Archive

Russian Railways continues its active integration into the international transport system.

In the first half of 2009, as part of the international programme of Russian Railways, negotiations were held with foreign partners, and a whole range of important projects were begun.

On 9 February 2009, Vladimir Yakunin, the President of Russian Railways, took part in the ceremonial start of construction of the rail line between Tabriz and Azarshahr, and also in a conference on the development of cooperation between Russian and Iranian railways. The Minister of Roads and Transport of Iran, Dr K. Behbakhani, and the President of Iranian Railways Dr K. Ziari also took part.

As part of the strategy to strengthen the company’s position on international transport markets, Russian Railways is continuing the active development of the project to continue wide-gauge rail tracks from Kosice (Slovakia) to Bratislava and Vienna, and to create an international logistics terminal in Vienna. In May 2009, as part of the "1520 Strategic Partnership" forum in Sochi, documents were signed about creating a joint venture with the participation of Russia, Ukraine, Slovakia and Austria with the aim of organising project planning work, which should be carried out during the rest of this year.

Russian Railways and its daughter companies continued to work on the implementation of the pilot project to reconstruct the Trans-Korean Railway, on the section Hasan-Radzhin, and the construction of a container terminal in Radzhin. In the first half of 2009, all the necessary permissions were received from the North Korean authorities, the project documentation and all the pre-building organisation work was completed, and now the issues of financing are being worked out.

During the first half of the year, the management of the company were able to sign a range of agreements on international cooperation with foreign partners.

On 25 February, Vladimir Yakunin held talks with the Chinese Minister for Railways Liu Zhijun. As part of the meeting the two sides discussed cooperation between the railway systems of China and Russia during the international financial crisis, emphasising the importance of increasing the volume of container transfers from China and South-East Asia to Russia and Europe.

As part of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Spain on 3 March, a Protocol of Cooperation was signed in Madrid between the Administration of Railway Infrastructure (ADIF), RENFE Operator, and Russian Railways, and a Memorandum of Cooperation between GRUPO DANABAT, Russian Railways and Transmashholding.

On 31 March in Paris, the President of Russian Railways took part in the signing of an agreement of strategic partnership between Alstom Transport and Transmashholding.

On 9 April in Moscow, Vladimir Yakunin met with the State Secretary for Foreign Trade of France, Anne-Marie Idrac. Representatives of Alstom, Systra, and French National Railways (SNCF) also took part in the meeting. The two sides discussed possible areas of cooperation in the field of rail transport between Russia and France.

On 24 May during the visit of the President of Russian Railways to Slovakia, a Memorandum on the Conditions of Financing Deliveries was signed between Transkonteiner, Tatrvagonka and the Export-Import Bank of Slovakia.

On 28 May as part of the IV International Railway Business Forum "Strategic Partnership 1520", an Agreement on Cooperation in Transport and Passenger/Station Complexes was signed between Russian Railways and SNCF. With Siemens AG, a Memorandum on the Manufacture and Delivery of Modern Trains and a Memorandum on Broadening Cooperation on Existing Infrastructure Projects was signed.

On 6 June as part of the celebrations of 60 years since the founding of the Ulan-Bator Railway, the President of Russian Railways Vladimir Yakunin met with the newly elected President of Mongolia, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj. During the meeting, the two sides reiterated their intention to work together in future and implement joint projects between Russian and Mongolian railways.