation in Europe. Linked to the first two key-words here’s the third: innovation. The European rail sector should join forces to cope with fu-ture challenges, including new competi-tors entering the European rail market, and massively invest in research and in-novation with the support of the EU. This is how the rail industry sees the future of rail transport.

“[ by Elena Ilie ]

LeAders

>

28


RailwayPRO: Do you consider that the Fourth Railway Package could be “the structure that delivers”, as the European Commission says in its proposals?

Philippe Citroën: Everybody knows that the current system is in bad need of reform. The situation today is unbearable: authorisation is time-consuming, costly, and in some countries unpredictable. We also face the problem that all NSAs use different procedures. Let me give you some figures to illustrate the enormity of the problem: Today, procedures to au-thorise a new locomotive can last up to two years and cost up to EUR 6 million; the costs for a single country authorisa-tion can account for up to 10% of costs of a locomotive, and each additional country authorisation will increase the costs by another 10%. EUR 1.2 billion of capital is immobilised because it is standing idle and awaiting authorisation. In the end, the manufacturers face fines because of delayed deliveries.

Clearly, the problem is big and has an impact on the overall competitiveness of our industry. This problem requires a Eu-ropean solution. We have continuously asked the Commission to address this is-sue and I believe that with the technical pillar of the Fourth Railway Package, in particular with the proposal for a new in-teroperability directive and the new ERA regulation, the European Commission made a proposal that can solve the prob-lems.

In fact, for the past years UNIFE has continuously lobbied for an improvement of the authorisation processes of today and we are pleased with the proposals

that the European Commission made on the technical pillar of the Fourth Railway Package. I believe that the structure pro-posed in the Fourth Railway Package, and in particular in the Interoperability Direc-tive and the ERA Regulation, will indeed deliver, especially after the Council of 10 June clarified some points. In my opinion, we must have a strong European Railway Agency at the centre of the Single Euro-pean Railway Area – at least this is what the shortcomings of today’s decentralised system suggest. We need a strong ERA that issues authorisations and that ensures that European processes are implemented in the member states. We must not forget that today’s situation would not be satis-factory even if authorisation processes worked perfectly in every country: it would still be expensive and cumbersome to have rolling stock authorised separately in every country where it might operate.

I firmly believe that the structure pro-posed will help solve this issue if the mem-ber states and NSAs cooperate. UNIFE is very happy with the compromise that was agreed upon in the Council of Transport ministers on 10 June, and would particu-larly like to thank all the efforts made by the Irish presidency and Vice-President Kallas’ teams at DG Move to negotiate an acceptable compromise. Additionally, UNIFE would also like to recognise the hard work on the compromise done by the National Associations of UNIFE and also by our friends at CER.

RailwayPRO: What is UNIFE’s opi-nion concerning the strengthening of at-tributions and the role of the European

Railway Agency (ERA)? Do you support this initiative of the European Commis-sion?

Philippe Citroën: As I said before, I believe that the proposed structure is good. Based on our experience with the current system, I consider that a strong, centralised European agency is necessary for the creation of a Single European Rail-way Area.

As you probably know, the interoper-ability directive and the ERA regulation give a lot more power to ERA than they have today and we are very happy to see that ERA will be in charge of authorisa-tions in Europe. Importantly, ERA will also supervise National Safety Authori-ties, making sure that European proce-dures are adhered to, setting an end to the various different national processes in the NSAs that currently present a barrier to the functioning of the internal market and that are very costly. Also, ERA will also have the power to delete the aforemen-tioned 11000 or so different national rules that currently exist and that present a huge obstacle to interoperability and also are an obstacle to a functioning internal market.

It is against this backdrop that we fully support the proposals of the European Commission. In fact, I believe that the Fourth Railway Package offers a great op-portunity to make the European railway market more efficient and competitive.

RailwayPRO: How do you comment the “threat” coming from the large-scale introduction of mega-trucks in the Eu-ropean Union? How will such a measure impact on the railway freight transport?

Philippe Citroën: We remain op-posed to the concept of cross-border use of megatrucks, as we are convinced that their use in this way will start a process that will inevitably lead to a ‘domino ef-fect’ and in time their general use across Europe. On the contrary, modal shift towards environmentally friendly trans-port modes like rail is the way forward. In this respect, we are keen to implement the objectives set in the 2011 Transport White Paper. Indeed one of the five in-novation programmes being developed in SHIFT²RAIL aims at developing tech-nologies for sustainable and attractive European rail freight that will help further realise the Commission’s environmental and modal split targets with regard to freight transport.

RailwayPRO: Is adapting the ETCS to European networks the right answer for ensuring this single European railway transport market?

Philippe Citroën: As far as the rail sector is concerned, UNIFE promotes the full deployment of ERTMS which would bring significant benefits in terms of interoperability, safety and performance, thus contributing to the objec-

LeAders

Phot

o: w

ww

.rfg.

org.

uk

>

tive of a single European railway area. The Commission’s provi-sion for mandatory ERTMS implementation on the comprehen-sive network is therefore an essential step in the right direction.

UNIFE strongly believes that EU funding has a critical role to play in ensuring the deployment of this technology along the Eu-ropean railway network. Since the full benefits of ERTMS are only realised when a significant number of neighbouring countries have made the necessary investments to upgrade their network, EU funding is pivotal in increasing the pace of ERTMS deployment along the European railway network.

UNIFE welcomes Germany’s announcement on equipping its Rail Freight Corridors with ERTMS. The first priority is Corridor A (Rotterdam - Genoa) which will be equipped by 2018. This posi-tive message from Germany will certainly boost the implementa-tion of ERTMS and due to Germany’s strategic location, four cor-ridors out of six are passing through the country. Equipping these corridors will enhance the interoperability between Germany and its neighbouring countries.Also, the use of ERTMS outside Europe proves the considerable advantage and high-performance of sys-tem, which contributes to increased capacity safety, higher speed and reliability rate, and a more open supply market. Thanks to these benefits, ERTMS is indeed being implemented in a growing number of countries worldwide (thirty-eight, to be exact). How-ever, ERTMS was designed to be the unique signalling system for Europe and support full interoperability across the EU.

RailwayPRO: To what extent do you consider the objectives of the White Paper on Transport on reducing polluting emissions by 60% until 20150 achievable, given the fact that many of the EU member states don’t seem to comprehend the importance of rail-way transport in meeting these objectives?

Philippe Citroën: Indeed the environmental objectives set up by the Commission are quite ambitious and member states are sometimes a bit reluctant to undergo radical changes, but I am not so pessimistic. Now more than ever before, I have the feeling that there is really a momentum for rail and even Member States are becoming more rail-oriented than they used to be in the past. I see positive signs: the results of our World Rail Market Study show that our sector is somewhat resilient to the current economic situ-ation, showing a global 2.6% growth in the market compared to 2 years ago; the Council reached a relatively quick agreement to speed up rolling stock authorisation and certification procedures. And, last but not least, our SHIFT²RAIL initiative is gaining sup-port among a number of European Member States, such as France, Poland, and Italy, as well as in the entire rail sector. Based on this, I am convinced that rail can really be the decisive factor to reach the ambitious EU transport and GHG reduction targets.

Мы получаем положительные сигналы со всей Европы по инициативе sHiFt²rAiL

Европейский железнодорожный транспорт находится на перепутье. Старые вызовы остаются актуальными, появляются новые. Европейский железнодорожный транспорт имеет все необходимые ресурсы для того, чтобы успешно справиться с ними. Однако, учитывая тот факт, что другие регионы мира разрабатывают гигантские программы по модернизации транспорта и инвестиций в инфраструктуру, важно, чтобы европейский транспорт продолжал развиваться и инвестировать для сохранения своей конкурентоспособной позиции. Железнодорожная отрасль играет важную роль в этом отношении, инициатива SHIFT2RAIL представляя собой решение текущих проблем железнодорожного транспорта. Недавние события в области железнодорожного транспорта вызвали объективные и актуальные вопросы об успехе или неудаче долгожданного Железнодорожного пакета IV и его последствиях для отрасли, о создании единого европейского железнодорожного пространства, об усилении роли и полномочий Европейского железнодорожного агентства, или о трансграничном взаимодействии европейских транспортных сетей. Мы обратились с некоторыми из этих вопросов к генеральному директору Ассоциации Европейской железнодорожной промышленности (UNIFE), Филиппу Ситроену.

>

30

центральная сеть ten-t будет основываться на европейских коридорах грузовых перевозок

Недавно заключенное соглашение между Европейской комиссией, Советом и Европейским парламентом, закладывает основы создания центральной транспортной сети, которую предстоит запустить до 2030 года. В свою очередь, центральная сеть является стержнем европейского транспорта в рамках единого рынка. Финансирование транспорта в рамках механизма Подключения Европы (на период 2014-2020 гг.) будет также сосредоточиваться на данной центральной транспортной сети, дополняя отсутствующее звено на межгосударственном уровне, устраняя ее узкие места и превращая ее в более продуктивную сеть. Трансъевропейская транспортная сеть призвана обеспечить эффективную мультимодальность, которая будет способствовать наличию лучших вариантов для транспорта.

ten-t core network will have to rely on the european freight corridors

The recent agreement between the European Commission, the Council and the European Parliament sets the foundation of establishing the core transport network which should become effective by 2030. In turn, the core network represents the “backbone” of European transport within the single market. Transport financing under the Connecting Europe Facility (for the period 2014–2020) will also focus on this core transport network, filling in cross-border missing links, removing bottlenecks and making the network smarter. The trans-European transport network has to ensure efficient multi-modality in order to allow better modal choices.

After long negotiations, the European Commission, the Council and the European Parliament have reached

an agreement at the end of May on the pro-posals to transform the existing patchwork of railways, roads, airports and waterways into a unified transport network (TEN-T). There have been enough fears about the financing of the TEN-T projects; the fears have gone on 27 June when the European Parliament and the Council reached an agreement on the Connecting Europe Facility and the new European Fund worth EUR 30 Billion was dedicated to the financing of joint interest projects on infrastructure for trans-Europe-an transport network, energy and telecom-munications.

“In order to foster growth and employ-ment, to strengthen its role in a globalised world,

Europe needs strong and interconnected infrastructures in the fields of transport, energy and telecommunications. This is the main aim of the CEF, which focuses funding on projects with a European added value, contributing to deepen European integra-tion. “I therefore deeply regret that govern-ments do not strongly support this fund, since they proposed to drastically reduce its financial envelope”, said co-rapporteur Do-

minique Riquet (France). The agreement sets a core transport net-

work to be established by 2030 to act as the backbone for transportation within the Sin-gle Market. Transport financing under the Connecting Europe Facility (for the period 2014–2020) will also focus on this core trans-port network, filling in cross-border missing links, removing bottlenecks and making the network smarter. The EUR 30 Billion granted to transport within the “Connecting Europe Facility” (for 2014-2020) will serve in practice as “initial capital” to stimulate additional investments from the member states in order to finalize the difficult cross-border connections and links which would probably not be developed otherwise. Each EUR 1 Million spent in Europe will gene-rate EUR 5 Million from the governments of the member states and EUR 20 Million from the private sector. To support the financ-ing from the Connecting Europe Facility, the Commission also adopted the terms of the “Project Bonds” Europe 2020 Initiative (bonds for the financing of projects) which will represent one of the instruments for di-viding the risk that the Connecting Europe Facility could rely on in order to attract pri-vate capital for the financing of projects. The pilot phase will begin in 2013.

The new core TEN-T network will be supported by a comprehensive network of routes, feeding into the core network at re-gional and national level. This will largely be financed by Member States, with some EU transport and regional funding possibilities, including with new innovative financing instruments. As regards the establishment of the core network corridors, proper at-tention has to be paid to the railway freight transport corridors established under Reg-ulation 913/2010. According to the TEN-T guidelines, the operators of freight termi-nals will ensure that all freight terminals are opened to all transport operators and logistics platform terminals provide at least one terminal open to all operators. The core network has to reflect the evolution of the traffic demand and the need for multimodal transport.

[ by Elena Ilie ]



новые дискуссии об ускорении завершения строительства Коридора Север-Юг

Рабочая группа, объединяющая специалистов из Ирана, Азербайджана, России и Индии, установила в качестве плана работы строительство железнодорожной линии Рашт – Астара (Иран) – Астара (Азербайджан). Об этом сообщает иранский новостной сайт Тасним, цитируя официального представителя Иранских железных дорог - Мохаммада Резы Мохаммади Араси. Строительство целого отсека Казвин-Рашт-Астара, который является частью Коридора Север-Юг, обсуждалось в рамках V Координационного совета по Международному коридору Север – Юг, проведенного в Баку в середине июня. Участники подчеркнули важность строительства линии в кратчайшие сроки.

31PoLicies & strAteGies


working group talked about the construc-tion of the railway, necessary investments and other issues. The results of discus-sions will be presented in order to make a decision to the following reunion of the deputy foreign ministers of the four par-ticipating countries. “The construction of the Qazvin-Rasht-Astara railway is a quite difficult process as it includes 22 tunnels and 15 special bridges. However, 70% of works to 15 tunnels is already completed”, added Arasi.

In fact, what are the advantages of deve-loping the route along the west coast of the Caspian Sea? The advantages have been emphasized by the International Union of Railways (UIC) in a feasibil-ity study elaborated in 2008 which shows that the route is the most feasible on the long-run. The fewer countries involved the better because this enables the conclusion of agreements and facilitates cross-border procedures.

new discussions to speed up the completion of the north-south corridor

According to the Iranian Deputy Minister of Roads, Ahmad Sa-deghi, the Qazvin-Rasht-Astara

line will be ready by March 2014. Cur-rently, the line is 67% completed and 15 of the 22 tunnels included in the project are 70% completed.

Countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and even Afghanistan have ex-pressed interest in the development of the railway works of this corridor. According to Iranian Railways (RAI), the commis-sioning of the Corridor will significantly cut the transport time of goods from the present 45-60 days to 25-30 days. Ever since October 2010, when the 1520 Forum was held in Baku (Azerbaijan), agreements were signed on launching the construction of railways for the single missing link along the North-South Corridor, Qazvin – Astara – Rasht, with a length of 375 km. Works are currently underway. The largest part of the section, 300 km, is on the territory of Iran, which in 2011 allocated USD 111 Million for the construction of the respec-tive line. According to the technical and economic data, the capacity of the new line Rasht (Iran) – Astara (Azerbaijan) could

A working group reuniting representatives of Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia and India has set as working plan the construction of the railway line working group Rasht – Astara (Iran) – Astara (Azerbaijan), according to the Iranian news web site Tasnim which quotes an official of Iranian Railways, Mohammad Reza Mohammadi Arasi. The construction of the entire Qazvin-Rasht-Astara section, part of the North-South Corridor, was debated during the fifth Coordination Council for the International North-South Corridor, organised in Baku in mid-June. The participants have underlined the importance of building the line in the shortest timeframe possible.

reach 9 million tonnes by 2015 and over 19 million tonnes by 2030. The total sum of investments in the construction of this line is estimated at USD 408 Million.

RZD said they were ready to participate to the implementation of the international North-South Corridor, according to the company’s Vice President, Vadim Moro-zov. “For the deployment of the railway line, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran have initiated the construction of the Uzen-Gorgan line along the Caspian Sea to replace the longer actual route to Iran”, declared Vadim Morozov, Vice President of Russian Railways. “For the first time in history, the construction of this route will make possible the establishment of a rail connection of around 4,500 km from St. Petersburg to the port of Bandar Abbas (Iran) in the Persian Gulf and a shorter connection between North-East and Cen-tral Europe to the countries in Middle East and South Asia”. The line will be used for the organisation of international container railway traffic and, experts say, the market of freight transport is estimated at 16-17 million tonnes.

According to Mohammadi Arasi, the

[ by Elena Ilie ]

Source: ECE-TRANS

RUSSIAN FEDERATION

I.R.IRAN

INDIA

45-60 DAY:TIME TRAVEL

PREVIOUS ROUTEPREVIOUS ROUTE

25-30 DAY:TRAVEL TIME

I.N.S.T.CI.N.S.T.C

40%Shorter & 30%Cheaper

32


oTIF plays an important role in promoting the development and standardising the legislation of

railway transport and implicitly in facilitat-ing transport. The organisation is constant-ly expanding its activity in the countries of the region. Currently, the organisation has 49 member states (and an associate-mem-ber, Jordan) in Europe, Middle East and Africa, its railway network stretching on 250,000km. Over the past years, Georgia (2011) and Pakistan (2013) initiated pro-cedures to become OTIF members, Paki-stan’s accession representing for the organi-sation not just the increase of the number of its members, but also the opening of the entire region to OTIF policies.

