facilitation of international railway transport in asia by resource... · railway and the entry...

Astana– December 20-21, 2017

FACILITATION OF INTERNATIONAL RAILWAY TRANSPORT IN ASIA

1

Vasile N. OlievschiRailway Specialist

MAIN IDEAS

▪ Asian railways – great potential to become major international carrier

▪ Railways – from isolated national networks to interoperable connected network

▪ The comprehensive approach to railways interoperability

▪ Border crossing and levels of interoperability

▪ Common Parameters for Interoperability

▪ Considerations on the Way Forward

2

ASIAN RAILWAYS – GREAT POTENTIAL TO BECOME MAJOR INTERNATIONAL CARRIER

3

4

MORE THAN 1 MILLION KM OF TRACK IN THE WHOLE WORLD

Europe, 253,161, 25%

America, 371,114, 37%

Asia, 232,675, 23%

Russian Federation, 85,266, 8%

Middle East, 5,253, 1%

Africa, 50,959, 5%

Australia, 8,615, 1%

Length of Railway Lines [km]

5

Europe, 558, 6%

America, 3,253, 33%

Asia, 3,359, 35%

Russian Federation, 2,299, 24%

Africa, 159, 2%Volume of Freight [Billions ton-km]

6

Europe, 471, 15%

America, 22, 1%

Asia, 2,379, 78%

Russian Federation, 129, 4%

Africa, 63, 2%

Volume of Passengers[Billion pass-km]

7

100%

154%

122%

132%

171%

150%

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Freight Railway Traffic Evolution

Europe & Russia Africa America Asia WORLD Average

8

105%100%

95%

187%

192%

162%

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Passenger Rail Traffic Evolution

Europe & Russia Africa America Asia WORLD Average

9

Middle East

Europe

Africa

Australia

America

World Average

Asia

1,900,057

4,066,325

4,360,270

6,923,854

8,822,739

12,671,401

24,659,976

Traffic Density by Regions [traffic units/km]

Germany

France

India

China (Pop. Rep. Of)

Japan

Russian Federation

Kazakhstan

South-Africa

USA

520,639

771,374

1,367,730

1,540,384

1,750,121

2,946,334

3,232,831

6,220,375

14,203,199

Railways Labor Productivity by Country [Traffic Units / Staff]

10

CONCLUSIONS ON STATISTICS

▪ Some of the most important railways in the world are in Asia

▪ Railways are a reliable component of the domestic transportation system in some Asian countries

▪ The long distances of transport specific for international markets and higher volumes to be moved with lower impact to the environment are the strong points in favor of railways

▪ In spite of these positive premises, the Asian railways are less successful on grabbing significant share of the international transport market

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WHAT TO DO ?

▪ Becoming a competitive player in the international market is not easy for railways, and will certainly not be automatic

▪ To become an attractive option for shifting part of the existing volumes of traffic or for taking the new volumes of traffic generated by their countries, railways must provide quality transport services (price, speed, availability, punctuality, etc.) superior to those offered by the competition

▪ The study does not address all aspects of railway competitiveness; it tries to define the ways to make the Asian railways work better together for achieving higher interoperability

12

RAILWAYS – FROM ISOLATED NATIONAL NETWORKS TO INTEROPERABLE CONNECTED NETWORK

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HISTORICAL RAILWAYS DEVELOPED INDEPENDENTLY OF EACH OTHER

▪ Railway companies have been created in a relatively short period of time in many countries, starting with the 19th century

▪ Integrated and self-regulated entities in charge of the construction and maintenance of their infrastructure and with the provision of the transport services

▪ It generated in each country specific technical standards, operating rules, commercial contracts or institutional frameworks

▪ As the business of the railway companies was limited for many years to their domestic markets, they developed their assets and their company culture independently of each other

▪ Dominant position on the market14

CHANGES IN MARKET CONDITIONS

▪ Extraordinary increase of the efficiency of other modes

▪ New economic development pattern required more and more trade between different countries or regions of the world

▪ Road, sea and air transport allow one operator to transport from origin to destination

▪ More sophisticated customers with requirements of transport beyond the national borders

New market conditions put many of the world’s railways under a strong pressure to change

THE NEED TO CHANGE

▪ FROM self-regulated companies with rigid rules, developed as isolated national transport networks

▪ TO flexible companies, able to operate on open to competition market

▪ Railways had to find ways to interconnect their business to deliver flawless services from origin to destination, regardless of how many companies are involved

