In the last 15 years, railway transport has been more and more considered a growth factor in the economic and social development. It was also considered to have a crucial role in the European and transcontinental transport system. The European Union outlined the importance of developing transport corridors on the continent and recreate rail links towards the Caucasus and Central Asia.
In order to achieve these objectives, it was necessary to take into account all the operational and technical aspects by shifting the focus and strategies from the national to the transnational level. Again, the crucial element was the implementation of a railway transport system divided into corridors, a system capable of ensuring competitive and high-quality services, a railway transport system that is interoperable. In Central and Eastern Europe and in the Caucasus region and Central Asia, which we have generically called “the Wider Black Sea Area”, when it comes to infrastructure projects, aside from construction and rehabilitation, the key word is interoperability. And interoperability means ERTMS, which has a basic components the command and control elements (ETCS) and telecommunications (GSM-R). In fact, three of the six European corridors will be equipped with the European Railway Traffic management System (ERTMS) by 2015 and in 2020 all the six European freight corridors will be equipped with ERTMS. These corridors represent only 6% of the total length of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), but it carries over 20% of the European freight traffic. In Europe, a little over 2.000 km of railway tracks are currently equipped with the ERTMS system; most of them are located in Western Europe.
The countries around the Black Sea, although they are part of different geographical regions or structures, are joined together by the common interests related to the importance of this area in the commercial transit between Europe and Asia. Politically, they are located at the junction between the two fundamental structures of Europe and Asia: the European Union and the Commonwealth of independent States (CIS). Even though there are differences when it comes to the standard 1.435 mm gauge in Eastern Europe and the 1.520 mm gauge in most countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia, two regions that make up the Wider Black Sea Area, they are, however, very important and they should be considered, because they raise many obstacles in the way of interoperability; they work together to establish special routes designed to increase freight traffic, thus contributing to the economic growth of the area. The economic growth is also enhanced by the location of these regions near the Black Sea, an element which generates numerous economic projects.
Whether we are talking about the countries in Central Europe or those that were once part of the former Soviet bloc which, as we mentioned before, use the broad gauge, interoperability applies to all railway services and it concerns the harmonization of the technical specifications on rolling stock, control and command systems, signalling and telecom systems, operational norms, maintenance and repairs. Interoperability improves the railway services, favours technical and operational innovations and ensures unitary cross-border rail links. With regard to the telecom and interlocking field, interoperability finds its first obstacle – the low level of IT preparation, the fact that there isn’t the possibility of advanced notification and the existence of several types of interlocking systems that aren’t standardised.
Infrastructure projects, a major economic component
Transport infrastructure development has been the main focus of all major projects of economic cooperation in the area, especially in the last 10 years. This was mainly due to freight transport safety, the fact that railway transport is eco-friendly, but especially due to the fact that, from the point of view of the transport costs, compared to land-maritime transport, railway transport is much more efficient. Transited by major international transport corridors, east to west and north to south, this area stands in the middle of all routes linking Europe and Asia. Being aware of these advantages, all the countries plan to make the most of their situation. On another note, the international financial institutions make massive investments in the infrastructure projects developed in this area.
Many railway infrastructure projects have their origin in the interest shown by the European Union in facilitating some of the routes that ensure freight transport to Asia by crossing the Black Sea Area and the adjacent regions.
Connecting the European and Asian networks
It is very important to mention the fact that, in the past, many attempts were made to develop railway corridors between Europe and Central Asia and the Caucasus, but with very limited results. They also hit against the reticence with which the project proposals were perceived by the former Soviet countries. Once it collapsed in 1991, the economic relations and interests became more visible and major railway transport project began to be developed.
Central and Eastern Europe, as well as Central Asia and the Caucasus region, the one located west of the Black Sea, in one word the “Wider Black Sea Area”, have always represented a linking transport platform between areas that differ from the geographical, demographical and, especially, the political point of view. For them, the main advantage was the possibility to grow economically as a whole, but also as independent regions. The fact that they are geographically separated by the Black Sea doesn’t represent an obstacle, but a factor that generates projects and which influences and stabilizes the economic relations. Thus, we can safely talk about the development of the railway infrastructure in the Wider Black Sea Area as a decisive factor in the economy of its countries.