For operators, creating commercial of-fers on the Europe-Asia axis is confronted with a series of challenges which could be efficiently approached by authorities in or-der to increase the attractiveness of railway transport. Here, the development of inte-roperability is a necessity. The obvious solu-tion is to ensure continuity in the 1520mm network and in the European network, but the development of common norms and a clear understanding of responsibilities are strong and efficient instruments for reduc-ing railway transport costs. In this context,

OTIF: development of interoperability on the euro-Asian axis is a necessity

Eurasia has a major importance in the economic, political and commercial relationships worldwide, the transport system being the strong element that binds them. The region needs an integrated transport system that would efficiently meet mobility needs and railway connections involve many countries with different systems, policies and legal frameworks which are still fragmenting the integration process. At the beginning of the year, the ministries of transport interested in the railway connection on the Europe-Asia axis signed a joint declaration on intensifying transport activities and harmonizing the railway legislation. OTIF (Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail) negotiated for this agreement as well. The organisation believes that an important aspect of railway traffic between Europe and Asia is the concept concerning the terms and general transport conditions (GTC) representing a part of the group of experts in charge with the standardisation of railway legislation. The development of international traffic in this region has to rely on a pragmatic approach aimed to define the simple common norms that offer market players a certain freedom in the activity they carry out.


the coordination of investments in infra-structure is vital and relies on a framework of common regulations which can make possible the reduction of the cost of the ve-hicles in operation and their acceptance by the different networks.

The implementation of the necessary le-gislative and financial criteria and measures for ensuring the increasing competitiveness of railway transport between the two re-gions, the harmonisation and compatibility of OTIF legislation to that of the EU, the re-view of the uniform technical specifications of OTIF in the context of ERA’s adoption of the TSI amendments for freight wagons are only few of the topics approached in our in-terview with OTIF Secretary General, Mr. François Davenne.

RailwayPRO: The Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) has 49 member states in Eu-rope, Middle East and Africa and expands its influence as more and more countries initiated access procedures and become members (Georgia, Pakistan). What are the main criteria that a state interested in becoming OTIF member should meet in the context of rail transport system inte-gration and keeping in mind that coun-tries have different railway systems?

François Davenne: It is very important for OTIF that it continues to broaden its geographical scope. Rail transport has to be able to offer seamless links over the widest possible area if it wishes to contin-ue to occupy a major modal share. In this respect, the recent accession of Georgia in 2011 and of Pakistan in 2013 demon-strates OTIF’s attractiveness. This is be-cause the Organisation offers its Member States a broad palette of instruments to develop their rail transport.

Pakistan’s accession is linked to the ini-tiative by the Economic Cooperation Or-

ganization (ECO) to set up a rail link for trains carrying containers between Islama-bad and Istanbul via Tehran, which might one day be extended to Western Europe and southern Asia. Applying the rules of COTIF will also therefore enable freight traffic between Turkey, Iran and Pakistan to be developed, thanks largely to the CIM (contrat de transport international fer-roviaire des marchandises)consignment note, which makes border crossing much easier. In the long term, it would seem that Pakistan’s accession to COTIF will mean not just that OTIF has another Member State, but that an entire region will be opened up to OTIF.

In the form of RID, COTIF also offers the possibility of using a set of uniform and harmonised rules for the transport of dangerous goods. These rules also provide a guarantee of compatibility with ADR, which deals with these issues for road transport. States such as Azerbaijan, which are in the process of acceding to COTIF, have therefore joined ADR and will re-cognise the obvious advantages of ratify-ing the equivalent rail-related regulations.

For the Contracting States that ap-ply its technical regulations, in terms of freight transport OTIF offers technical compatibility with the European rules on interoperability: specifically, it guarantees railway undertakings that they have the peace of mind to exchange their wagons with other Member States that apply the technical regulations, particularly with the EU Member States.

One of OTIF’s strengths is that the sub-stance of an accession can be adapted to the needs of the rail sector. In Pakistan’s case, for example, interest was focused on the CIM consignment note, which will en-able Pakistan to develop trade links with surrounding countries that apply OTIF law. However, as the tracks have different


Phot

o: O

TIF

François Davenne

33


gauges, technical collaboration on Appen-dices F and G is not of great interest for Pakistan at the moment.

COTIF therefore allows the implemen-tation of what I would call a “law interface”, which provides our Member States with the opportunity to make their various railway laws compatible so that international traf-fic can be developed. COTIF can embrace countries whose structures are very differ-ent in terms of technology and the degree of openness to competition. For example, our technical rules, as I said, provide real compatibility with the networks of the Eu-ropean Union. Nevertheless, this does not mean that the structural reforms underway in the European Union, such as the separa-tion of infrastructure managers and railway undertakings, have to be adopted.

In other words, there is no specific pro-file for countries that are interested in ac-ceding to COTIF. Candidates for acces-sion must be guided by their economic interest in developing international rail transport. In particular, OTIF offers effec-tive legal instruments to develop freight, and for those countries that are develop-ing their networks with an international dimension, OTIF provides compatibility with the European technical regulations. This last point is one of the reasons that led the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) to initiate discussions with the Organisation.

RailwayPRO: At the beginning of the year, the transport ministers in the coun-tries interested in the rail connections be-tween Europe and Asia signed a common declaration on the intensification of trans-port activities and the harmonisation of railway legislation. How do the authorities manage to determine the development and consolidation of cooperation in the Eurasian region? How will they manage to set harmonised legal measures for rail transport operation given the different sys-tems and structures in these countries?

François Davenne: OTIF, which took part in negotiating this agreement, obvi-ously welcomes the signature of the joint declaration on the promotion of rail trans-port between Europe and Asia. In my view, the most important aspect is that the con-cept of General Terms and Conditions of Transport (GTC) forms part of the man-date of the group of experts on the unifi-cation of railway law. The development of international traffic in the Euro-Asian re-gion must in fact be based on a pragmatic approach, which consists of defining sim-ple common rules giving the actors in the market a certain amount of freedom. CIM, which OTIF developed in numerous working groups with help from the sector, particularly CIT, already encapsulates a comparable philosophy.

As far as OTIF is concerned, an ap-proach must be favoured which is based on the real constraints in international traffic. In legal terms, we broadly share Russia’s position, which is that the issue of the facilitation of border crossing is an extremely important one. Extending the application of the new Annex 9 to the 1982 Convention on customs harmoni-sation should achieve tangible results and will be one of the priorities of the group of experts set up to monitor the agree-ment. In other areas, the task is obviously a complex one, but I believe that work based on a detailed analysis of the legal and technical constraints faced by rail traffic on several major existing corridors between Asia and Western Europe could be the way to provide concrete solutions.

I would like to use this question to underline the great flexibility of COTIF, which can integrate particular arrange-ments for these major corridors that are being developed, the purpose of which is to concentrate the transport of goods.

RailwayPRO: There are countries in Eurasia that implement agreements to fa-

cilitate mutual railway transport, but they do not manage to level the railway market which is still very fragmented. What are the methods and measures of OTIF to eliminate cross-border barriers in inter-national transport?

François Davenne: OTIF has no com-petence for customs issues, although the CIM consignment note can be used as a customs document, nor for matters con-cerning the opening of the market, but it does offer a number of common rules that enable borders to be crossed more easily. The legal framework provided by the International Freight Contract thus enables customs checks to be carried out in the destination country and frees wagons from checks in transit countries. Similarly, the International Passenger Contract provides a common framework for the rights and obligations of railway undertakings and passengers, which is applied throughout the entire journey. Moreover, these regulations also form an annex to the European Regulation on rail passengers’ rights and obligations.

In addition to the legal uniformity OTIF can offer, it is important to note that at the technical level, there are two opposing models for international rail transport:

- The interoperability model, which as-sumes that trains will cross borders with-out having to be recomposed at a border station. This model presupposes a rail system that is more or less liberalised, in which more than one rail transport under-taking has access to the international lines.

- The vehicle exchange model, in which trains are recomposed at a border station and are then operated by the incumbent rail transport undertaking.

Although it is compatible with these two models, OTIF’s operations are cur-rently based on a vehicle exchange model limited to goods wagons. Promoting a model aimed at interoperability might make it possible to develop the rail mar-kets strongly. This model obviously im-plies a degree of openness of internation-al lines, but it must also give States the freedom to choose the speed and extent of this opening up.

I therefore consider that the idea that interoperability is linked to opening up competition is wrong. This is the result of the fact that for historical reasons based on military considerations, the rail networks were designed not to be compatible. If you take the example of telecommunications, the networks were designed to be intero-perable from the outset, but this was never linked to the opening of the markets. In-teroperability certainly helped to open up the markets once the political decision had been taken, but it engendered the same complex questions as in the rail sector.

RailwayPRO: Regarding the activity of operators, the development of commercial offers on the Europe-Asia axis has to face


Phot

o: O

TIF

>

34



a series of challenges (from gauge to cus-toms procedures, different requirements regarding the length of trains or tonnage). What is the answer of the authorities and infrastructure managers to these chal-lenges and what do they do to increase the attractiveness of rail transport? What are the most frequent problems that operators face and which are difficult to tackle by au-thorities and infrastructure managers?

François Davenne: Your question complements the preceding one. The development of interoperability on the Euro-Asian axis is a necessity. The obvious solution is to ensure continuity between the 1520 mm network and the UIC lines, which are the rule in Western Europe, but the development of common rules and a clear understanding of responsibilities are a powerful tool to reduce the cost of rail transport. In this respect, it is vital that in-vestment infrastructure is coordinated and is based on a body of shared regulations which make it possible to reduce as much as possible the costs of commissioning ve-hicles and of getting them accepted by the various networks.

At the moment, the European rules and those of OSJD offer a cohesive model that enables the application of uni-form procedures for putting rolling stock into service. At European level, an infra-structure register would also make it pos-sible to simplify procedures for entrant railway undertakings. Unfortunately, these two organisations’ regulations are not compatible at present. OTIF, which makes possible the construction of a “law interface”, must join in the efforts to unify the law by fully playing its role of gateway between its Member States.

As an example, the entry into force in the European Union of the so-called Technical Specifications for Interoper-ability LOC&PAS, which concern loco-motives and passenger trains, will affect the commissioning of new vehicles not originating from the EU: this will no

longer be automatically authorised in the EU Member States under the old RIC re-gime. OTIF will therefore be working on a new PAS UTP, which might help resolve this inconvenient situation. During the drafting process, we will analyse whether the 1520 mm gauge can be incorporated alongside the 1435 mm gauge in order to extend the application of common rules.

RailwayPRO: What do you think that the necessary juridical and financial steps that European and Central Asian coun-tries have to take to increase the competi-tiveness of railway transport between the two regions?

François Davenne: It would be very ambitious for OTIF to claim to have an autonomous vision on this issue, about which a lot has already been said and written. Nevertheless, I think there are two points that should be noted.

At the financial level, there are some extremely important infrastructure projects, such as the Marmaray tunnel, which will link Europe and Asia in re-markable technical conditions. From the freight perspective, for the development of trade, this investment will only be fully worthwhile if all aspects of the carriage of goods are envisaged. For example, let us take the problem of track gauges; clearly, converging the gauges is not something that is going to happen (and what stan-dard would be used?). In order to move forward, every aspect of the issue will have to be taken into account, particu-larly the operational aspects: the exact state of the exchange points, the level of development of container transport, which speeds up operations and mini-mises costs, etc.... The funding of major infrastructure projects would therefore have to take these questions into account, and there would have to be an attempt to bear in mind an overall operational vision of goods transport, rather than just a rail-based vision.

At the legal level, I am very much in favour of a very pragmatic approach for the instruments we are developing. Both the EU and OSJD have a complete body of regulations that are fully operational. However, these two cases are under-pinned by a really systematic mindset, which ensures that the application of all these rules is consistent with a general organisation of the rail sector that differs widely in the two geographical areas. If one is speaking of developing interna-tional traffic, legislation is needed which, to borrow an IT term, is “portable”, in other words, it should be able to function in widely differing environments and systems. I like to think that this is a char-acteristic of the law of COTIF which, in itself, is modern law that is adapted to the development of international traffic.

RailwayPRO: What can you tell us about the harmonisation and compatibi-lity of OTIF legislation to that of the EU on the validation of technical standards, adoption of uniform technical prescrip-tions (APTU) and the procedures for the Technical Admission of Railway Material in International Traffic (ATMF)?

François Davenne: The accession of the European Union to OTIF in July 2011 provides an important opportunity to develop OTIF’s technical legislation. Above all, it is important to have a clear strategy that is shared by our Member States. The UTP offer a greater degree of technical compatibility with the TSI, so my hope is that by acceding to the tech-nical appendices prepared by OTIF, our Member States will have a real return on their investment in the assurance that their access to the European rail market will be made easier.

The ongoing development of the tech-nical regulations must not obscure those that already exist: these have to be kept up to date and equivalence with their counterparts in the EU has to be main-tained, thanks to regular revision and a process for the correction of errors. The increasing number of regulations also means that there has to be some work on disseminating them, particularly in or-der to help the States parties that are not members of the EU to apply OTIF regu-lations. We will also have to rely on the States themselves to implement the UTP correctly. OTIF therefore now has a new role, to exchange, collect and disseminate information on the Member States’ ac-tivities in the common interest.

In addition, OTIF has to support active partnership with the non Member States of the EU and the European Railway Agency. The development of European railway law might have the paradoxical effect of strengthening closure of the European market by the development of technical standards that end up being a barrier to entering the market. By focus-

Railway PRO: What can you tell us about the harmonisation and transposition of TSIs into the Uniform Technical Prescriptions (UTP) and how can the conformity between the two legislations be preserved from the point of view of the technical criteria for rolling stock?

François Davenne: This is in fact the ambitious objective that I have set for the Organisation. It is based on a strategy which consists of moving towards developing the interoperability of our Member States' railway networks. In this context, the TSI that can be transposed into OTIF's legislation have to be chosen on the basis of a reasoned decision. We are therefore developing a three stage strategy that will allow us to move from what we have at present (the exchange of vehicles) to real interoperability for those Member States that choose this option.

At level 1, which was reached in 2012, OTIF ensures compatibility with the two models (interoperability and exchange of vehicles).

This will also be the case for level 2, which will see the approval of passenger vehicles in international traffic covered in the regulations. A PAS UTP - for passengers - will be drafted and will encompass all the elements for the international exchange of vehicles. To be compatible with the EU regulations - in the absence of requirements for the safety management system that exists at OTIF level - safety management provisions linked to the use of vehicles will have to be added. The PAS UTP will be drafted on the basis of the revised TSI LOC&PAS, a draft of which OTIF sent for consultation to those of its Member States that are not members of the EU.

ideas for development of otiF under APtu/AtMF

>

35


States parties and will give priority to maintaining close contacts with the peo-ple responsible in each of these States.

To come back to the question of wagons and their utilisation, I intend to cooperate closely with the sector, particularly UIP, in order to modernise CUV (Contract of Use of Vehicles), which serves as a basis for the GCU (General Conditions of Use). This is in fact a particularly useful instrument for clarifying the liability regime in the new framework of the UTP Wagons and the ECM regulations.


ОТИФ: Развитие взаимной технической совместимости по оси Европа-Азия - это необходимость

На мировом уровне Евразия играет важную роль в экономических, политических и коммерческих отношениях, а транспортная система является ключевым элементом в укреплении этих отношений. В данном контексте, регион нуждается в интегрированной транспортной системе, которая бы эффективно отвечала потребностям в плане мобильности, а железнодорожные системы путей сообщения включают в себя множество государств с различными системами, политическими решениями и законодательными рамками, которые все еще фрагментируют процесс интеграции. Внедрение необходимых мер и критериев для обеспечения повышения конкурентоспособности и интероперабельности железнодорожного транспорта между двумя регионами, гармонизация и совместимость законодательства ОТИФ (Межправительственной организации по международным железнодорожным перевозкам) и ЕС, пересмотр единых технических спецификаций ОТИФ в контексте принятия Европейским железнодорожным агентством поправок к Техническим спецификациям интероперабельности - это несколько пунктов, затронутых нашим изданием в рамках интервью с Генеральным секретарем ОТИФ Франсуа Давен.

ing on the facilitation of international transport, OTIF has a role to play in en-suring that the regulations developed as TSI incorporate from the very beginning the constraints that States outside the EU have, in order to make it easier to adapt the corresponding UTP.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is being discussed with ERA and the Commission to formalise this new position, which will give our non-EU Member States a better level of informa-tion and the opportunity to be involved in European technical developments right from the word go.

RailwayPRO: What can you tell us about the harmonisation and transposi-tion of TSIs into the Uniform Technical Prescriptions (UTP) and how can the conformity between the two legislations be preserved from the point of view of the technical criteria for rolling stock?

François Davenne: This is in fact the ambitious objective that I have set for the Organisation. It is based on a strat-egy which consists of moving towards developing the interoperability of our Member States’ railway networks. In this context, the TSI that can be transposed into OTIF’s legislation have to be cho-sen on the basis of a reasoned decision. We are therefore developing a three stage strategy that will allow us to move from what we have at present (the exchange of vehicles) to real interoperability for those Member States that choose this option.

At level 1, which was reached in 2012, OTIF ensures compatibility with the two models (interoperability and exchange of vehicles).

This will also be the case for level 2, which will see the approval of passenger vehicles in international traffic covered in the regulations. A PAS UTP - for passen-gers - will be drafted and will encompass all the elements for the international ex-change of vehicles. To be compatible with the EU regulations - in the absence of re-quirements for the safety management system that exists at OTIF level - safety management provisions linked to the use of vehicles will have to be added. The PAS UTP will be drafted on the basis of the revised TSI LOC&PAS, a draft of which OTIF sent for consultation to those of its Member States that are not members of the EU.