WORKING TOGETHER TO BETTER SERVE THE CUSTOMERS

“Interoperability means the ability of a rail system to allow the safe and uninterrupted movement of trains which accomplish the required levels of performance for these lines. This ability depends on all the regulatory, technical and operational conditions which must be met in order to satisfy the essential requirements”

The EU Directive 2008/57/EC

COOPERATION IS THE KEY FOR THE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS OF RAILWAYS

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INTEROPERABILITY FOR COMPETITIVENESS

▪ The competitiveness of the international railway transport is a matter of active participation of all railways along a route to address the following three major factors:

⎻ TIME: duration of transport from origin to destination,

⎻ SERVICE: the quality of services, single contact with customers, information on the position of the expedition and the guarantee of the time of arrival at the destination

⎻ TARIFF: the cost of transportation services from origin to destination

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The quality of operation of international traffic along a certain route is defined by the weakest link of the chain

THE COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO RAILWAYS INTEROPERABILITY

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It is not only about technical aspects !!!

COMPONENTS OF RAILWAY INTEROPERBILITY (1)

Operational Interoperability

Technical Interoperability

Legal Interoperability

▪ LEGAL: unified contractual obligations vis-á-vis customers from origin to destination

▪ TECHNICAL: common technical parameters of railways infrastructure and rolling stock

▪ OPERATIONAL: harmonized operation practice over an entire international route

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COMPONENTS OF RAILWAY INTEROPERBILITY (2)

Operational Interoperability

Technical Interoperability

Legal Interoperability

▪ The three components are tightly interconnected:

⎻ First, the unified legal framework in the relationship with the customers is essential, regardless of the level of technical and operational interoperability

⎻ Second, achieving a certain technical interoperability through large investments is not justified if this is not capitalized in achieving appropriate operational interoperability

⎻ Third, operational interoperability is meaningless if does not target competitiveness of railways on the market

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GOVERNMENTS MUST TAKE THE LEAD OF THE PROCESS

▪ Implementing harmonized legal framework for domestic rail transport and uniform legal framework for international rail transport

▪ Supporting the investments in railway infrastructure to enhance technical interoperability

▪ Streamlining border crossing procedures to facilitate international traffic

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BORDER CROSSING AND LEVELS OF INTEROPERABILITY

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THE BORDERS ARE THE FRACTURE POINTS OF TRANSPORT

▪ The ideal situation is when the train continue the trip from origin to destination over the borders on the corridor

▪ In real life this is in most cases not achievable and different levels of interoperability could be implemented along an international route depending on the local conditions

▪ Countries must work together to implement the highest possible level of interoperability, balancing targeted competitiveness with realistic costs

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DEPENDING ON TECHNICAL INTEROPERABILITY

• LEVEL A - Wagons of the train cannot cross the border. The train will be recomposed with new wagons after the transshipment of the freight. The new train will continue the trip on the entry railway in a new composition

• LEVEL B - Wagons of the train can cross the border and continue the route. This requires compatibility between the two neighboring countries for a number of elements of the railway infrastructure and for the wagons

• LEVEL C - Wagons and locomotive of the train can cross the border and continue the route. This is the highest level of technical interoperability and requires additional compatibilities between the two railways

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DEPENDING ON OPERATIONAL INTEROPERABILITY

• MODE 1 : the two neighboring border stations of the exit railway and the entry railway develop procedures separately, first in the exit border and then in the entry border

• MODE 2 : the two neighboring countries agree to designate one single common border station, where the procedures of the authorities of both countries take place in parallel

• MODE 3 : the two neighboring countries use a common procedures for border crossing without the train stopping; the border crossing activities are organized in major stations agreed upon by the two neighboring states, in parallel with the operational procedures for traffic management.

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LEVELS OF INTEROPERABILITY (1)

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Legal No legal framework in place

Technical Irrelevant

Operational Irrelevant

Harmonized legal environment between the two railways does not exist and international trains cannot be operated. Technical and operational harmonization are irrelevant in this case.STOP BORDER

Country 1STOP BORDERCountry 2

Railway 1 Railway 2


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The train stops at the common border station agreed upon by the two neighboring countries. The wagons of the exit railway cannot operate on the network of entry railway. The freight is reloaded in the wagons of the entry railway and a new train with a locomotive from entry railway is composed. Border crossing procedures are developed by the authorities of the two states in parallel or consecutively.

