On 29 September in Odessa, Ukraine at the Twentieth Plenary Session of the Coordinating Council on Trans-Siberian Transportation, the Supervisory Board held a four-way talk to discuss a joint venture project that will extend a Russian-gauge railway to Vienna. It was attended by Russian Railways president Vladimir Yakunin.
The interested parties confirmed their intention to implement the project and discussed the progress of pre-project work.
The council decided to determine further steps and arrangements for the project before the end of the year.
The construction of a 1520mm Russian-gauge line from the Slovak city of Kosice to Bratislava and Vienna is ‘under active consideration’.
The work is being conducted by a four-party joint venture (between Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, and Russia).
According to the results of research conducted by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, construction of the new line will lead to the shipment of from 16 to 24 million tons of additional cargo through 2050.
Ultimately, the additional ‘economic benefits from the project will benefit 33 countries in Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Far East and Russia’.
According to Russian Railways’ estimates, a realistic time-frame for the delivery of goods from Europe to Asia and vice versa will shrink to 13-14 days following the completion of the project.
This would result in an increase in working capital, depending on the value of the goods being shipped, of between $100 and $1,000 per container.
At the same time, a plan is being executed within Russia to reduce the time involved in transporting goods from the country’s eastern borders and ports to the border of the EU to within just seven days.
In order to meet this goal, a special program has been developed and implemented to offer a new transportation product: ‘The Trans-Siberian in 7 days.’