The subsequent levels will make im-portant advances possible by extending interoperability to cover trains and infra-structure. This development assumes a greater degree of coordination between our Member States, but it must be possi-ble to put this in place without imposing an organisational railway model the same as that of the European Union: OTIF’s ability to offer technical compatibil-ity which does not compromise national models must be maintained.

RailwayPRO: Since ERA adopted the amendments to technical specification for interoperability relating to the subsys-tem ‘rolling stock-freight wagons’ (March 2013), will OTIF also review the UTPs for freight wagons?

François Davenne: The UTP Wagons is being revised and the Committee of Technical Experts on 12 June 2013 will be able to align both sets of regulations. This is an excellent achievement and an illus-tration of successful cooperation between OTIF and the EU.

RailwayPRO: UTP WAG has been in force since 1 December 2012 and takes precedence over RIV. What are the be-nefits of this process and what will be its impact on railway traffic and industry?

François Davenne: The forecast end of RIV is certainly a major change, which has to be seen not just in connection with the new UTP WAG, but also with the trans-position of the ECM regulations (Entity in Charge of Maintenance) into OTIF legislation. Tasks and responsibilities have now been allocated differently. For exam-ple, rules are now defined and adopted at government level, instead of being agreed between railways. An independent entity must assess whether the rules have been complied with. There are now three actors in the operation of freight wagons:

- the railway undertaking operates trains,

- the keeper owns or operates vehicles with the aim of making a profit, and

- the Entity in Charge of Maintenance (ECM) takes responsibility for the main-tenance of the vehicle.

These responsibilities may each be borne by separate entities or by a single entity. In international operations, it must be clear at all times and for each wagon who is the keeper, the ECM and the rail-way undertaking. Any organisation meet-ing the ECM requirements may be certi-fied as an ECM. Therefore, a keeper or railway undertaking may also be certified as an ECM.

This reinforces one of the key principles underpinning APTU and ATMF, which is that the States parties must trust each other mutually to approve only vehicles that meet all the requirements for use in international transport. Not only must ve-hicles meet all the technical requirements, but the conformity assessment must also be carried out by an assessment body that meets all the conditions concerning inde-pendence set out in Article 5 of ATMF. If a State party were to issue certificates without correctly applying the relevant OTIF regulations, this mutual trust would be jeopardised, to the detriment of inter-national rail transport. One of my priori-ties is therefore to create a better overview of the implementation of ATMF in the States parties. As far as possible, the Sec-retariat of OTIF is available to assist the

Phot

o: O

TIF

36


rail Baltica fills in missing link

the implementation of the project demands funds amounting to EUR 3.48 Billion, 75% of which would

come from the EU, 10% less than estimat-ed. According to the declarations of the Transport Minister of Lithuania, Riman-tas Sinkevicius, (February 2013), “the project will be developed with European funds, the initial version was covering 85% of costs. The latest version includes a 75% European contribution or the reduction by 10% of the EU support”.

Rail Baltica can become the main heavy cargo transport route which reduces the environmental impact by attracting freight flows from roads to railways. Aside from the important characteristics which de-termine the authorities to implement the project (environment, direct connections, and attracting transport to the railway net-work) another reason is “the fundamental change (of January 2015) in the shipping costs in the Baltic Sea Region. Thereafter, vessels travelling in the Baltic Sea can only use bunkers with a content of 0.1% sul-phur. This will bring millions of Euros of extra costs for the Baltic Sea shipping. The time of cheap short sea shipping transport may be undergoing change and this will have an important effect on the use of rail in the Baltic region”, says Pavel Telicka, the EU coordinator of Rail Baltica, in the re-port dated November 2012.

In June, the countries involved in the project and the representatives responsi-ble with the project within the European Commission brought to discussion the efficient implementation and the accelera-tion of the project. Therefore, considering the decisions adopted by the Lithuanian Government, it was proposed that the parties involved in the project (Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Finland) would set up a joint group, the European Economic Interest Group (EEIG) responsible with the implementation of Rail Baltica. Most of all, the group should deal with the coor-dination and administration of the project preparation activities, to elaborate the ap-plication for European funds, to elaborate the application plans, as well as the stra-

Ranked 27 of the 30 TEN-T priority projects, Rail Baltica corridor (Warsaw-Kaunas-Riga-Tallinn-Helsinki) is a strategic and sustainable project providing an efficient railway connection between Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Finland. In fact, it is the only direct railway connection between the 3 Baltic States, as well as between them, Poland and the rest of the European Union. To the North, Helsinki can be connected through the ferry services crossing the Gulf of Finland forming a connection to the countries in the north. The existing infrastructure is 1,200 km long on the most direct route from Tallinn to Warsaw.


Completion Date

Priority sections

Completed: Upgrading existing lineCompleted in 2011Works ongoingWorks to start between 2012 and 2013Works to start after 2013

Priority Project 27 “Rail Baltica”/”Rail Baltic” axis Warszawa-Kaunas-Riga-Tallinn-Helsinki

Trans-European transport network. Achievement of the Priority projects

PP27.indd 14 20/11/2012 15:19:49

15

PP 27PP 27

Ongoing and completed projects �nanced by the 2007-2013 TEN-T Pro-gramme (TEN-T support �gures refer to the initially adopted Decision)

Member State(s) TEN-T support (in million)

Project status

1)Building of new European gauge line on the cross-border section PL border - Marijampole 2) cross-border section Siauliai - LV border. Reconstruction/Upgrading

LT €72.8 Ongoing

1)Reconstruction/upgrading: cross-border section north Valmeira - Valka abd cross-border section south Jelgava - LT border. 2) Reconstruction/upgrading Jugla (Riga city border station) - Valmiera

LV €22.3 Ongoing

Studies for Rail Baltica, Lithuanian part: a)section PL border - Marijampole in European Gauge; b) Improvement of existing line; c)contribution to global Rail Baltica study for European Gauge

LT €16.1 Ongoing

Cross-border section Tartu - Valga railway reconstruction/upgrading EE €10.8 OngoingStudies for a European gauge line (Latvian section) LV €1.1 OngoingStudies for a European gauge line for Rail Baltica (Estonian section) EE €1 OngoingTotal €124.1

458 km(41%)

498 km(44%)

174 km(15%)

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Total length = 1,129 km

Completed by the end of 2010 Completed in 2011 Ongoing To start between 2012-2013 To start after 2013

Completion status of works (km)

PP27.indd 15 20/11/2012 15:19:50

Source: Annual report of the coordinator, Pavel teLiČKA- „PP27 - “Rail Baltica/”Rail Baltic” axis Warszawa-Kaunas-Riga-Tallinn-Helsinki”

completion status of works (km)Total lenght = 1,129km


37


tegies for attracting freight and passenger flows.

“This legal form will permit a more ef-ficient application of the project and will reduce costs for all participating countries. Moreover, it will ensure the application in time of the demand for EU assistance”, said Lithuanian Minister of Transport Rimantas Sinkevicius, saying that at the moment, the scheduled preparation works approved by the Government are more evolved compared to the others.

The initiative of the EEIG establishment was accepted by the parties involved in the development of Rail Baltica who will make a decision on the model for the ef-ficient implementation of the project.

Lithuania signs important contracts

Of the countries involved in the project, Lithuania ranks first in the implementa-tion of the project and signed several con-tracts in June. Thus, Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) and Lithuanian Railways (Lietuvos gelezinkeliai) signed a financ-ing agreement worth EUR 114 Million for the construction of the European-gauge line, Rail Baltica, as well as for the mod-ernisation of railway sections in the Euro-pean network on the east-west axis on the Lithuanian territory. In fact, funds will be allocated for the construction of 115 km of line with 1435 mm gauge from Lithua-nia to the Polish border, the city of Kau-nas. The line will be built in parallel with

the already existing line which has a 1520 mm gauge. The project also includes the reconstruction of 60 km of broad-gauge line in the city of Šiauliai to the Latvian border. Projects will permit trains to run at speeds of 120 km/h. As part of the fu-ture Rail Baltica corridor, this will be the first project for the construction of the European-gauge line built in the Baltic States in order to open rail connections with Poland and the EU.

Lithuania also signed three contracts for the development of Rail Baltic in June. The first agreement was signed with Pan-evezio Keliai, for the construction of the 24km section of European gauge between Marijampole and Kazlu Ruda and the re-construction of a 1520mm gauge section. The contract is worth EUR 48 Million. The second contract was signed with a con-sortium including the companies Kauno Tiltai and Mitnija which will deal with the reconstruction of Marijampole rail station and of the line segment between Marijam-pole and Sestoka stations with works esti-mated at EUR 22 Million. Also, the third contract was also signed with the consor-tium of Kauno Tiltai and Mitnija for the construction of the European-gauge line on the Sestokai-Marijampole section (33 km) and the reconstruction of the existing 1520mm gauge line. The contract is worth EUR 63 Million. The costs of all projects are VAT free and the deadline set for the finalization of works in the situation of the three contracts is of 18 months.

In April, Estonia’s Technical Surveil-lance Council selected the offer of the Estonian companies OÜ Reaalprojekt, OÜ Hendrikson & Ko and EA Reng AS, and that of UAB Kelprojektas (Lithuania) in the tender for the contract on prelimi-nary design of the national section of Rail Baltica. The cost of the offer was EUR 7.49 Million. Other two offers have been submitted to the tender: from the British consultancy firm Aecom Limited and its subsidiaries and Systra and from the Swiss company Sweco Energuide AB and its Es-tonian and Latvian subsidiaries and Ineco (Spain). The preliminary design should be completed in 2015. However, there are still problems with the tender because Ae-com contested the outcome of the tender organised by the Council.

czech republic and France, interested in the project

Since the launch of the project, there have been several talks about the potential routes that could be adopted, the neces-sary funds, the way in which the countries included in the project should participate etc. For foreign companies this project has only been a vision and they have not manifested interest to contribute.

In the Czech Republic, the project has drawn the interest of the companies acti-vating in the railway transport. Therefore,

during a visit of the Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas to Tallinn, he said that there were Czech companies which have the necessary expertise, as well as the capac-ity to build railway infrastructure for the Rail Baltica project. “We are definitely interested in developing this project. Our companies have the capacity to build from railway infrastructure to locomotives and wagons. Czech companies are also inte-rested in providing services and in carry-ing freight”, added Necas.

France is another country interested in participating in this project. The repre-sentatives of SNCF, Systra and Alstom had a meeting with officials from the Lithuanian Minister of Transport (in May 2012) to broadly discuss the project of the corridor and the participation in Rail Baltica. “We are interested in the sched-ule, in the construction phases and in the financial and economic needs of Rail Bal-tica”, declared Gaelle Leroux, diplomatic consultant of SNCF.

rail Baltica - „не хватающее звено”, которое начинает приобретать контур

Коридор Rail Baltica занимает позицию № 27 из 30 приоритетных проектов TEN-T (Варшава-Каунас-Рига-Таллин-Хельсинки) и является стратегическим и устойчивым проектом, который осуществляет эффективное железнодорожное сообщение между Польшей, Литвой и Эстонией, а также Финляндией. Для реализации проекта, необходимые средства насчитывают 3,48 млрд евро, из которых 75% будет финансироваться за счет ЕС. До настоящего времени Литве и Эстонии удалось подписать контракты на осуществление проекта.

21

TRANSPORT MARKET IN BALTIC SEA REGIONFROM ROAD TO RAIL

In 2011 the European Commission agreed on a roadmap of 40 concrete initiatives for the next decade to build a competitive transport system. At the same time, the aim is to reduce carbon emissions in transport by 60% by 2050.

When focusing on the Baltic Sea, a consid-erable share of both the passengers and freight is already transported by sea. In 2011, the total volumes of the sea freight trans-ports in the Baltic Sea were 839 million tonnes, and the total number of sea passenger trans-ports in the area was 87 million.

The freight transport can be divided into two groups; bulk and uni-tised transports. In the Baltic Sea the bulk transport covers more than three quarters of the total sea transport volumes.

In the bulk transports the cost is the key el-ement when choosing the transport mode. Unitised transports are usually more time-

sensitive. Punctuality and flexibility are key factors when choosing the mode of trans-port.

In land transport in the Baltic States, the uni-tised cargo is presently transported mostly by road. The vast majority of rail transport is carrying mainly Russian transit cargo to the Baltic Sea ports.

In passenger transport the situation is ac-tually quite similar: passengers also need flexibility and frequency. Today, the most

common way to travel shorter routes on the eastern side of the Bal-tic Sea from Finland to Poland by land is either by passenger cars or by coaches. Fast passenger trains with transit time around four hours from Tallinn to Warsaw have a

substantial market potential.

In conclusion, when targeting to the EU strategic goals in reducing carbon emis-sions, Rail Baltic has an unique offering for the unitised cargo and passenger transports on the Baltic Sea area. This route can offer

high frequency and level of quality of ser-vices for both unitised cargo and passen-gers; and at the same time help fulfil the EU carbon emission targets.

A 50% SHIFT OF MEDIUM DIS-TANCE INTERCITY PASSEN-GER AND FREIGHT JOURNEYS FROM ROAD TO RAIL AND WATERBORNE TRANSPORT IS TARGETED.

GOODS TRANSPORTED BY RAIL IN 2011 (1 000 t)

60 000

50 000

40 000

30 000

20 000

10 000

0

Estonia Latvia Lithuania

National transportInternational transport including transit

0

10 000

20 000

30 000

40 000

50 000

60 000

70 000

Estonia Latvia Lithuania

Goods transported by rail (1000 t)

National transport International (incl. transit)

Goods transported by rail in 2011 (1 000 t)

Quality of railroad infrastructure (1 000 t)

48

RAIL BALTIC AS A MULTIMODAL TRANSPORT CORRIDOR

lated in different ways in different RBGC countries. The hub cities alone can-not increase interoperability in the terminals on their territory.

Core network corridors cannot function on their own, especially not in the sparsely populated Eastern Baltic Sea Region. Access links and their strategic nodes, smaller cities and ports, feed the corridor. The hub cities alone are too small concentrations of transport demand. Access links and node cities should be closely involved in development of Rail Baltic and the North Sea Baltic corridor.

In passenger transports the basic challenges differ in the southern and in the northern part of the corridor. In Berlin-Warsaw section there is need of capacity and speed in rails, both in commuter and express lines. In other sec-tions the problem is almost the non-existent rail service. Rail Baltic will make a difference by bringing many city pairs to business commuting distance to each other. This is expected to create economic boost for growth in these duopolises. For enhancing passenger transport there need to be information services in place. Online travel planner to integrate national or local travel planners into a Pan-Baltic service was piloted in RBGC. This work will be con-tinued, as there is a clear demand for the service.

Sour

ce: E

sri,

DeL

orm

e, N

AVTE

Q /

Ram

boll

Oy

2013

Source: rAiL BALticA GrowtH strAteGY (www.rbgc.eu )

CROSS-BORDER DEVELOPMENT ZONES

52

Kaunas-Bialystok-WarsawHigh quality transport connections to War-saw, one of the fastest growing major cities in Europe, can potentially boost the economy of Bialystok. The construction of Rail Baltic reduces the train travel times to a level facili-tating commuting between the two cities. A better rail connection can also enhance the distribution channels for the food process-ing industries to the wider European market. Kaunas and Bialystok are both cities where food processing is the largest industry re-sulting in transportation needs to markets elsewhere. This means that the two cities are also originations of freight highlighting a potential area for further collaboration.

Road infrastructure in Poland is in poor condition in comparison to other RBGC countries – only Russia has lower index fig-ures. At the same time road transports and number of vehicle transports are growing rapidly, which raises the question of sustain-ability of the road infrastructure in Poland in years to come. Rail Baltic would provide more efficient use of railroad capacity both in terms of passenger and freight transport. This could ease the excessive burden of road infrastructure in Poland. Via Baltic develop-

ment is faced by environmental constraints

conservation areas.

The improvement of the existing rail line from Warsaw to Bialystok and Kaunas can potentially have a significant impact on the economies of the two cities and further. It is of vital importance to work together with the other RBGC partners to understand how rail freight can be increased on the existing line.

Kaunas is an important transport location as routes from the Klaipeda Port, Kaliningrad (Russia), Latvia, Poland, Russia and Belarus intersect in the city. This makes it also an ideal location for a logistics hub. The City of Kaunas is seeking to capitalize on the lo-gistic hub by investing in intermodal termi-nal to facilitate the interchange of different modes of transport. It will be important for the other cities to understand how Kaunas has taken an advantage from the Free Eco-nomic Zone and intermodal logistic services in developing its logistics industry.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Russia

Poland

Latvia

Estonia

Lithuania

Germany

Finland

Scale of roads infrastructure

Quality of roads index Highest value index (7)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Russia

Poland

Latvia

Estonia

Lithuania

Germany

Finland

Scale of roads infrastructure

Quality of roads index Highest value index (7)

QUALITY OF ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE

QUALITY OF RAILROAD INFRASTRUCTURE

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Russia

Poland

Latvia

Lithuania

Estonia

Germany

Finland

Scale of infrastructure index

Railroad quality index Highest value index (7)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Russia

Poland

Latvia

Lithuania

Estonia

Germany

Finland

Scale of infrastructure index

Railroad quality index Highest value index (7)

Sources: World Economic Forum The Global Competitivenes Report, 2012-2013; Eurostat; Economist Intelligence Unit KPMG analysis 2013


38


Railway Reform in South East Europe and Turkey: On the Right Track? Main Report

60

use, impacting negatively on demand for passenger rail services. Rail passenger services have suffered from bus and mini-bus competition, despite generally lower rail prices, reflecting longer travel times, lower reliability, and less comfort.