Legal Legal framework in place

Technical LEVEL A (wagons cannot cross)

Operational Mode 1 (dual border) or MODE 2 (single border)

Railway 1 Railway 2

Transshipment

STOP BORDERCountries 1 & 2


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Harmonized legal environment between the two railways is in place. The train stops at the common border station agreed upon by the two neighboring countries. The track gauge of the two railways is different and bogie change is necessary at the border station. The locomotive of the entry railway will replace the locomotive of the exit railway. Border crossing procedures are developed by the authorities of the two states in parallel or consecutively.


Technical LEVEL B (wagons can cross with new boogies)

Operational Mode 1 (dual border) or MODE 2 (single border)

Railway 1 Railway 2

Bogie Change

STOP BORDERCountries 1 & 2


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Harmonized legal environment between the two railways is in place. The train stops consecutively at the border stations of each country for border crossing procedures. The technical parameters of the two railways allow only wagons to continue the route. Locomotive of the entry railway will replace the locomotive of the exit railway.


Technical LEVEL B (wagons can cross)

Operational MODE 1 (dual border)

STOP BORDERCountry 1

STOP BORDERCountry 2

Railway 1 Railway 2


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Harmonized legal environment between the two railways is in place. The train stops at the common border station agreed upon by the two neighboring countries. The technical parameters of the two railways allow the wagons to continue the route. The locomotive of the entry railway will replace the locomotive of the exit railway. Border crossing procedures are developed in parallel by the authorities of the two states in one single point.


Technical LEVEL B (wagons can cross)

Operational MODE 2 (single border)

COMMON STOP BORDERCountries 1 & 2

Railway 1 Railway 2


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Harmonized legal environment between the two railways is in place. The technical parameters and operational rules are fully compatible. The train can continue smoothly the route without stopping at the border.


Technical LEVEL C (wagons & locomotive can cross)

Operational MODE 1 (no stop at border)

NO STOP BORDERCountries 1 & 2

Railway 1 Railway 2

COMMON TECHNICAL PARAMETERS FOR INTEROPERABILITY

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GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

▪ Usually the most expensive component of the interoperability to be achieved; fundamental for the gradual reduction of the fragmentation of railway traffic

▪ There is always a solution to solve any existent technical incompatibilities (it is only a question of costs and time)

▪ The technical interoperability is not a goal by itself; it makes sense only if it facilitates a higher level of operational interoperability

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CHALLENGES OF TECHNICAL INTEROPERABILITY (1)

▪ There are in place precise standards elaborated by international bodies like OSJD, UIC or AREMA which developed comprehensive technical leaflets for technical parameters of railways

▪ The issue is not the lack of standards, but to make the right choice of standards for a targeted performance of a route

▪ Bringing the existent Asian railways (232, 675 km of track representing 23% of the total railway length of the planet) on a common technical platform is a very complex issue

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CHALLENGES OF TECHNICAL INTEROPERABILITY (2)

▪ Different track gauges are a reality in Asia and three successful railways have different gauges:⎻ Russia - 85,266 km of broad gauge track

⎻ China - 66,989 km of standard gauge track

⎻ India - 65,808 km of extra-broad gauge track

▪ Recommended principles concerning the common technical parameters for Asian railways:– take into account the existence of several track gauges as an

unchangeable element

– agree upon a set of technical parameters, essential across the region

– agree upon the values for harmonization of the technical parameters

– decide on synchronized gradual implementation along the corridors

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RECOMMENDED TECHNICAL PARAMETERS

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LEVEL B (WAGON CAN CROSS BORDER)- INFRASTRUCTURE -

PARAMETER DEFINITION

TRACK GAUGE The distance between the inner faces of the two load-bearing rails forming the railway track and is usually measured in millimetres.

AXLE LOAD Axle load indicates the maximum weight accepted on an axle of the railway vehicle circulating on infrastructure

STRUCTURE GAUGE Defines the relevant dimensions of various components of infrastructure to ensure safe running of the trains (ex: minimum height and width of tunnels and bridges, minimum distance to railway platforms, buildings,etc.)