Figure 6: Traffic by Country, 200972 (million traffic units)

Figure 7: Network Size by Country, 2009 (km)

Source: UIC. Source: UIC.

Figure 8: Rail Traffic, 2001-2009 (million traffic units)

Source: UIC.

114. The adoption of just-in-time production processes requires flexible sourcing and adaptable and highly dependable transport services—something which rail incumbents have struggled to provide. Apart from these exogenous reasons, lower traffic reflects: (i) a lack of competition in the rail sector; (ii) an absence of service integrators for optimized logistical chains; (iii)

72 Germany’s rail traffic, at 170,720 million traffic units, dwarfs that of other countries in the region, and has therefore been excluded from the figure.

67

78

205

350

651

699

1,049

3,305

3,508

4,476

5,296

14,877

15,055

45,059

46,394

Kosovo

Albania

Montenegro

BH ZRS

FYR Macedonia

BH ZFBH

BH

Serbia

Slovenia

Croatia

Bulgaria

Romania

Turkey

Study countries

Poland

249

333

416

423

600

699

1,016

1,228

2,723

3,809

4,150

8,686

10,776

19,764

32,864

33,706

Montenegro

Kosovo

BH ZRS

Albania

BH ZFBH

FYR Macedonia

BH

Slovenia

Croatia

Serbia

Bulgaria

Turkey

Romania

Poland

Study countries

Germany

8,0008,5009,0009,50010,00010,50011,00011,50012,00012,50013,000

42,000

44,000

46,000

48,000

50,000

52,000

54,000

56,000

58,000

60,000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009Study countries Western Balkans

croatia plans full liberalisation of railway services

[ by Elena Ilie ]

in Croatia HZ), Slovenia (SJ) and Serbia (SZ) decided to establish Cargo 10 com-pany which seeks to increase transport in the pan-European Corridor X, but also to increase freight transport in the three sig-natory countries. The company is based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Last spring the three countries said they would speed up the implementation of the joint railway freight transport project, Cargo 10. The JV will elaborate a project containing proposals for the development and intensification of activities within Cargo 10. Then the coun-tries will agree on a joint position in this matter. However, to improve the efficiency of the project, the representatives of the Slovenian operator propose to invite the companies in FYR Macedonia and Italy to join the project.

dedicated to the support of railway reform

Croatia Railways is still in a transition period, the process of restructuring and privatisation of certain parts is not fully completed due to the lack of clearer strate-gies on the future railway actions.

Towards the end of 2012, the Croatian Government ordered the Ministry of Transport to initiate the procedure of identifying a strategic partner for the rail-way freight transport operator HZ Cargo, shows a press release of the ministry. The ministry has thus been authorised to initi-ate the procedure of getting expressions of interest from the strategic partners inter-ested in the restructuring of this company and in a potential change of the sharehold-ing structure. Then in 2013, the govern-ment in Zagreb announced its intention of selling the national railway freight trans-port operator, HZ Cargo.

The expressions of interest have been submitted by Croatian companies such as DEAL, Nexus Private Equity Partneri, Quaestus Private Equity and Djuro Djako-

“The government’s capacity of re-balancing the economy through exports is limited. The accession

to the European Union is a step forward even if the difficult European economic environment and the government’s inertia in reforming will probably limit benefits”, shows a press release of Moody’s quoted by Mediafax.

However, a World Bank report shows that the Adriatic Sea country has an increasing and competitive economy, as well as the right institutional capacity to face the chal-lenges of being a EU Member State.

Maybe Croatia is not the best in econom-ic policies, but wants to turn into account its EU accession and focuses on absorbing non-reimbursable EU funds for redefining and upgrading the transport sector. Trans-port counts for 8% in Croatia’s gross do-mestic product.

Croatia is crossed by four pan-European

transport corridors, of which three railway corridors, X, Vb and Vc, the fourth being the pan-European corridor VII – Danube, and the authorities have carried out com-plex investment programmes to develop its sections in the three transport corri-dors. The Croatian Government develops significant investments for its share in the pan-European corridor X.

However, public money went to the road transport sector, so that the railway sector is currently facing significant challenges requiring major investments in order to be fully integrated into the trans-European transport network.

The Railway Company in Croatia has passed through significant organisational changes, currently being divided into five individual companies: HŽ Holding, HŽ Passenger Transport, HŽ Cargo, HŽ Infra-structure and HŽ Traction.

In 2010, the three railway companies

Croatia became the 28th member state of the European Union. After Slovenia, it is the second member state of the EU in the former Yugoslavian bloc. The government in Zagreb expects a 1.8% economic growth in 2013, while the International Monetary Fund launches an advance of just 0.75%, after a contraction of 1.5% in 2012. Croatia is passing through the second recession of the past years, following the austerity measures and the drop of investments caused by the European credit crunch.

At the beginning of the year, the three well-known rating agencies Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings gave Croatia negative perspective in the safety of investments indicator, Bloomberg announced.

Source: uic


Railway Reform in South East Europe and Turkey: On the Right Track? Main Report

60

use, impacting negatively on demand for passenger rail services. Rail passenger services have suffered from bus and mini-bus competition, despite generally lower rail prices, reflecting longer travel times, lower reliability, and less comfort.

Figure 6: Traffic by Country, 200972 (million traffic units)

Figure 7: Network Size by Country, 2009 (km)

Source: UIC. Source: UIC.

Figure 8: Rail Traffic, 2001-2009 (million traffic units)

Source: UIC.

114. The adoption of just-in-time production processes requires flexible sourcing and adaptable and highly dependable transport services—something which rail incumbents have struggled to provide. Apart from these exogenous reasons, lower traffic reflects: (i) a lack of competition in the rail sector; (ii) an absence of service integrators for optimized logistical chains; (iii)

72 Germany’s rail traffic, at 170,720 million traffic units, dwarfs that of other countries in the region, and has therefore been excluded from the figure.

67

78

205

350

651

699

1,049

3,305

3,508

4,476

5,296

14,877

15,055

45,059

46,394

Kosovo

Albania

Montenegro

BH ZRS

FYR Macedonia

BH ZFBH

BH

Serbia

Slovenia

Croatia

Bulgaria

Romania

Turkey

Study countries

Poland

249

333

416

423

600

699

1,016

1,228

2,723

3,809

4,150

8,686

10,776

19,764

32,864

33,706

Montenegro

Kosovo

BH ZRS

Albania

BH ZFBH

FYR Macedonia

BH

Slovenia

Croatia

Serbia

Bulgaria

Turkey

Romania

Poland

Study countries

Germany

8,0008,5009,0009,50010,00010,50011,00011,50012,00012,50013,000

42,000

44,000

46,000

48,000

50,000

52,000

54,000

56,000

58,000

60,000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009Study countries Western Balkans

traffic by country, 2009(million traffic units)

network size by country, 2009 (km)

vic Holding, but also by foreign companies such as T Kearney GmbH; Rail Cargo Austria AG, DB International GmbH and Advanced World Transport B.V. Private operator Grup Feroviar Român has also expressed intention to participate in the sale of HZ Cargo.

The Commission which supervises the tender will analyse of-fers and then consultations will follow, but so far no actual step has been taken.

HZ Cargo carries around 11 million tonnes of freight every year and has a rolling stock of 187 locomotives and 6,039 wag-ons.

Croatia has efficiently initiated and continued the process of aligning the national railway legislation to the European legisla-tion. The latest report of SEETO, from late 2012, reveals that over the past years, the Croatian railway sector has significantly changed due to the implementation of the Railway Restructur-ing Plan, initiated in March 2012.

According to this recovery plan, Croatia will fully liberalise the railway transport services after the accession to the European Union. The same SEETO report shows that the most compre-hensive restructuring plan of the state-owned company could be fully implemented in 2017, when the Croatian railway system, currently counting for 17,000 employees, will be reduced at 4,500 employees, the condition being to fully achieve the invest-ments in plan and the modernisation of the railway system.

Croatian infrastructure manager HZ Infrastruktura plans to invest EUR 2 Billion in the national section of Corridor X by 2020 to align it to European standards. By the end of 2020, the Croatian section of Corridor X will be upgraded to permit the traffic of trains at speeds of up to 160 km/h, will be fully doubled and equipped with GSM-R.

Some sections have already been upgraded, others are under-way and others are in the design phase and could be included in the applications for EU funds in 2015.

Major investments have been carried out over the past years for the improvement and modernisation of the railway infra-structure and therefore there are railway sections where the traf-fic speed is 120-160 km/h on sections such as Zagreb – Novs-ka – Vinkovci. Over the past year, the World Bank report say, 756 kilometres have been upgraded. For 2013, the infrastruc-ture manager plan to implement several projects on the recon-struction and modernisation of the Zagreb-Sisak route, part of Turopolje-Velika Gorica line, Sisak-Petrinja and Sisak-Caprag-Novska lines. Moreover, over the next year, the company will launch projects for the reconstruction of the railway tunnels in the Sisak region.

Due to its geographical position, Croatia has a significant im-portance in setting efficient transport links between Western Europe in the Balkans area and links between Central Europe and the basin of the Adriatic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Croatia has direct connections with Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

хорватия планирует провести полную либерализацию железнодорожных услуг

Хорватия стала 28-м государством-членом Европейского союза. После Словении она является вторым государством-членом ЕС из бывшего югославского блока. Правительство в Загребе прогнозирует на 2013 год экономический рост в размере 1,8%, в то время, как Международный валютный фонд рассматривает рост в размере всего 0,75%, после спада на 1,5% в 2012 году. Может быть, Хорватия и не является лидером в плане экономической политики, но она хочет извлекать выгоду в результате вступления в Европейский союз. Она сосредоточена на усвоении безвозвратных средств ЕС для переопределения и модернизации транспортного сектора.

40

restructuring plan and investors will be able to buy a stake of 75% in the Croatian national freight operator, the rest of the shares being managed by the state.

The Ministry of Transport has reviewed the offers and has invited companies to present their plans and the possibility to participate in the restructuring process. Consequently, the potential shortlisted buyers will have the opportunity of analys-ing HZ Cargo’s operations.

Four companies submit offers for the acquisition of 75% in HZ cargo

For Croatia, the liberalisation of railway services means one of the greatest challenges of a company

which has initiated a process of reshaping and transformation of its role regarding both the organisation and its ownership structure. Moreover, reducing the inten-sification of transport, determined by the economic crisis, which led to drops of the freight volumes from 17 million tonnes (in 2007) to 11 million tonnes (in 2012), rep-resents the main issue in preserving liqui-dity (a problem which affects the company at present) and in paying long-term debts. In January 2013, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure invited potential inves-tors to express interest in HZ Cargo. The process involves the restructuring of the company and the possibility to purchase a stake. The invitation was launched follow-ing the government’s decision of finding a strategic partner for HZ Cargo which end-ed 2012 with an estimated loss of around HRK 91 Million (EUR 12.1 Million).

In May, the Croatian Government adopt-ed the report on the procedure of collect-ing the letters of intent and negotiations with potential investors on changing the ownership structure. After launching the bid, the Ministry of Transport announced

it received seven letters submitted by the consortium Nexus Private Equity Part-neri d.o.o (in behalf of Nexus FGS fund) - Quaestus private Equity d.o.o. (in be-half of Quaestus Private Equity Kapital II)-Đuro Đaković Holding d.d. and com-panies DEAL d.o.o., AT Kearney GmbH, Rail Cargo Austria AG, DB International GmbH, Grup Feroviar Român (GFR) and Advanced World Transport (AWT) B.V.

Following evaluation, only four compa-nies of the total seven have been invited to submit offers for the acquisition of HZ Cargo. The potential investors are the con-sortium Đuro Đaković Holding, Questus Fund and Nexus Fund, Advanced World Transport B.V., GFR and Rail Cargo Aus-tria. The offers of the companies will be analysed in conformity with the proposed

Четыре компании подают заявки на приобретение 75% акций компании «HZ cargo»

Будучи 28-м членом ЕС (с 1 июля 2013 года), Хорватия пытается постепенно адаптировать свое законодательство европейскому и осуществлять политику ЕС. Зная о последствиях вступления в ЕС для железнодорожных перевозок, в начале года власти запустили ряд процессов по осуществлению либерализации рынка. В мае месяце правительство Хорватии приняло отчет о процедуре сбора протоколов о намерениях и о проведении переговоров с потенциальными инвесторами по вопросу смены структуры собственности «HZ Cargo».

As the 28th member of the EU (as of 1 July 2013), Croatia gradually tries to align to the European legislation and to implement the EU policies. Aware of the implications that the EU accession has on railway transport, the authorities have initiated a series of processes regarding the business segment of the freight operator HZ Cargo aimed at improving business operations, competitiveness, integration into the European transport system, all in all, the implementation of market liberalization.

Source: croatian railways


croatian railways - Age structure of rolling stock

MArKet deVeLoPMent

About HZ cargo

It is the largest railway operator in Croatia carrying an annual volume of goods of 11 million tonnes, the annual average of transport revenues amount-ing to EUR 80 Million and with a total value of assets of EUR 285 Million. The rolling stock fleet of the operator includes 187 locomotives and 6,039 wagons. Currently, HZ Cargo owns six companies (100%) whose activities include cargo transport, maintenance of wagons (freight and passengers). The operator also owns specialized facilities dealing with the construction, maintenance and re-pair of cars, cargo handling and transhipment in ports, as well as rock, sand and clay extraction.

Railway Reform in South East Europe and Turkey: On the Right Track? Annexes

168

last decade sections where the speed limit has been raised to 120km/hour and 160 km/hour, up from 80 km/hour, with maximum speeds on the Zagreb-Novska-Vinkovci line. In the last ten years, 756 km or a quarter of the network has benefited from track renewal, although a roughly equal amount of track has not been rehabilitated in the last 30 years or earlier. It is estimated that in 2009 about 80.7 percent of the track suffers from speed restrictions, which is slightly less than 5 years earlier, when the figure was 81.3 percent, indicating that there is a significant backlog of track maintenance and rehabilitation. Figure 116 reveals that over 40 percent of the telecommunications installations, the catenary system, and the relay/interlocking system are over thirty years old, while 40 percent of the signaling system is over 20 years old.

Figure 116: Croatian Railways – Age Structure of Rail Infrastructure

Source: Croatian Railways.

300. As with the rail infrastructure, the rolling stock of Croatian Railways is quite aged. In 2009, Croatian Railways’ rolling stock and motive power consisted of 253 traction units, 523 passenger coaches, and 6,644 freight wagons. This exceeds the requirements posed by current traffic levels, and the rolling stock is generally old and not well matched to market needs (Figure 117). In 2004, eight modern tilting trains from the German branch of Bombardier Transportation were delivered to Croatian Railways, and these have been mainly deployed on the mountainous route between Zagreb and Split—reducing travel time from 8 hours to 5 1/2 hours. These are the only new passenger coaches acquired over the last decade.

Figure 117: Croatian Railways - Age Structure of Rolling Stock

Source: Croatian Railways.

301. Rolling stock productivity is less than the EU average, but has improved over 2005-2009. Freight wagon productivity increased by 28.8 percent over 2005-2008, attaining 66 percent

5

28

5

15

4

5

40

30

19

25

35

50

44

40

5

20

5

25

Signalling System

Relay/interlocking sytem

Catenary system

Telecommunication installations

< 10 years 11-20 years 21-30 years 31-40 years > 40 years

2

12

3

1

7

26

5

32

32

32

38

24

42

20

15

7

Locomotives

Passenger coaches

Freight wagons < 10 years

11-20 years

21-25 years

26-30 years

31-40 years

> 40 years


41


By taking over CFR Marfă, GFR will become the most important player not only in the Romanian market,

but also in the European rail freight trans-port market. “We believe that, after a period of restructuring and effective activities for CFR Marfă, because this is the first thing we want to make, to make this company ef-ficient so that it would no longer be the black hole of the Romanian economy, as it is called now, we could integrate this company and, together with GFR, with our companies from Hungary and Bulgaria and our shipping houses from Moldova, Ukraine, Germany, Austria, Montenegro, Serbia, we could have a say in the transportation market in the seri-ous competition that we have from the other railway operators in the West”, declared GFR CEO, Sorin Chinde.

However, the finalization of the privatisa-tion procedure and the takeover of shares by GFR will require the approval of the Com-petition Council (CC) as the two companies will together have a 70% in the market. “The Romanian Competition Council (CC) has initiated talks with EC representatives (EC) on CFR Marfă privatisation process and the two authorities will decide whether the takeover of the national railway freight op-erator by Grup Feroviar Român (GFR) will form an economic monopoly, declared CC President Bogdan Chiriţoiu. Currently, the two institutions are exchanging information and expect for GFR’s notification because the company has to elaborate its own noti-fication file. After receiving the notification,

CC has three options: to approve the trans-action, to refute it or to accept the condition on specific conditions. “We will have to see how large the company is in the respective market, what the dimension of the market is and if it risks to damage competition, we will see if there are remedies. The remedies can be of behaviours, for example, the company commits not to increase prices for a specific number of years, or structural, to sell certain assets in a specific number of months”, ex-plained the CC President.

At the beginning of April, the Romanian Ministry of Transport published the an-nouncement regarding the offer to sell CFR Marfă’s stakes and three investors submit-ted bids: Grup Feroviar Român, Omnitrax and the consortium of Transferoviar Grup and Donau-Finanz GMBH. After the pro-cedures, the ministry rejected all three offers and changed the participation criteria a day afterwards. When the privatization proce-dure was re-launched, the three companies bought the tender book. After analyzing the documents, Omnitrax didn’t submit either the preliminary and non-binding offers or the comments on the purchase agreements and was disqualified. The privatization was continued by GFR and Transferoviar Grup and Donau-Finanz GMBH. On 19 June, the latter decided to withdraw from the sale of CFR Marfă. GFR was selected winner of the sale procedure of CFR Marfă on 20 June 2013.

Regarding GFR’s activity, the company holds the top position in the domestic

transport of oil products and permanently expands its activity area covering more and more varied products – coal, aggregates, crushed stone, cinder, cement, clinker, grains and so on. In 2010, GFR became the most important supplier of rail services for Petro-tel LUKOIL and ROMPETROL Group. As of 2012, GFR became member of USER (Romanian Association of Freight Forward-ers) and member of FIATA (International Association of Freight Forwarders). In 2003-2004, GFR became member of UIC (Inter-national Union of Railways), OCCF (Organ-isation for the Collaboration of Railways), CIT (International Rail Transport Com-mittee) and CER (Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies). On the international market, since 2010 GFR has been providing the first transport from Romania to the Republic of Moldova, in partnership with Moldovan Railways and is also collaborating with transport operators it manages in Bulgaria and Hungary: Bulgarian Railway Company (BRC) and Train Hun-gary (TH).

Currently, GFR exploits a fleet of over 9,900 cars and 275 locomotives. CFR Marfă has a rolling stock fleet of over 39,000 cars (of which only 23,000 are currently functional) and more than 900 locomotives, the volume of its assets placing the company in a favour-able position compared to other state-owned operators in Central and Eastern Europe.

«Груп Феровиар Ромын» получит 51 % акций компании «ЧФР Марфэ»

15 лет спустя после реструктуризации Национальной железнодорожной компании, румынские власти завершили приватизацию национального оператора грузовых железнодорожных перевозок, «ЧФР Марфэ». Договор купли-продажи 51% акций компании «Груп Феровиар Ромын» составил 400 миллионов евро, из которых 202 млн. евро - это стоимость приобретения, а 200 миллионов евро - это сумма, необходимая для передачи акций, а также 1,5 млн. евро - это инвестиции в экологические обязательства. Стартовая цена тендера была объявлена в размере 180 млн. евро.

Grup Feroviar român takes over 51% in cFr Marfă

15 years after the restructuring of SNCFR, Romanian authorities have finalized the privatisation of the national railway freight operator, CFR Marfă. The value of the contract on the sale of 51% of the company’s shares to Grup Feroviar Român (GFR) was set at EUR 400 Million, of which EUR 202 Million is the cost of the acquisition and EUR 200 Million is the amount necessary for the transfer of the shares, plus EUR 1.5 Million, environment investments. The starting price of the tender was of EUR 180 Million.

MArKet deVeLoPMent

Sour

ce: w

ww

.cfr

mar

fa.c

fr.ro


CFR Marf : Financial indicators under the balance sheet on 2012 Balance Sheet indicators lei FIXED ASSETS - TOTAL 911466636 MOBILE ASSETS - TOTAL, of which 369991712 Arrears 247010683 DEBTS - TOTAL 2123254369

Indicators of the PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT Net turnover 970399645 TOTAL INCOME 1050070827 TOTAL COSTS 1455157396 Gross profit or loss - -Profit - -Loss 405086569 Net profit or loss of the financial exercise - -Profit - -Loss 405086569 Source:http://www.cfrmarfa.cfr.ro/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=246%3Aindicatori-financiari-conform-bilantului-depus-pe-anul-2012&catid=35&Itemid=112&lang=ro

CFR Marf : Financial indicators under the balance sheet on 2012 Balance Sheet indicators lei FIXED ASSETS - TOTAL 911466636 MOBILE ASSETS - TOTAL, of which 369991712 Arrears 247010683 DEBTS - TOTAL 2123254369

Indicators of the PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT Net turnover 970399645 TOTAL INCOME 1050070827 TOTAL COSTS 1455157396 Gross profit or loss - -Profit - -Loss 405086569 Net profit or loss of the financial exercise - -Profit - -Loss 405086569 Source:http://www.cfrmarfa.cfr.ro/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=246%3Aindicatori-financiari-conform-bilantului-depus-pe-anul-2012&catid=35&Itemid=112&lang=ro

42

to EUR 4 Billion”, shows a document elabo-rated by the Serbian Government (Needs of the Republic of Serbia for International Assistance In the Period 2011-2013).

The railway network is 3,809km long, its density being compared to the EU-27 aver-age (50,1km/1000km2) and with France and Romania which have a density of 46 km/1000 km2. Over 46% (1,768 km) of the network are main lines, 32.7% of which are electrified.

For the integration of the infrastructure and the optimisation of services in compliance with the European standards, Dragoljub Si-

serbia, closer to the eu

In May, the Serbian Parliament adopted the “Railway Law”, a law that will permit competition and complete the restructuring of ZelezniceSrbije. This new law represents the legislative framework for this sector and replaces the former law effective since 2005. The new legislative framework aims at integrating the railway system within the European market, but it is also a measure in view of Serbia’s accession to the EU.

the country’s EU accession is a tar-get of the authorities and there-fore, the medium and long-term

development strategies are elaborated in compliance with the EU objectives set for each sector individually and which impact on the establishment of the European sin-gle market. This is also the case of Serbia which, in 2003 (during the reunion of the European Council in Thessaloniki), was identified as potential EU candidate coun-try. Therefore, the European Partnership for Serbia was adopted in 2008 setting the priorities of the membership application submitted in 2009. In 2010, the ratification process of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement was initiated and after two years (in 2012), Serbia received the statute of candidate country.

In this context, the transport sector is vi-tal in the development policies of the entire EU territory which determines the harmo-nisation of legislation and the adaptation to the European standards and objectives to establish a single market. In this segment, Serbia is very important to the EU, its geo-graphical position being of strategic signifi-cance: through the pan-European corridors - Corridor VII (Danube) and Corridor X (Austria-Serbia) - Serbia has the shortest and the most reliable transit connections between the countries in Central and West-ern Europe and those in the south of Eu-rope, Middle East and Far East.

The construction and modernisation of the railway infrastructure, especially by us-ing financing from the financial institutions,

the restructuring of transport services within a modern, safe and functional sys-tem are the most important prerequisites of the authorities in stimulating regional development and in reaching their objec-tive of economic and social development in a sustainable manner. The investments granted so far to transport cover a small part of its real needs. “The total value of public investments necessary to infrastructure de-velopment by 2027 is estimated at EUR 15 Billion, of which the necessary financing for the modernisation of Corridors X and VII, compliant to European standards, amounts

Source: draft oPerAtionAL ProGrAMMe For econoMic deVeLoPMent 2012 - 2013 - Government of the republic of serbia


Government of the Republic of Serbia European Integration Office Needs of the Republic of Serbia for International Assistance 2011 - 2013

97

management and supervision of construction works on the road corridors, including the construction of Žeželj bridge on the Danube River in Novi Sad, co-financed by IFIs.

Significant investment and construction works are currently going to completion of roads within Corridor X, the road sections Belgrade - Novi Sad - Horgos - Hungarian border and Niš - Dimitrovgrad, the bypass in Belgrade and the Žeželj bridge in Novi Sad, as well as the railway line reconstruction and modernisation works for completion of the Corridor X, specifically in the sections between (Belgrade) –Batajnica - Golubinci, and Niš - Dimitrovgrad - Bulgarian border. Studies and projects documentation are in development for railway sections Niš - Presevo - Macedonia, Novi Sad - Subotica - Hungarian Border and the Route 4 section Belgrade - Vrbnica - Bar in Montenegro. The establishment of River Information Services (RIS) on the Serbian part of the Danube River, as well as documentation development for the hydro technical works in order to regulate the water course and removal of UXOs from the Danube are ongoing and will be completed in 2012; the RIS for the Sava River is also under consideration. The renewal of the Djerdap locks on the Danube is also required to ensure a safe navigation; this is under the competency of the Ministry of Mining and Energy.

Other donors supporting the transport sector include Norway, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Canada. Financial construction for investment in road infrastructure will be completed with support from EIB, EBRD and the World Bank, through a series of loan packages worth a total of €1.6 billion. Substantial support has been ensured for rehabilitation of railway lines (€60 million loan from EBRD, a World Bank loan worth €80 million and ‘Loan for the Railway Reconstruction’ of €80 million from EIB). Multilateral assistance is represented by the Western Balkans Investment Framework, providing support for studies relevant to reconstruction of the railway line Niš - Presevo - FYROM and for the PE Serbian Railways.

Funding forecast

The agricultural and rural development will require additional support both from national budgetary resources and international funding. The wide spectrum of activities expected for implementation requires continuous financing.

According to the Memorandum on the Budget and Economic and Fiscal Policy for 2011 with Projections for 2012 and 2013 (August 2010), the following funds are planned to be allocated from the state budgetin the next three years:

Table 8 - Total state budget expenditure limits for 2011-2013 (in EUR*)Institution 2011 2012 2013Ministry of Infrastructure 178,978,962 184,458,455 184,615,319Directorate for Inland Waterways Plovput 1,573,245 1,684,841 1,808,090Directorate for Railway Transport 421,721 454,456 490,654* Converted at the rates used in the preparation of the Memorandum on Budget and Economic and Monetary Policy for 2011, with the projections for 2012 and 2013

The Budget Memorandum introduces the main Government’s main policy objectives, focused on increasing of the scope and quality of transport services and efficiency of the transport as a whole, including the rationalisation of existing railway network; the improvement of cooperation within the region; infrastructure development; the increase of inter-modality in transportation of goods by more intensive use of the river and railways transportation; and the intensification of constructing the Corridor X and restructuring of public enterprises.

According to information from the donor community (see Annex IV), new grant commitments in the transport sector are expected to be at least €88,3 million for 2011-2013. The implementation of large investment projects is not possible without financial support provided from IFIs. The soft loans for transport infrastructure development in Serbia are provided by the WB, EIB and EBRD, for the benefit of the PE Roads of Serbia and the PE Serbian Railways, which are competent for development of these transport modes. All loans are conditional on approval by the Government and the Parliament.

Forecasts and future challenges

Projections of future transport demand are based on data provided for GDP forecasts. The expectations relevant to reaching the goals and priorities for transport in the NAD have to take account of

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Railway transport

3,164 3,482 4,232 4,551 4,339 2,967

Road transport

277 680 798 1,161 1,112 1,185

Inland waterways transport

1,115 1,622 1,640 1,584 1,370 872

Air transport

7.5 5.9 5.5 4.6 4 2.7

Total 4,563.5 5,789.9 6,675.5 7,300.6 6,825.0 5,026.7

Freight transport trends in serbia, 2004-2009 (million tkm)

total state budget expenditure limits for 2011-2013 (in EUR*)




43


Сербия - все ближе к ЕС

В мае месяце Парламент Сербии принял „Закон о железных дорогах”, который позволят конкуренцию и завершает реорганизацию компании Zeleznice Srbije. Данный новый закон представляет собой законодательные рамки железнодорожной отрасли и заменяет старый закон, вступивший в силу в 2005 году. Новые законодательные рамки нацелены на интеграцию железнодорожной системы на европейский рынок, одновременно являясь мероприятием, направленным на вступление Сербии в ЕС.

monovic, the head of the national railway company, ZelezniceSrbije, said in May that they plan to invest EUR 1.4 Billion in the projects for the modernisation of the infra-structure and of the rolling stock in 2013-2014. Over the next years, the company’s investments will exceed EUR 4-5 Billion.

the railway sector will be opened in 2014

Aside from the importance of moder-nising the railway infrastructure, the In-strument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA)-the Multiannual Indicative Planning Document-2011-2013 for Serbia stipulates that the “reform of the railway sector has to intensify so as to improve the competi-tiveness of the railway transport, and the restructuring of the sector, as well as the market liberalisation are on-going”. Accord-ing to the latest report of the Commission (October 2012), “railway transport has made little progress. The transformation of the Railways into a holding company including four different companies is un-derway. In fact, the market remains closed because of the high licensing costs and time (maximum one year)”.

To contribute to the implementation of the community acquis and to Serbia’s acces-

sion to the EU, the actual process has spe-cific requirements for the gradual opening of the market. At the beginning of May, the members of the Committee for European Integration within the Serbian Parliament adopted the railway law elaborated by the Deputy Minister of Transport, Dejan La-sica, a document “aimed at improving the efficiency of the domestic railway system and at integrating the Serbian services into the EU transport system”, he declared dur-ing a meeting of the Committee. During the same month, Serbia’s Parliament adopt-ed the new Railway Law under which the liberalisation of the sector would start on 1 January 2014. Starting with 2014, private companies could gradually receive license to operate in the railway freight transport sector.

The law will permit competition in this sector and will complete the restructuring of ZelezniceSrbije (ZS). “Initially, ZS will be separated into two companies: the infra-structure manager and the railway freight and passenger transport operator”, declared Dragoljub Simonovic. The two companies will be financially and functionally inde-pendent. Then, the operator will be sepa-rated into two distinct companies, freight transport and passenger transport.

What is important is the fact that the en-

western Balkan region


tity managing the railway infrastructure will no longer require organisation within the “public company” form - category of entities formed by the Serbian State. This should open the path for private companies to participate in infrastructure manage-ment. But private companies will have to be named by the Serbian State as entities authorised for developing public interest activities.

The new law regulates the route acquisi-tion procedures from the infrastructure manager and offers the railway directorate more extended attributions on the adop-tion of regulations for railway and inter-modal transport. The directorate will be in charge with taking measures to prevent dis-loyal competition and discrimination and will manage route demands.

The law also stipulates the adoption of a national railway infrastructure programme which should be elaborated and proposed to the government and then adopted by the parliament on five years.



44


of rail transport services in order to ensure quality services, the adoption of a strategic plan for the modernisation of CFM, the attraction of strategic investors by imple-menting the PPP concept, the modernisa-tion of rolling stock. Apart from these ob-jectives, the authorities want to make sure that they have the conditions necessary to the development of Chişinău container handling terminal.

“Over the next period, the Ministry of Transport will focus on the development of intermodal transport and the maximum exploitation of the railway freight transport potential, as well as on attracting invest-ments for rolling stock modernization. We will also initiate the introduction of opi-nion polls to have an improved perspective on ensuring a quality railway transport. The Ministry of Transport will support the rail-way modernization projects”, declared the new Minister of Transport, Vasile Botnari, during the summit.

To prioritise and develop railway trans-port, Moldova plans to align its strategies and policies to European standards. “Con-solidating cooperation in the transport sector between the European Union, the Caucasus and Central Asia is vital for the harmonisation of the international trans-port system and of the standards thus help-ing improve transport efficiency. This is the reason why the Government of the Republic of Moldova supports the increasing interop-erability of railway transport. Aligning our objectives depends on the implementation of the reform on the restructuring and mo-dernisation of the national railway system”, declared Andrei Popov.

He added that the country planned to implement CFM’s restructuring and mod-ernisation process as fast as possible. “This means aligning the national standards and legislation to that of the EU, setting trans-port interoperability standards and encou-raging the market liberalisation, a key factor

republic of Moldova prioritizes the harmonization of railway policies to EU legislation and the allocation of investments

For the Republic of Moldova, the development and modernization of the railway infrastructure is a solution for attracting freight flows to the Europe-Asia axis. In order to increase the contribution of Moldova to the transport system, the authorities plan to encourage infrastructure investments and to align their policies to European standards so as to increase the share of railway transport. The timeframe 2013-2014 will thus witness the implementation of several projects.

statistics on the situation of the freight volumes carried in January-May 2013 on railways in the Repub-

lic of Moldova show a 22.4% increase (1.67 million tonnes) compared to the same pe-riod last year. Compared to the other trans-port modes, railway traffic has recorded the highest growth. Due to the traffic growth tendencies, not only nationally but also internationally, the Moldovan authorities plan to increase their implication in the development of the railway system. “The recent trends of railway transport in the Republic of Moldova are promising for the development of railway transport and, according to estimates, there is a growth potential of 40% of the transport between Europe and Central Asia which makes us attract investments for the modernisation of infrastructure so as to face future de-mands”, declared Andrei Popov, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration in the Republic of Moldova, during the Moldovan Railway Summit, “Railway Connections between

Europe and Asia”, organized by Moldovan Railways (CFM) and Club Feroviar on 6-7 June 2013 in Chişinău.