PASSING SIDING LENGTH

The passing siding (passing loop or crossing loop) is a place on a single railway line where trains circulating in opposite directions can pass each other, or higher priority trains pass over slower trains circulating in the same direction

PLATFORM LENGTH The structure built along rail tracks in a railway station where passengers can get on or can get off the train

PLATFORM HEIGHT The elevation of a railway platform above top of rail track

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LEVEL B (WAGON CAN CROSS BORDER)- ROLLING STOCK -


LOADING GAUGE Defines the dimensions of height and width which must not be exceeded by a rail vehicle or its load to not collide with bridges, tunnels and other lineside structures

MAXIMUM TRAIN LENGTH

The longest possible trains allowed by the passing loop length

COUPLING SYSTEM

The mechanism designed for connecting vehicles in a train

BRAKE GEAR The equipment used on the wagons coupled in a train to enable deceleration, control acceleration (downhill) or to keep wagons standing when parked

FLOOR HEIGHT OF COACHES

Must be compatible with the platform height to allow the safe access of passengers for boarding and disembarking

RAIL / WHEEL INTERFACE

The wheel profiles must be compatible with the rail arrangements (rail profile, its inclination to the vertical, switches and crossings etc.)

ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

The passenger coaches need compatibility on lightning system, air conditioning, shore supply connection, etc.

WATER & WASTE Passenger fleet must have access to compatible equipment and systems for water and waste connections throughout various countries along the route

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LEVEL C (WAG & LOCO CROSS BORDER)- INFRASTRUCTURE -


SIGNALING Various systems system used to direct railway traffic and keep trains clear of each other at all times

TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT Various methods to control the railway traffic, as well as to ensure overall supervision of the railway operations

TELECOMMUNICATIONS Defines the means of communications railway traffic management (mainly between traffic managers, station agents and locomotive drivers)

TRACTION SYSTEM Defines the type of engine that provides the motive power for a train (mainly Diesel or Electric)

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LEVEL C (WAG & LOCO CROSS BORDER)- ROLLING STOCK -


TYPE OF LOCOMOTIVE Diesel or Electric traction (type of electric traction, DC or AC)

LOCOMOTIVE TRACTION POWER

The power of the engine used for propulsion of the locomotive (horsepower or kilowatts)

MAXIMUM SPEED Speed of vehicles (wagons, coaches or locomotives) measured in km/h

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COMMON OPERATIONAL PARAMETERS

43

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS▪ Operational interoperability is less costly than technical

interoperability, but it is highly dependent on the existing level of technical interoperability

▪ The harmonization of activities of other authorities which interfere in the operation of the international trains is necessary (customs, immigration, phytosanitary, etc.)

▪ Requires strong political willingness and synchronized efforts of all involved countries to work together

▪ Any missing link will make useless all investments for the technical interoperability

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Common Operational Parameters

▪ The common operational parameters can be grouped in two categories:

– Operational interoperability of the railways based on compatible operating rules (train tonnage, train composition, speed of train, management of traffic, maintenance rules for assets, etc.),

– Operational interoperability of other entities involved in the border crossing activities based on commonly agreed upon procedures.

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CUMULATIVE APPROACH FOR RAILWAY OPERATING RULES

LEVEL OF INTEROPERABILITY

SET OF RULES

LEVEL A: WAGONS CANNOT CROSS THE BORDER

SET OF RULES FOR LEVEL A

LEVEL B: WAGONS CAN CROSS THE BORDER


SET OF RULES FOR LEVEL B

LEVEL C: WAGONS & LOCOMOTIVE CAN CROSS THE BORDER


SET OF RULES FOR LEVEL B

SET OF RULES FOR LEVEL C

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LEVEL A - WAGONS CANNOT CROSS THE BORDER

RAILWAY OPERATING RULES▪ The train is recomposed at the border; minimum rules for

operational interoperability

▪ Harmonized international train timetables

▪ Exchange of information between the railways along the corridor for customer information

▪ Development of a system of presenting the customers a single tariff for a specific international expedition from origin to destination

▪ Harmonization of information system for passengers on stations opened for international traffic (pictograms, luggage rooms and lockers, information booths, ticketing desks, washrooms, facilities for passengers with disabilities, etc.)

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LEVEL B - WAGONS CAN CROSS THE BORDER

RAILWAY OPERATING RULES(additional to Level A)

▪ Minimum set of harmonized operating rules between two neighboring railways :

– Train composition

– Maintenance of wagons

– Breakdowns of wagons

– Handling and inspection of hazardous and perishable goods

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LEVEL C - WAGONS & LOCOS CAN CROSS THE BORDER

RAILWAY OPERATING RULES(additional to Levels A and B)

▪ The continuation of the trip from the exit railway to the entry railway via an unchanged train (same wagons and same locomotive) requires harmonization of the following:– Management of traffic, including rules for communication between

drivers and traffic control centers, language of communication

– Locomotive drivers allowed to operate on track of different railways

– Locomotive fueling and maintenance

– Criteria and procedures for certification for safety critical staff

– Unified system for training of drivers and other safety critical staff

▪ This level of interoperability is difficult to be achieved and requires advanced integration of operating rules among the railways along a corridor

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HARMONIZED OPERATING RULES FOR OTHER ENTITIES OF THE STATES

▪ Probably, the most critical operational interoperability issues, as it is beyond the responsibility of railways

▪ Due to the political sensitiveness of activities related to border crossing, each country may adopt specific procedures not always harmonized with those in neighboring countries

▪ This goal can be achieved through regional and bilateral international agreements between various authorities of the states under the coordination of their governments

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PARAMOUNT ROLE OF GOVERNMENTS

▪ Governments have major responsibilities in addressing the

critical aspects of border crossing procedures:

– unified customs procedures

– moving customs clearance to take place at the departure and arrival points or at the main stations close to borders to decrease congestion and delay at the border,

– extending and harmonizing opening hours for the customs offices,

– use of scanners to inspect moving wagons,

– use of mutually recognized electronic seals

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COMMON LEGAL ENVIRONMENT

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GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

▪ The major challenge railways face concerning the legal aspects is the lack of a global unified regime to cover rail transport, as opposed to air or maritime transport

▪ The legal issues are to be addressed in parallel, on two levels:

⎻ at the national level in each country, and

⎻ on a regional level

53

RECOMMENDED COMMON NATIONAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES

▪ Legally compatible railway systems does not mean adopting a unique form of organization or structure of railway company(ies)

▪ Adopt a commercial approach to railways, including flexibility in setting up tariffs at least for freight and international expeditions

▪ Create a non-biased regulatory framework between road and rail transport systems (licensing, technical inspection, safety authorization, etc.)

▪ Promote gradually equivalent modes of financing the land transport infrastructures: road and rail

▪ Establish compatible safety standards for cross recognition of technical inspections of wagons at the border

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COMMON LEGAL INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

▪ A uniform legal framework to define the relationships between railways and vis-à-vis customers, to provide international transport services (contractual obligations and liabilities)

▪ Two well-known international organizations have put in place two legal regimes: ⎻ COTIF using the CIM consignment note in Europe, not accepted in Asia

⎻ OSJD using the SMGS consignment note in Asia, not accepted in Europe

▪ Joining the existing international railway conventions is the only way to comprehensively address the legal issues of international rail transport

55

COTIF or OSJD ?

▪ Any of these organizations defined uniform rules concerning:

⎻ the obligation to the carrier to carry the goods for reward to the place of destination and to deliver them there to the consignee,

⎻ unique consignment note to destination,

⎻ payment and costs,

⎻ loading and unloading responsibilities,

⎻ delivery of goods at destination,

⎻ liabilities for loss or damage of goods,

⎻ settlement of accounts between carriers,

⎻ liabilities in case of loss or damage of wagons

56

OSJD or COTIF ?▪ COTIF and OSJD cooperate tightly and common CIM/SMGS

consignment note is currently agreed upon and in use; to put in place a single legal regime from the Atlantic to the Pacific

▪ More work is still needed to make OTIF and OSJD railway zones more coherent, convergent and interoperable, but the environment to develop the unique legal environment exists and the road ahead is clear

▪ Most of the Asian countries are already members of OSJD or COTIF and some of them are members of both organizations; There are still railways in 12 ESCAP countries which are not part of OSJD or OTIF

▪ All of these countries are strongly advised to join one entity, depending on their own interest in developing international ties

57

LAYERS OF INTEROPERABLE INTERNATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK

Bilateral / multilateral agreements / contracts

among railways along the corridor

Subsequent agreements between the

neighboring railways

Subsequent agreements between border police,

customs, sanitary, phytosanitary…

Bilateral border crossing agreement between

governments

Membership to one of International Rail Conventions

58

ASSESSMENT OF THE CURRENT STATUS▪ The study proposes tables for data collection along the

international corridors as support for decisions and for keeping track of progress of improving interoperability:– Table 1 – Technical Parameters critical for interoperability

– Table 2 – Railway Operational Parameters

– Table 3 – Other State Entities Operational Parameters at border crossing

▪ The Tables are built as examples for selected international corridors, as follows:– China – Russia – Belarus

– China – Mongolia – Russia - Belarus

– China – Kazakhstan – Russia - Belarus

– China – Kazakhstan – Azerbaijan – Georgia – Turkey

– China–Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan–Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan–Georgia–Turkey

– India - Pakistan – Iran – Turkey – Bulgaria59

THE WAY FORWARD

60

THOUGHTS FOR FUTURE

61

Set Up the Goals

How to define and agree the common goals for all Asian railways to improve the interoperability?