As regards investments, it would not be enough only to ensure a favourable legal framework, an important objective being to attract investments. “The railway project Chişinău – Ungheni demands investments worth EUR 300-400 Million, investments which have to ensure the return and the growth potential has to stimulate us to at-tract investments, especially foreign. Their allocation and support by the authorities and financial institutions for infrastructure projects are key elements that increase the share of railway transport, as well as the traffic and transit flow through the Repub-lic of Moldova. In order to redirect traffic to railways, we have to allocate investments to railway infrastructure”, declared Popov.

The railway system development pro-gramme elaborated by the authorities includes modernisation projects for in-creasing speed, the introduction of quality standards and management in the market


Source: Public enterprise “tHe rAiLwAY oF MoLdoVA”

MArKet deVeLoPMent

ÎNTREPRINDEREA DE STAT “CALEA FERATĂ DIN MOLDOVA” PUBLIC ENTERPRISE “THE RAILWAY OF MOLDOVA”

6

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

2200

2400

2600

2800

3000

3200

3400

3600

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Parc

ursu

l măr

furil

or, m

ilioa

ne t

one-

km

Parc

ursu

l căl

ător

ilor,

mili

oane

căl

ător

i-km

Măr

furi

trans

porta

te, m

ilioa

ne to

ne

Căl

ător

i tra

nspo

rtați,

mili

oane

per

soan

e

ani Mărfuri transportate, mil.tone Călători transportaţi, mil.persoaneTraficul de marfă, mil.tone-km Traficul de călători, mil.călători-km

TRAFICUL FEROVIAR DE MĂRFURI ŞI DE CĂLĂTORI FREIGHT AND PASSENGER TRAFFIC BY RAIL

45


importance and scope which has also in-creased freight flows (10 years after launch-ing the service, the volume of carried goods increased 100 times).

Республика Молдова относит к числу приоритетов приспособление железнодорожной политики к законодательству ЕС и выделение инвестиционных средств

Для Республики Молдова развитие и модернизация железнодорожной инфраструктуры является решением для привлечения грузовых транспортных потоков по оси Европа-Азия. Для повышения статуса Республики Молдова в транспортной системе, власти намерены поощрять инвестиции в инфраструктуру и адаптировать свою политику к европейскими стандартам, в целях увеличения доли железнодорожного транспорта, и в этом отношении, на период 2013-2014 годов она запланировала реализацию нескольких проектов.

to the development of the entire railway sys-tem”, added Popov.

CFM’s restructuring programme has al-ready been included in the government pro-gramme and is to be evaluated and adopted. The activity departments have already been set on three segments, infrastructure, freight transport and passenger transport and sev-eral guidelines are currently elaborated to avoid crossed costs and to ensure the inde-pendence of each segment.

cFM participates in international freight transport projects

As of 2012, the Republic of Moldova has implemented and has participated in pro-grammes aimed to increase freight flows: as of November, CFM decided to collabo-rate within the container transport service “Zubr”, whose route is the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea axis. “As part of the project, the

transport time is significantly reduced due to border crossing procedures, which is very important for our customers. Also, the tran-shipment tariff of the wines shipped from Moldova to Belarus, via Ukraine, has been reduced by 25%. As a proof of transport efficiency, several shipments have been or-ganised in the first months of 2013 and the freight volume has also increased”, declared representatives of the company.

Another international project launched at the end of 2012 is implemented together with the railway companies in Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine and concerns the organ-isation of container transport along corridor no. 12 of the OSJD organisation (Moldova-Romania-Bulgaria route, 1,461 km). One of the most important benefits of the project is the significant reduction of time and costs. Compared to maritime transport, the train reached destination 2 weeks earlier and the cost of the transport was 12% lower than that of maritime transport.

Over the next period, CFM plans to ex-pand freight transport routes by partici-pating in the Viking project which ensures traffic between the Black Sea and the Bal-tic Sea on the route Iljichevsk/Odessa (Ukraine)- Berezhest (Ukraine) - Slovechno (Belarus)-Minsk-Gudogai (Belarus) – Kena (Lithuania)-Klaipeda (Lithuania). CFM will benefit from this service by increasing freight flows, especially due to its increasing

MArKet deVeLoPMent

ÎNTREPRINDEREA DE STAT “CALEA FERATĂ DIN MOLDOVA” PUBLIC ENTERPRISE “THE RAILWAY OF MOLDOVA”

LUNGIMEA LINIILOR PRINCIPALE SCADENTE LA REPARAŢII CAPITALE ŞI MIJLOCII, KM LA 1.01.2013

THE LENGTH OF MAIN LINES WITH EXPIRED TERMS FOR CAPITAL AND MIDDLE REPAIRS, KM AS OF 1.01.2013

204.5

136.0 747.2

SCADENTE LA REPARATII CAPITALE SCADENTE LA REPARATII MIJLOCII CORESPUND NORMELOR TEHNICE

12

46


Европа находится в поисках решений для снижения шума на железной дороге

Для разработки мер по снижению железнодорожного шума на уровне ЕС, в 2013 году могут быть возобновлены работы Экспертной группы по шуму, для оказания помощи в осуществлении мероприятий, связанных с дифференцированным сбором за доступ к путям сообщения в зависимости от шума (НДТАК, NDTAC). Кроме того, DG MOVE намеревается провести исследование об эффективном снижении шума, создаваемого грузовыми вагонами, передвигающимися по Европейскому союзу.

i n this regard, the Rail Forum Europe members and stakeholders request the adoption of appropriate measures

for the reduction of rail noise, especially for freight wagons, which should minimise the impact of the railway sector competi-tiveness. This matter is highly important especially in the densely populated re-gions and consequently the railway com-munity and the EC are trying to identify viable solutions.

“The Commission wishes to avoid dis-ruptions in the process of completing the Single

European Railway Area by ensuring a common EU approach in tackling rail noise”, Sian Prout, Head of Unit for Single European Rail Area, DG MOVE declared during the seminar “Wagon noise: on the way to remove the last rail environmental burden” (May 2013). The Communication on the measures to reduce the rail noise: modernisation of freight wagons adopted in July 2008 identifies the differentiated track access charges as the most efficient

instrument for reducing (source) noise. Under these circumstances, in 2013 the Noise Expert Group, which would assist in the preparation of the implementing acts related to the noise-differentiated track ac-cess charge (NDTAC), could be re-activat-ed. Besides this measure, the retrofitting of freight wagons is vital for noise reduction. Therefore, the Connecting Europe Faci-lity offers the possibility to co-fund freight wagon modernisation projects: the noise reduction programmes by retrofitting of existing rolling stock are among the eligi-ble actions that can receive EU aid in the form of grants, and the Member States, international organizations and public or private undertakings can submit propos-als. EU financial aid for actions to reduce rail freight noise by retrofitting is set at 20% of eligible costs. At present, the grant of EUR 31.7 Billion for transport projects has been reduced to EUR 23 Billion.

Within the noise reduction policy, DG MOVE intends to launch a study on the effective reduction of the noise generated

by the railway freight wagons in use in the European Union which aims at reducing the noise level by 2020, but at the same time at maintaining the competitiveness of the railway sector vis-à-vis other trans-port modes. The Commission will seek to address the problems related to the freight wagons not conforming with the TSI-Noise limit (they are the most important source of rail noise), the existing measures which are not sufficient to quickly reduce the level of rail noise, the risk of unilateral measures leading to barriers to railway in-teroperability and internal market.

Within the study, several options will be considered referring to a baseline scenario, increased financial support for retrofitting of existing wagons with low-noise brake blocks, noise-differentiated track access charges, mandatory application of TSI-Noise limits to all existing railway wagons, introduction of a noise limit along the TEN-T railway network, but also in rela-tion to the density of population, and ad-ditionally, the introduction of a maximum transport-related cumulative noise expo-sure could be considered.

europe seeks solutions to reduce rail noise DG MOVE could launch a study for the efficient reduction of freight wagon noise

The problem of noise reduction represents a challenge for the railway freight sector, being approached by the European Commission through the adopted policies, by the specialised industry through the identification of new products and solutions which should be efficient in terms of the cost-benefit ratio, by the infrastructure managers, and for the railway freight transport system, the adopted measures must not affect the competitiveness level.

MArKet deVeLoPMent


Good practice guide on noise exposure and potential health effects22

Quality targets

5 Quality targets

Many countries have some form of noise policy and management, and noise limit values form the basis of a noise control system. A number of studies address the comparison of these limit values to see if a mutual understanding exists for a common noise quality level. Starting with the study by INRETS (xxix) for the preparation of the EU Green Paper, the paper by late Dieter Gottlob (xxx) and recently the International Institute of Noise Control Engineering (xxxi), all these studies show that this is not an easy task. Firstly the noise indicators differ considerably, and secondly the actual enforcement of the limits or actions taken may be quite different.

Recently the EU Member States reported to the Commission any relevant limit values in force or under preparation as requested by the END Art. 5.4. These have to be expressed in terms of Lden and Lnight, eliminating at least one important source of bias. Figure 5.1 shows a comparison of Lden for planning purposes for residential areas from 14 Member States.

The limit values reported by this selection of Member States have often a long history, so the variation in values is not too surprising. It is interesting that limit values for industry are significantly lower, and for railway noise higher. The average difference is 8 dB, and the maximum limit value is 57 dB for industrial noise, and 73 dB for railway noise.

The Community Guidelines 2000 from the WHO (xxxii) recommends 50/55 LAeq, 16 hrs as health based threshold, which is in line with earlier recommendations and guidance from ISO and national and international environment agencies. Although more than half of the Lden limit values is close to these health based guidelines, some are considerably higher.

The same goes for the night time levels, although it seems that '10 dB lower' rule is almost universally adopted: the averages are Lnight = 50 dB for railway and road noise, 46 for aircraft noise and 42 for industry.

Figure 5.1 Comparison Lden limit values

Source: Data reported in accordance with END up to 2009.

Lden planning values for residential area (as reported by 14 Member States)

75

70

65

60

55

50

45

40

L den

in d

B

Rail Road Airport Industry

comparison Lden limit values source

Source: european environment Agency

CONTAINER TRANSPORT ACROSS ROAD, RAIL AND SEA

Organised by Follow us on

FREEEXHIBITION & CONFERENCE

Register as a free visitor at www.intermodal-events.com/rp

CONTAINERSIN MOTION

• Meet over 130 exhibiting companies• Discover the latest industry trends and

opportunities• See the latest products and services

• Hear expert views from shippers, shipping lines and logistics leaders

• Network with over 5,000 logistics professionals• Attend over 40 free conference sessions

8-10 OCTOBER 2013HAMBURG MESSE GERMANY

48

At present, most of the existing freight wagons running in the European Union don’t have to be compliant

with the European standards on noise be-cause these standards are only mandatory for new wagons. These “old” wagons are, there-fore, the main source of railway noise which troubles the citizens and the development of railway transport. Today it is possible to replace the noisy cast iron brake blocks with LL brake blocks in a simple and quite pro-fitable manner. Retechnologisation with LL brake blocks does not require changing the braking system and is far less expensive and complicated than modernisation with alter-native K brake blocks.

At the moment, the European Railway Agency elaborates the requirements and the evaluation procedures for the European Union covering all types of brake blocks, requirements and procedures that will be integrated in a package of recast technical

europe will have more silent trains

New and more silent brake blocks, capable to reduce the noise of trains by up to 50% (especially for freight wagons) will soon be introduced in the European transport market; the measure will be possible due to the authorization of the European Railway Agency of the LL brake blocks manufactured of composite materials and mainly dedicated to freight wagons.

In fact, the authorization of these railway products is the final step after many years of research and technical trials conducted by the industry and by the International Union of Railways.

The LL brake blocks are made of composite materials meaning that these products will have a positive effect at the surface of the train wheels, grinding them and thus reducing the generated noise level. The traditional brake blocks, made of cast iron, harden the surface of the train wheels which intensifies the generated noise. By using brake blocks made of composite materials, especially together with quality rails, the noise level can be reduced by up to 10 dB which means 50% less noise perceived by people, the railway industry points out.

specifications for interoperability for wag-ons. This would permit manufacturers to develop new brake blocks and to certify them rapidly and efficiently in conformity with the EU harmonised procedures.

The EuropeTrain project was launched so as to speed up, but also to improve the testing in operation of the LL brake blocks. The train, including 30 specific wagons, has run in different countries along Europe with the sole purpose of testing the LL brake blocks 100% made of composite materials. In its “journey” throughout Europe, the train had to cover 200,000 km in 14 phases and had to “wit-ness” all relevant operation conditions in Europe. Therefore, the train run on ramps with different operation modes, in regions with arctic snow in Scandinavia, as well as in areas with extremely high temperature. The train crossed Sweden, Denmark, Ger-many, France, Poland, Slovakia, Switzer-

land, Italy and Austria.“The ‘EuropeTrain’ testing campaign will

provide the railway community with an important basis for possible decision-tak-ing in a strategic issue: the equipment of large fleets of freight wagons with “silent” composite brake blocks. This objective of the reduction of noise emissions by freight trains marks a new step towards more competitive and more sustainable rail freight transport in Europe”, declared UIC Director General Jean-Pierre Loubinoux during the presentation of the final report of the “EuropeTrain” campaign.

LL тормозные колодки – одним шагом ближе к освидетельствованию

Железные дороги в скором времени будут ближе к значительному снижению последнего значительного препятствия для окружающей среды - это шум, производимый товарными вагонами.

Снижение этого барьера - настолько враждебного для окружающей среды и контрпродуктивного, если рассматривать привлекательность железной дороги по сравнению с другими видами транспорта - может быть достигнуто в итоге положительных результатов полевых испытаний по внедрению композитных материалов в изготовление тормозных блоков (тормозные колодки LL). Исследования проводились в рамках проекта «EuropeTrain» под руководством Международного союза железных дорог (МСЖД) и при поддержке Сообщества европейских железных дорог (CER). Проект Euro-peTrain был запущен с целью ускорить и улучшить тестирование в эксплуатации тормозных колодок LL.

[ by Elena Ilie ]

Products & tecHnoLoGies

Phot

o: e

urop

etra

in.u

ic.o

rg


50


one of the great challenges for the transports consists in shifting a volume of freight as large as pos-

sible from the road to the railway. Although the specialised industry has developed railway vehicles adaptable to any type of freight, although the international railway freight transport market was completely liberalised in 2007 and although the EU policies equally converge to the promotion of the railway freight transport, there still is a series of impediments for the effective increase of the share of this type of trans-port.

The great project developers, shippers, logistics operators accuse the lack of cross-border interoperability, a fairly reduced speed of the freight transport in Eastern Europe but also the lack of prioritisation of certain railway sections exclusively for freight.

For the clients which are logistics op-erators, quality firstly means competitive transport times, safety of the freight trans-port and a capacity adapted to needs. In order to reach this objective, several factors must be considered, including an approach which should integrate operational proce-dures and processes coordinated on the en-tire territory of the Union. The availability of infrastructure represents in turn another

factor.The key to efficient transport is the con-

solidation of large volumes for transfer over long distances, in between the so-called first and last miles. Waterborne and rail-way transport are particularly suitable for this objective, as it can be noticed in other countries such as Russia, Kazakhstan, Tur-key or China. While encouraging the use of the most efficient solution in all distances, it is above some 300 km that a significant re-balancing should take place, with 30% of road freight shifting to multimodal so-lutions by 2030, and more than 50% by 2050.

A first basis for cross-border interopera-bility has been established in 2010 through the adoption of Regulation 913 on the set up of ten railway corridors exclusively for freight transport. However, for the moment actions were undertaken only for Corridor no. 7 “Orient” and for Corridors no. 1 and no. 2 in Western Europe. For the remaining corridors, things are moving slower.

We could still add a plus to freight trans-port interoperability through the EU agreement on the TEN-T network, an agreement establishing the creation of a core transport network which should rely on railway freight corridors.

Nevertheless, by 2030, when we should

have fully established this core network, the railway freight transport will have faced a series of difficulties which partially ex-plains its incapacity to increase its market share. These difficulties affect mainly reli-ability, available capacities, information management, average speed, as well as fle-xibility.

need for a new approach on intermodal transport

The freight transport in the EU is mostly performed by trucks (47.3%), followed by seagoing ships (37.8%), by trains (11.2%) and by ships using the inland waterways (3.7%). Trucks still dominate the inland EU freight transport with a 76.1% share of tonnes/kilometre and about 94% of the CO2 emissions. By comparison, the air freight transports hold a marginal part of the volumes, although this part is considerable in terms of value. The figures belong to Eurostat.

[ by Elena Ilie ]

Потребность в новом подходе к интермодальному транспорту

Грузовые перевозки внутри ЕС в большинстве случаев осуществляется с помощью грузовиков (47,3%), затем морскими кораблями (37,8%), поездами (11,2%) и транспортными средствами, использующими внутренние водные пути (3,7%). Грузовики все еще преобладают в сфере внутриевропейских грузопотоков, составляя 76,1% от количества тонн / километр и примерно 94% выбросов CO2. Для сравнения, воздушный грузовой транспорт занимает крайнее значение по объему, хотя данное направление является значительным с точки зрения ценности. Данные цифры приведены Евростатом.