Develop Action Plans

How to develop and gradually implement the programs for achieving the targeted interoperability?

Measure the

Results

How to measure the progress achieved at a certain moment in time in order to make the necessary corrections?

AN EXAMPLE: EUROPEAN APPROACH(Strong Political Involvement)

▪ EU, as a political and economic organization including 28 member states, provide the common political will for defining common policies on railway corridors

▪ Inter-governmental Memoranda expressing the common willingness of countries to achieve a common set of goals for railway development, including interoperability

▪ Agreements between railway companies along the international corridors for putting in place the provisions of the signed Memoranda between governments

▪ Working Groups for each corridor created by the involved governments and railways to implement the provisions of the signed documents, using the expertise of COTIF, UIC, OSJD.

62

ASIA – Political Support is Vital

SCOPE

▪ Harmonization of transport policies between Asian countries

▪ Painful reforms in the transport sector

▪ Border crossing facilitation

▪ Management of large-scale transport investment programs

GOALS

▪ Developing the Euro-Asian transit by rail

▪ Addressing the challenge of the land-lock countries

▪ Improving the environment for regional trade between the Asian countries.

63

Recent Positive Factors

▪ Creation of the Customs Union between the Russian Federation, Belarus and Kazakhstan,

▪ Accession of the Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan to WTO

▪ The start of ”One Belt – One Road” Initiative

64

IMPROVE THE GENERAL POLITICAL-ECONOMIC CLIMATE ACROSS THE REGION

65

GERMANY

MONGOLIA

CHINA

POLANDBELARUS

UZBEKISTAN

KAZAKHSTAN

RUSSIA

AZERBAIJAN

TURKEY

IRAN

PAKISTAN

GEORGIA

INDIA

Trans-Siberian(withVariants)CentralAsian(withVariants)SouthernAsianRouteSouth-EastAsianConnections

SELECTEDASIANCORRIDORS

EasternRouteVietnamCambodia

CentralRouteLaos

WesternRouteMyanmar

Thailand,Malaysia,Singapore

HOW TO HARMONIZE AGENDAS?

AGREEMENT ON COMMON GOALS FOR ALL ASIAN RAILWAYS AND “VARIABLE SPEED” IMPLEMENTATION ALONG SPECIFIC CORRIDORS

ACCORDING WITH THE WILLINGNESS OF RAILWAYS ALONG EACH ROUTE

PROPOSED APPROACH FOR ASIAN RAILWAYS (1)▪ UNESCAP - THE COMMON PLATFORM FOR INTERNATIONAL

RAILWAY TRANSPORT AND INTEROPERABILITY POLICIES⎻ UNESCAP Resolution 71/7 on Adoption of Regional Cooperation Framework

for the Facilitation of International Railway Transport is the tool to bring together the railways from all Asian countries to work for this purpose under the UNESCAP flag

⎻ All railways no matter if they are members or not of UIC, OSJD, COTIF could participate to this program

▪ UNESCAP COULD PLAY ITS ROLE ACTING ON TWO LEVELS: ⎻ Offering to the governments the platform for negotiation and signature of

Memoranda for implementing common policies on specific aspects for enhancing international railway transport

⎻ Acting as neutral secretariat for hosting reunions for the definition of specific action plans and for their implementation through the voluntary participation of the involved parties

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▪ The governments and railways must be pro-active to promote their interests along corridors :

⎻ Agree the long term goals for the development of international railway transport

⎻ Agree and sign Memoranda stipulating the objectifs to be accomplished along international corridors

⎻ Put in place Working Groups on corridors based on the common will of the countries along each route

⎻ Agree specific Action Plans for each corridor

⎻ Set up indicators to measure the progress of the works

67

BEING COMPETITIVE ON INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT IS A VERY CHALLENGING TASK WHICH REQUIRES COOPERATION OF COUNTRIES, ADAPTABILITY OF RAILWAYS TO THE

MARKET AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT OF THE QUALITY OF TRANSPORT SERVICES

PROPOSED APPROACH FOR ASIAN RAILWAYS (2)

It is not the strongest … that survives, nor the most intelligent... It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.

Charles Darwin

Thank you for the kind attention!

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facilitation of international railway transport in asia by resource... · railway and the entry...

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