MArKet deVeLoPMent

51


Европейские железнодорожные перевозки все еще нуждаются в жестких стратегиях развития

Сообщество европейских железнодорожных компаний (CER) опубликовало отчет, который предоставляет детальный взгляд на текущее состояние европейских грузовых железнодорожных перевозок. Доклад CER анализирует последнее десятилетие, отмеченное многочисленными стратегиями и целями, намеченными главным образом для того, чтобы оживить рыночную долю железнодорожного транспорта в Европе и укрепить свои позиции по отношению к другим видам транспорта.

in the published compendium, CER mentions that more than ten years ago a series of objectives and many

strategies were established to increase the competitiveness of the railway freight transport sector by publishing the White Paper on Transport, the 2001 version. A series of policies have been implemented and most likely, since they were not suffi-cient, a new White Paper on Transport was published in 2011. The difference between the two consists in the fact that the latest Paper contains more ambitious strategies for a more efficient and sustainable trans-port facing strong competition. Moreover, the Fourth Railway Package completes the previous legislative packages and the Euro-pean Commission hopes and wishes that it will be the last legislative package and that its rules should be sufficient for a Single European Railway Area.

Nevertheless, with all the measures and rules in force, actors in this market seem to be unsatisfied with the progress of the rail-way freight transport in relation to its com-petitors. The compendium elaborated by CER confirms the same thing: the compet-itiveness of the railway freight transport is

european rail freight transport still needs firm development strategies

The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) published an extremely useful report providing a detailed perspective on the current stage of the European railway freight transport. The CER report analyses the last decade marked by many strategies and objectives dedicated to the revitalisation of the European railway transport market share but also for the consolidation of its position in relation to the other modes of trans-port.

[ by Elena Ilie ]

rather disappointing compared to the one of the competitors, especially to the road transport. The reasons are multiple, start-ing with the poor quality of the infrastruc-ture in some European states (particularly in Eastern Europe) which led to the reduc-tion of the speed of trains, the difficulty of the access to intermodal terminals, the pri-oritization of investments for conventional and high-speed railways for the passenger transport to the economic recession which led to the dramatic drop in the purchasing power in most EU states and implicitly to the decrease of the freight volume and of demand, and the list could be easily com-pleted as you read this article.

Despite a significant development of the intra-modal competition in the last decade, the highly desired modal shift to the rail-way, a measure which would improve ener-gy efficiency and would reduce CO2 emis-sions, is far from being a reality, according to the CER report. The unbalance between road and railway transport is increasing, in a fairly worrying manner for sustainability of the entire transport sector.

The railways have proven their commit-ment to quality and efficiency adhering to

different quality management programmes and systems, and at present they are about to improve their procedures and products, both as sector and at company level. These positive evolutions must be acknowledged. However, on their own, it is less likely that they prove sufficient to revitalise the rail-way freight transport.

The report drafted by CER approaches subjects that are useful to the entire Euro-pean railway freight sector, as well as to the railway sector in the Eurasian platform. The chapters of the report refer to topics such as the improvement of the intermodality in the Eurasian transport and the efficiency of the CIM/SMGS consignment note, the x-Rail Freight project, noise reduction, the utility of longer freight trains, the solutions for infrastructure accessibility, the chal-lenges of intermodal transport, the utility of transport in individual wagons, as well as the importance of the ERTMS imple-mentation at a scale as large as possible in the European railway networks.

transport of 100 tonnes of freight, Basel to Port of rotterdam – Energy consumption comparison - 2012 -

Source: cer


1.3 Environmental footprint of rail freight servicesThe environmental footprint of specific transport services is an important parameter of freight quality, albeit a neglected one according to most surveys on customers’ transport priorities. It is an essential parameter for the sustainability of the transport sector, as emphasized by the European Commission in its 2011 Transport White Paper.

1.3.1 Rail freight environmental performance

Rail transport generates the lowest specific CO2 emissions and is the most energy-efficient mode compared with road, air and even waterborne transport. Figures 2 and 3 present the primary energy consumption and total CO2 production during the transport of 100 tonnes of freight6 from Basel to the Port of Rotterdam, in November 2012.

Figure 2 Transport of 100 tonnes of freight, Basel to Port of Rotterdam – Energy consumption comparison (megajoules)

0

10 000

20 000

30 000

40 000

50 000

60 000

70 000

80 000

RailInland waterwaysRoad

75 000

58 000

33 000

Source: Ecological Transport Information Tool (EcoTransIT) 2012

6 In order to allow customers to easily identify the cleanest transport solutions, an IT tool called EcoTransIT makes it possible to compare energy consumption, CO2 emissions and pollutant emissions depending on the chosen mode of transport (air, rail, road or inland waterway). Comparisons can be made for a given itinerary in Europe, and combination of different transport modes are also offered as an option. More information available at www.ecotransit.org 13

RA

IL FR

EIG

HT S

TA

TU

S REPO

RT 2

013

SET

TIN

G TH

E SCEN

E | CH

APT

ER I

52


Городская логистика может быть пересмотрена

Белая карта Транспорта 2011 г. касается предмета реализации стратегии достижения “городской логистики (почти) нулевых выбросов» к 2030 году. Эта задача требует разработки руководящих принципов на основе передового опыта, в целях более эффективного мониторинга и управления городским грузопотоком (центрами консолидации, дозволенным размером транспортных средств в старых центрах городов, нормативными ограничениями, неиспользуемым потенциалом речного транспорта).

Also, it is necessary to define a stra-tegy for moving towards ‘zero-emission urban logistics’, bringing

together aspects of land planning, rail and river access, business practices and infor-mation, charging and vehicle technology standards.

The optimization of national rail freight transport has significant chances of effi-ciency. EU policies on interoperability and noise reduction are mandatory and stimu-late Member States to achieve these objec-tives.

A significant amount of investments will be necessary to expand the capacity of the railway network. Rail freight may grow by an additional 360 billion tonne-kilometres by 2050, that is, an 87% increase relative to 2005. Rather than building new lines, many objectives can be achieved by mo-dernising the existing network and increas-

urban logistics can be redefined

The 2011 White Paper on Transport talks about a strategy for near- ‘zero-emission urban logistics’ by 2030. To achieve this, it is necessary to produce best practice guidelines to better monitor and manage urban freight flows (for example, consolidation centres, size of vehicles in old centres, regulatory limitations, delivery windows, unused potential of transport by river).

[ by Elena Ilie ]

ing speed (especially in the east of the EU) by introducing the ERTMS, creating city by-pass routes, creating side tracking lines and terminals for 1,000 long trains and in-creasing the maximum loads on main cor-ridors. New rolling stock with silent brakes and automatic coupling should be gradu-ally introduced.

However, we have to be aware of the fact that a large part of the necessary goods we buy every day is carried inside the cities. Here, we, the citizens, are (maybe with-out realising it) a little bit more affected by “urban logistics” than by domestic freight transport. EU policies cannot impose to every European city the way in which it should organise urban logistics. However, there are several cities which can boast with innovating ideas of rethinking urban logistics.

Within CIVITAS II, the cities analysed

the effects of urban freight transport and implemented measures aimed at reducing the negative effects of freight transport in-side the cities. Within this project, six cit-ies implemented measures concerning the logistics and the sustainable distribution of goods. Thus, the city of Burgos (Spain) implemented a new goods distribution, La Rochelle (France), the city logistics strategic extension, customers’ services as-sociated to goods distribution and the de-velopment of partnership with logistics op-erators. Malmo (Sweden) granted freight driver support, while Norwich (United Kingdom) has customised traffic & travel information service for freight operators and urban transhipment centre. Preston (United Kingdom) applied city logistics partnerships and strategic planning and freight routing, signing, etc, while Venice (Italy) implemented clean urban logistics. But maybe the most relevant measure is the CarGoTram project from Dresden where the German company Volkswagen carries all equipments from and to the plan with the CarGoTram, the freight tram.

Phot

o: w

ww

.cit

-rai

l.org

MArKet deVeLoPMent

53


romania needs firm strategies for the execution of modernisation and development projects of river

ports and of intermodal freight terminals. Danube ports also need to develop their

capacity in order to become logistics cen-tres and integrate into the intermodal trans-port system, considering the vast extension of Corridor VII – Danube on the Roma-nian territory. The railway infrastructure is an advantage for the increase of the freight volume in these ports, so that financing the modernisation of port railway infrastruc-tures proved to be necessary. Such a Dan-ube port which needs the infrastructure and the freight terminal development is the one in Galaţi.

The attraction of freight flows, both to the Danube ports and to the freight terminals, is another objective to be met.

The development of the waterway net-work must be considered an essential ele-ment of the development of an intermodal transport system at the intra-European level. The Minister of Transport has an-nounced that in 2013 about EUR 162 Mil-lion will be granted to the modernisation

and development of the ship transport in-frastructure along the priority axis TEN-T 18 – Danube. Galaţi Port is the only Roma-nian port benefiting also from broad-gauge lines, as well as from possibilities of trans-position/transhipment of wagons which confers it an advantagein the execution of the intermodal transport activity.

The development of the project “Iaşi Intermodal Regional Freight Transport Centre” implies a series of advantages for the revival of the intermodal transport in the North-Eastern area of Romania. There-fore, the Iaşi region is located strategically on the core TEN-T network and benefits from transport infrastructure on broad-gauge line thus facilitating the railway con-nection with the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Russia.

The development of Iaşi intermodal freight centre supposes the creation of a pole of economic growth in the region of Moldova through the concentration of business structures in Iaşi, named “Future Hub Iaşi”. The objective will be financed by SOP-T, Priority Axis 3 – Promoting the in-

termodal transport, the value of the invest-ment reaching EUR 39.9 Million.

The Centre benefits from the proximity of railways, Holboca station.

Among the objectives of this investment project is the increase of the attractiveness of Iaşi region for international commercial activities by ensuring facilities related to the intermodal freight shift and the support of the development of “green corridors” for logistics transport, in accordance with the “White Paper on Transport”.

Another strategic objective of Iaşi project is to turn into account the existing freight transport infrastructure by attracting freight flows from the road sector to the railway sector .

The execution of the project “Future Hub Iaşi” aims at attracting companies which will offer integrated services in the fields of logistics and railway freight transport.

Galaţi and iaşi, two important intermodal hubs on the eurasian platform

The maritime Danube has the capacity and can become an Eastern gate of Europe. Carmen Costache, Deputy General Manager of the Maritime Danube Ports Administration – Galaţi held

during the Moldovan Railway Summit an interesting and useful presentation on the role of the maritime Danube in the revitalisation of intermodal waterborne-railway transport but also in the execution of the interoperability of European transport networks and the consolidation of transport links on the Eurasian platform. Likewise, the main development advantages for Iaşi Intermodal Regional Freight Transport Centre have been presented by Emilia Popescu from Iaşi County Council.

[ by Elena Ilie ]

Галац и Яссы - два крупных интермодальных центра евразийской платформы

Морской Дунай имеет возможность и может стать воротами в Восточную Европу.

Кармен Костаке, заместитель генерального директора Морской администрации портов Дуная - Галац сделала интересную и полезную презентацию на Железнодорожном саммите в Республике Молдове об активизации интермодальных речных – железнодорожных перевозок, но и по реализации взаимодействия европейских транспортных сетей и консолидации транспортных отношений на Евразийской платформе. Кроме того, основные преимущества для развития регионального центра интермодальных грузовых перевозок в области Яссы были представлены Эмилией Попеску, которая является представителем уездного совета Яссы.

MArKet deVeLoPMent

Phot

o: w

ww

.rom

ania

n-po

rts.

ro

54


Исторический Шелковый путь ... вновь изобретен на железной дороге

Казахстан намерен стать центром содействия по железнодорожной перевозке грузов между Китаем и Европой надеясь, что маршрут, открытый в прошлом году, Жетыген - Коргас длиной 293 км, на границе с Китаем, станет предпочтительным для клиентов, осуществляющих торговлю на двух континентах. Казахстанское государство хочет стать альтернативой всего одного маршрута, существующего в настоящее время для железнодорожных перевозок на Евразийской платформе.

one of the many attempts to re-vive railway freight transport in the Eurasian platform pertains to

Russian Railways Logistics which, together with its subsidiary YuXinOu (Chongqing) Logistics, launched at the end of October 2012 the first container train between Chi-na and Europe using the single consign-ment note CIM/SMGS. Thus, trains leave Chongqing (China) and cross Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, and Poland to Duisburg (Germany). The network passes through vast and poorly inhabited regions of the six countries, has about 11,000 km and rep-resents a new and modern Silk Road...on railways.

Centuries ago the caravans used to bring fine silk and spices from Asia to the West and today trains carry electronic products and computer elements. Transport takes 19 days.

the historical silk road…reinvented on railways

Kazakhstan wants to become a railway freight transport hub to facilitate the connection between China and Europe, hoping that the route inaugurated last year, the 293km long Zhetygen – Korgas, bordering China, would become the preferred route of the customers performing trade on the two continents. The Kazakh country wants to become an alternative to the only railway route which currently provides a rail freight transport link in the Eurasian platform.

Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), the Kazakh national railway company, estimated that the cargo transiting its terri-tory will amount to 35 million metric tonnes by 2020 and then even to 50 million metric tonnes.

[ by Elena Ilie ]

“The introduction of the single CIM/SMGS consignment note was the result of two years of efforts from the management of infrastructure companies in the coun-tries transited by this train”, declared Pavel Sokolov, President of Russian Railways Lo-gistics.

Kaztransservice (Kazakhstan) and Belin-tertrans (Belarus) companies have partici-pated in this project as transport partners of Russian Railways Logistics.

Most of the governments, both European and those on the Central Asian platform, are trying to encourage the development of railway freight transport mainly due to the low level of pollution and reduced transport costs. However, we cannot but admit that the main disadvantage of this transport type is the lack of flexibility, but also the presence of the physical and non-physical barriers which prevented the traf-

fic of freight on railways along the interna-tional borders.

But the establishment of railway freight dedicated routes in the Eurasian platform is intended to eliminate at least the admin-istrative barriers in order to emphasize the advantages of railway compared to mari-time routes on the long-distance.

The new political strategies refer to a more connected Eurasian platform through rail-way freight transport. Thus, whether we talk about the Trans-Siberian Network, the Trans-Asian Railway Network, the North-South Corridor (Russia-Iran and then to India), the new (Iron) Silk Road or the recently inaugurated routes from Germany to Russia and then China, these are just few of the attempts of recovering and, at the same time, consolidating the position of long-distance freight transport in order to underline its advantages compared to maritime transport by relying on reduced travel times.

Phot

o: h

ttp:

//ca

link.

kz


55


насколько мы осознаем последствия климатических изменений?

Европейская комиссия приняла документ - „Стратегия ЕС по адаптации к климатическим изменениям” - в своих попытках избежать наиболее серьезных рисков, вызванных климатическими изменениями, и особенно необратимых последствий крупного масштаба. Данные меры по интеграции приспособления к климатическим изменениям в политики ЕС будут продолжать осуществляться в таких приоритетных направлениях, как энергетика и транспорт. В 2013 году Комиссия запустит мандат для европейских учреждений в области стандартизации, для того, чтобы

они приступили к проведению инвентаризации релевантных отраслевых стандартов в таких отраслях, как энергетика и транспорт. Существует несколько примеров общих проектов по адаптации к климатическим изменениям европейских стран или крупных городов. Некоторые из них получают ко-финансирование со стороны ЕС - например, программа LIFE.

until January 2013, 15 member states have adopted an adaptation policy (strategy and/or plan) to

climate change. Although these strategies and action plans are undoubtedly a good starting point for adaptation action, they are often not operationalised or only partly so.

The 2011 Commission proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2014-2020 recognises mainstream-ing as the MFF’s favoured approach to facilitate the necessary contribution to a low-carbon and climate resilient economy. The general purpose of the EU Adapta-tion Strategy is to contribute effectively to a more climate resilient Europe. Particular attention is given to cross-border issues and sectors that are closely integrated at EU level through common policies.

The infrastructure of all transport modes is subject to the pressures generated by cli-mate change and, depending on the type of

Better prepared to face climate change

“Even if all greenhouse-gas emissions were to stop today, we would still see major changes in the climate. We therefore have no choice but to deal with unavoidable climate impacts and their economic, environmental and social costs. Early action will save on damage costs later”, shows the recitals preceding “An EU Strategy on adapta-tion to climate change”, a document adopted by the European Commission in April 2013.

[ by Elena Ilie ]

infrastructure, railway, road, maritime or air, they are also submitted to specific adap-tability strategies. Increasing temperatures and sea level, as well as the frequency and intensity of extreme weather conditions (storms, intense heat and floods) already have a significant negative impact on the transport infrastructures across the Europe-an Union. However, climate change doesn’t affect only the transport infrastructure, but also transport distribution and transport flows. Consequently, it can influence the needs of specific infrastructures. Moreo-ver, the vulnerability of the transport sec-tor is also influenced by human behaviour and social change. Just as transport modes are differently affected by climate change, the type of mobility that we choose influ-ences the vulnerability of the entire trans-port sector. We can also support transport by choosing less polluting transport modes every day, such as the tram, metro or light metro. It would be interesting and, at the

same time, useful for the municipalities and urban operators to develop campaigns to support these measures and to encourage the citizens to choose public transport. At the end of the campaign, the level of pol-luting emissions could be made public and there would definitely be less pollution by using public transport.

The new technologies developed for rail-way vehicles and traffic management will be essential for reducing transport emissions.

Many European companies are world leaders in infrastructure, logistics, traffic management systems and transport equip-ment production, but keeping in mind that other regions in the world are launch-ing important and ambitious programmes for the modernisation of transport and for infrastructure investments, it is essential that European transport would continue to develop and to invest so as to preserve its competitive position.

Photo: dreamstime


56


MArKet deVeLoPMent

this year, Bucharest hosted the event “SEE achievements in view of the new programmes in the area”, held

on 19 June 2013. The event focused on analysing the connections between the cur-rent and the future programming period in the South-East Europe, while trying to turn into account the outcome of the projects approved in 2007-2013.

Under the EC proposal for 2014-2020, two programmes will be formed (the “Danube” and the “South East Gateway” programmes). The programmes are actu-ally established following the restructur-ing of the SEE programme. Therefore, the achievements of the SEE programmes and projects have to be known and approached by the decision makers while preparing the two projects in the region: the Danube and the South East Gateway (SEG). “Creating a new programme for the Danube requires the establishment of a new trans-national programme in the south-east of Europe to ensure seamless cooperation and to guar-antee the implementation of future strate-gies. Therefore, there are several problems: on the one hand, the proposal of the South

East Gateway cannot fulfil the macro-re-gional Adriatic-Ionian strategy, while car-rying on the present SEE programme (for 2007-2013). Also, the other parties of the SEE programme will not have the capacity to continue and to turn into account the long-term achievements regarding the cooperation between Central Europe and the Balkans if an equivalent or compen-sated policy is not proposed”, declared Constantinos Christodoulou, Head of Unit B of the Managing Authority of ETC Programmes, Ministry of Economy and Fi-nance (Greece).

Another problem of this division consists in the fact that the combined implementa-tion of the transnational programme South East Gateway and of the oriented macro-re-gional programme for the Danube Region could disrupt a functional Development Multi-Centre Network between the met-ropolitan regions in Athens, Thessaloniki, Sofia, Bucharest, Budapest and Vienna, as well as the Trans-European and energy transport networks which are essential with the Europe 2020 Strategy.

To this end, in order to avoid problems,

“Greece has proposed two measures aimed at creating transnational Adriatic-Ionian programme to cover the same geographi-cal area as the macro-regional strategy and the transnational programme “South East Europe” that would involve the SEE coun-tries and regions in Austria and Hungary, to Greece, Cyprus and Malta”, said Chris-todoulou.

Nevertheless, in mid June, the call for ap-plication on hosting the future SEG pro-gramme by the Management Authority was announced, the deadline being the end of July. In October 2011, EC adopted the legislative project on the Cohesion Policy 2014-2020 and under the regulations, the European Territorial Cooperation will be continued and will be consolidated as separate cohesion objective – cross-bor-der, transnational and inter-regional fron-tiers being kept. Under the EU proposal, the SEG programme will be formed of 12 countries (EU and non-EU). In addition, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania have also expressed interest in participating in the South East Gateway. At present, setting the objectives, the priorities and the value of the financing granted for 2014-2020 are still in negotiation.

south-east Gateway programme, still in negotiations

South-East Europe programme (SEE) aims at developing strategic importance partnerships, supporting territorial, economic and social integration and helping increase the cohesion, stability and competitiveness of the regions. The programme seeks to develop quality, outcome-oriented projects with strategic character and relevant for the programme area.


SOURCE: south east europe transnational cooperation Programme

Программа south east Gateway (Юго-Восточные Ворота) - еще на стадии переговоров

Программа Юго-Восточной Европы (ЮВЕ) направлено на развитие партнерства стратегического значения в целях поддержки территориальной, экономической и социальной целостности и внесения вклада в повышение степени сплоченности, стабильности и конкурентоспособности регионов.

Согласно предложению Европейской комиссии на 2014-2020 гг., будет разработано две программы (Программа „Дунай” и „Юго-Восточные Ворота”). Они практически определены реструктуризацией программы ЮВЕ.

ELECTROPUTERE VFU SA member of GRAMPET GROUP

Calea Bucureşti, 80, C9, etaj 3, Craiova 200440, RomâniaTel.: +40740900549

Tel./fax: +40251/439053E-mail: o�[email protected]

Tradition and Innovation

ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004, OHSAS 18001:2007Autorizatie de Furnizor Feroviar AFER seria AF nr. 5708

58 stAtistics

the main players in the world market of goods (eur 1 000 million)

european union and world trade in goodsThe value of world trade in goods, excluding intra-EU-27 trade, was about EUR 18 000 billion in 2010. The European Union is

the leading trader, accounting for 16 % of total world trade. The United States was the second biggest trader with a share of 14 %, followed by China (12 %), Japan (6 %) and South Korea (4 %). The EU is the biggest exporter and importer in the world. In 2010, the value of extra-EU-27 exports was EUR 1 357 billion and value of imports EUR 1 531 billion.

The United States is the second biggest importer in the world. It also records the biggest trade deficit, about EUR 520 billion in 2010. China has become a major global trader in recent years. In 2007 China overtook the USA as the second biggest exporter in the world.

Main extra-eu-27 partner regions in 2011 by gross weight of goods handled

external trade, percentage change from pre-crisis peak Jun-08

1International trade in goods

11 International trade and foreign direct investment

1.1 – European Union and world trade in goods

Table 1.1: The main players in the world market of goods(EUR 1 000 million)

Exports EU-27 USA China Japan South Korea

2006 1 161.9 825.9 771.7 515.1 259.2

2007 1 242.9 848.3 890.2 521.2 271.1

2008 1 317.5 883.8 972.7 531.3 286.9

2009 1 099.2 757.6 861.5 416.3 260.6

2010 1 356.7 963.3 1 190.5 580.7 351.8

2011 1 553.9 1 063.0 1 363.8 : :

Imports

2006 1 363.9 1 528.4 630.3 461.2 246.4

2007 1 445.0 1 471.8 697.6 454.0 260.4

2008 1 582.9 1 471.9 770.0 518.4 295.9

2009 1 233.1 1 148.5 720.9 395.7 231.6

2010 1 530.8 1 483.4 1 051.7 522.5 320.7

2011 1 713.5 1 625.4 1 252.4 : :

Balance

2006 – 202.0 – 702.4 141.3 53.9 12.8

2007 – 202.1 – 623.6 192.6 67.2 10.7

2008 – 265.4 – 588.1 202.7 12.8 – 9.0

2009 – 133.9 – 390.9 140.6 20.6 29.0

2010 – 174.2 – 520.0 138.8 58.2 31.1

2011 – 159.6 – 562.4 111.3 : :

Source: Eurostat (online data code: ext_lt_introle)

International trade in goods1


Figure 1.1: Main players in the world market of goods, 2011 (1)(EUR 1 000 million)

–1 000

– 500

0

500

1 000

1 500

2 000

EU-27 USA China Japan South Korea

Exports Imports Balance(1) 2010 for JP and KR.


Figure 1.2: Share in world trade in goods (imports + exports), 2010(%)

EU-2716 %

China12 %

USA14 %

Japan6 %

South Korea4 %

Others48 %


�e value of world trade in goods, excluding intra-EU-27 trade, was about EUR 18 000 billion in 2010. �e European Union is the leading trader, accounting for 16 % of total world trade. �e United States was the second biggest trader with a share of 14 %, followed by China (12 %), Japan (6 %) and South Korea (4 %). �e EU is the biggest exporter and importer in the world. In 2010, the value of extra-EU-27 exports was EUR 1 357 billion and value of imports EUR 1 531 billion.�e United States is the second biggest importer in the world. It also records the biggest trade de�cit, about EUR 520 billion in 2010.China has become a major global trader in recent years. In 2007 China overtook the USA as the second biggest exporter in the world.



Figure 1.1: Main players in the world market of goods, 2011 (1)(EUR 1 000 million)

–1 000

– 500

0

500

1 000

1 500

2 000

EU-27 USA China Japan South Korea

Exports Imports Balance(1) 2010 for JP and KR.


Figure 1.2: Share in world trade in goods (imports + exports), 2010(%)

EU-2716 %

China12 %

USA14 %

Japan6 %

South Korea4 %

Others48 %


�e value of world trade in goods, excluding intra-EU-27 trade, was about EUR 18 000 billion in 2010. �e European Union is the leading trader, accounting for 16 % of total world trade. �e United States was the second biggest trader with a share of 14 %, followed by China (12 %), Japan (6 %) and South Korea (4 %). �e EU is the biggest exporter and importer in the world. In 2010, the value of extra-EU-27 exports was EUR 1 357 billion and value of imports EUR 1 531 billion.�e United States is the second biggest importer in the world. It also records the biggest trade de�cit, about EUR 520 billion in 2010.China has become a major global trader in recent years. In 2007 China overtook the USA as the second biggest exporter in the world.


59 stAtistics

extra european union trade in goodsThe rapid decline in both imports and exports recorded by

the European Union in 2009, following the financial turmoil at the end of 2008, was completely reversed in 2011. Both EU exports and imports reached a record level, summing up to more than EUR 3 000 billion. EU trade is characterised by a permanent but generally limited trade deficit. In 2011 the deficit was valued at EUR 160 billion, which was a little less than the deficit registered in the previous year.

eu-27 trade in goods by geographical areas (eur 1 000 million)

SOURCE: : © european union, 2013, eurostAt Pocketbooks, international trade and foreign direct investment ,2013 edition

eu-27 trade in goods, 2006-2011 (eur 1 000 million)

1International trade in goods


1.2 – Extra European Union trade in goods

Table 1.2: EU-27 trade in goods by geographical areas (EUR 1 000 million)

Exports 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Total extra EU-27 1 161.9 1 242.9 1 317.5 1 099.2 1 356.7 1 553.9

Other European countries 307.2 346.1 377.9 288.8 361.0 440.4

Africa 92.6 103.7 120.6 108.5 125.9 136.2

North America 301.5 292.1 280.6 230.1 275.7 296.7

Central and South America 63.2 71.5 79.5 63.8 86.8 99.0

Asia 346.3 371.3 393.8 357.1 449.5 513.6

Oceania 26.4 29.3 32.7 26.1 32.0 36.9

Non-specified 24.7 28.9 32.4 24.7 25.8 31.2

Imports 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Total extra EU-27 1 363.9 1 445.0 1 582.9 1 233.1 1 530.8 1 713.5

Other European countries 363.5 380.9 441.0 329.5 400.8 474.1

Africa 127.9 130.8 160.7 111.8 136.8 149.5

North America 198.0 205.8 214.3 178.2 203.2 226.0

Central and South America 80.2 89.1 97.6 71.9 92.9 109.1

Asia 559.2 601.6 632.3 510.8 661.1 721.8

Oceania 17.8 18.8 18.9 13.8 16.7 19.9

Non-specified 17.3 18.0 18.1 17.0 19.4 13.2

Balance 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Total extra EU-27 – 202.0 – 202.1 – 265.4 – 133.9 – 174.2 – 159.6

Other European countries – 56.2 – 34.8 – 63.0 – 40.7 – 39.8 – 33.7

Africa – 35.3 – 27.1 – 40.1 – 3.3 – 10.8 – 13.3

North America 103.5 86.3 66.3 51.9 72.4 70.6

Central and South America – 17.0 – 17.6 – 18.1 – 8.0 – 6.1 – 10.1

Asia – 213.0 – 230.3 – 238.5 – 153.7 – 211.6 – 208.2

Oceania 8.6 10.5 13.7 12.3 15.3 17.0

Non-specified 7.4 10.9 14.3 7.7 6.4 18.0

Source: Eurostat (online data code: ext_lt_maineu)

�e rapid decline in both imports and exports recorded by the European Union in 2009, following the �nancial turmoil at the end of 2008, was completely reversed in 2011. Both EU exports and imports reached a record level, summing up to more than EUR 3 000 billion.

EU trade is characterised by a permanent but generally limited trade de�cit. In 2011 the de�cit was valued at EUR 160 billion, which was a little less than the de�cit registered in the previous year.



Figure 1.3: EU-27 trade in goods, 2006-2011(EUR 1 000 million)

– 500

0

500

1 000

1 500

2 000

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Exports Imports Balance

Source: Eurostat (online data code: tet00018)

Figure 1.4: EU-27 trade in goods by geographical zone, 2011(EUR 1 000 million)

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Asia NorthAmerica

Africa OceaniaOtherEuropeancountries

Central andSouth

America

Exports Imports


In 2011 over 40 % of EU imports came from Asian countries while the other European countries accounted for more than a quarter.�e main destination for EU exports in 2009 was Asia with about one third of the total, followed by other European countries (28 %) and North America (19 %). �e EU has a considerable de�cit in trade with Asian countries, while the largest surplus is recorded in trade with North America.



Figure 1.3: EU-27 trade in goods, 2006-2011(EUR 1 000 million)

– 500

0

500

1 000

1 500

2 000

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Exports Imports Balance

Source: Eurostat (online data code: tet00018)

Figure 1.4: EU-27 trade in goods by geographical zone, 2011(EUR 1 000 million)

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Asia NorthAmerica

Africa OceaniaOtherEuropeancountries

Central andSouth

America

Exports Imports


In 2011 over 40 % of EU imports came from Asian countries while the other European countries accounted for more than a quarter.�e main destination for EU exports in 2009 was Asia with about one third of the total, followed by other European countries (28 %) and North America (19 %). �e EU has a considerable de�cit in trade with Asian countries, while the largest surplus is recorded in trade with North America.

eu-27 trade in goods by geographical zone, 2011 (eur 1 000 million)


60


Европейский союз ратифицировал Транспортный протокол в рамках Альпийской конвенции

Альпийская конвенция является рамочным договором, направленным на защиту и устойчивое развитие альпийского региона, и она касается консервирования и защиты горного массива (с экологической, экономической и социальной точек зрения) за счет применения принципов предупреждения «платит загрязнитель» и сотрудничества государств-членов. Текст перегруппирует девять протоколов - каждый покрывает другой сектор. В начале июня месяца Европейский союз ратифицировал Транспортный протокол в рамках Альпийской конвенции. Следовательно, она вступит в силу в ЕС и становится европейским законом.

the transport protocol was ratified by all the countries in the Alpine area: Germany, France, Italy, Liech-

tenstein, Monaco, Austria, Switzerland and Slovenia. In the administration of the alpine territory, the contracting parties of the Convention commit to consider trans-port-associated risks and dangers, such as pollution (phonic or chemical) and the safety of people and goods. In parallel, the signatories have to increase the profit-ability of transport, to improve the use of existing infrastructures, to consider the problems of transport in evaluating and implementing other policies and to involve territorial communities in the decision making. The objectives of the Protocol in the implementation of the Alpine Conven-tion in transport include reducing the risks and dangers of the intra-alpine transport and helping habitats and economic areas develop thanks to a harmonised transport policy between different countries which integrates different transport modes, such as road-railway.

european union ratifies transport Protocol within the Alpine convention

The Alpine Convention is a framework agreement for the protection and sustainable development of the Alpine region designed to preserve and protect the Alps (from an environmental, economic and social viewpoint) by ap-plying the principles of prevention, “polluter pays” and cooperation between its members. At the beginning of June, the European Union ratified the Transport Protocol within the Alpine Convention. Thus, it is now effective in EU and becomes a European law.

[ by Elena Ilie ]

Even though the citizens living in the cen-tral and peripheral Alpine regions benefit from improved accessibility, the increasing environmental impact of transport is much higher than in plain regions. The narrow valleys accentuate the effects of polluting emissions and noise. Moreover, the con-struction and maintenance of the transport infrastructure high on the mountains are much more expensive, have a serious im-pact on the environment and are related to the consumption of limited natural re-sources. The intensification of road freight transport in the alpine transit areas has generated significant protests over the past years. Data show a much faster growth of road transport in the trans-alpine area than that of railway transport, the preferred mode of transport for environmental pro-tection.

“The transport protocol is a very impor-tant instrument in protecting the sensitive Alpine environment and in promoting sustainable mobility in the Alps. It pro-vides a pattern for international coordina-

tion and efficient trans-alpine transport management and strongly supports modal shift, especially by promoting the alterna-tive modes of transport, other than road, mainly for freight transport”, declared Siim Kallas, the European Commissioner for transport.

The Alpine Convention also defines a number of specific measures and strategies such as a good coordination of the different modes of transport, the use of intermoda-lity and the shift of cargo transport from roads to railways.

This September, Poland will host the Al-pine-Carpathian Cooperation Forum, with the participation of the members of the Al-pine and Carpathian conventions, the es-tablishment of the latter being inspired by the Alpine Convention. Romania is mem-ber of the Carpathian Convention.

Phot

o: ©

sBB

cFF

FFs

Lex

Railway PRO July

Documents

Transcript of Railway PRO July