A very important aspect is the importance of developing regional transport networks for a stronger cooperation in the field of trade and economy, with the aim of ensuring sustainable development in the Eurasian platform, which is seen as a project generator. In the last years, after having stabilized the economic and political relations between the various regions that make up the Wider Black Sea Area, the joint interest in developing the transport infrastructure on the Europe-Caucasus-Asia corridor increased considerably. To that effect, the railway infrastructure plays a major role and, if until now the direct route which ensured a constant link between Europe and the Pacific Ocean was the Trans-Siberian Corridor, recently, the leaders of the Wider Black Sea Area countries manifested their wish for a better and more efficient rail link between their countries. To that effect, the TRACECA corridor plays a major role.
Another very important part is played by construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars rail link, which replaces the link to Central Asia through Armenia. Baku-Tbilisi-Kars links three countries on the railway map: Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey (Turkey being a major gate to Europe). The presidents of these three countries have been discussing about the possibility of connecting the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars rail link, starting 2011, directly to Europe through Marmaray, a railway tunnel that runs underneath the Bosporus strait and which will be finalized in 2012. Hence, one more advantage for the railway infrastructure and for the freight and passenger transport between Central Asia and Europe.
Improving port capacity
The railway infrastructure acts as a catalyst for an increased regional integration and for the support of trade and foreign investments in the Area. The businessman, the large project developing companies, the logistics operators will see that, for the projects they develop or for those already under implementation, they will be able to rely on the railway infrastructure. That is why it is very important to build and rehabilitate the Black Sea ports, in order for them to become actual railway logistics centres that can ensure a constant transport flow to and from Europe and Central Asia.
The Black Sea, which is located between Eastern Europe and the Caucasus and Central Asia, represents the perfect link for the construction, reconstruction and modernisation of the railway freight transport corridors. However, in order to achieve this, in order to make good use of the potential that the Black Sea has as an intermodal hub, the infrastructure in ports and the railway capacity in the area have to be improved.
The International Union of Railways (UIC) has identified to that effect the need to rethink and reorganise the railway transport capacities in ports, especially in Central and Eastern Europe. The Terminal Management Project (TEMA) aims at analysing and defining an optimized management model for the railways and the intermodal freight terminals which are connected to most of the ports. Hence, TEMA identified approximately 150 main hubs (terminals, maritime and inland ports, border points) in Central and Eastern Europe and along the main freight corridors, especially those connected to the Black Sea. TEMA also analysed the technical capacities of these railway hubs, as well as the railway infrastructure links and the main corridors that run between them. The TEMA project also analysed several case studies on some of the main railway lines, together with the adjacent terminal, illustrating several management models, as well as the cost structure.
The “Silk Road”, back in operation
The development of the Eurasian infrastructure crossing the Black Sea is due to TRACECA, the most important transport programme elaborated by the two continents.
TRACECA was born in 1993, during the Conference held in Brussels, which welcomed the participation of transport and trade ministers from 8 countries – 5 from Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and 3 from the Caucasus region: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. On this occasion, an agreement was signed concerning the implementation of a Technical Support programme, financed by the European Union, for the development of the West-East transport corridor in Europe, which crosses the Black Sea through the Caucasus region and the Caspian Sea and exits in Central Asia. Although there are still some political dissensions, Iran has recently manifested its intention to join the TRECECA programme. Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine are also part of this programme. Hence, TRACECA becomes the equivalent of the TEN-T network of the EU member states.
The TRACECA Corridor was designed as an alternative to the Trans-Siberian railway route, which links the north part of Asia and exits the Sea of Japan. Due to the project development, TRACECA is also a much faster railway route.
One of the priorities established through the TRACECA programme concerns the external support granted for the modernisation of the regional railway telecommunications system, which would reduce the maintenance costs on the TRACECA routes and also improve safety and efficiency.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have manifested their interest in acting as a partner in the development of this corridor. To that effect, a special focus will be placed on countries such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the most important railway networks in Central Asia.
by Elena Ilie
In the last 15 years, railway transport has been more and more considered a growth factor in the economic and social development. It was also considered to have a crucial role in the European and transcontinental transport system. The European Union outlined the importance of developing transport corridors on the continent and recreate rail links towards the Caucasus and Central Asia.
In order to achieve these objectives, it was necessary to take into account all the operational and technical aspects by shifting the focus and strategies from the national to the transnational level. Again, the crucial element was the implementation of a railway transport system divided into corridors, a system capable of ensuring competitive and high-quality services, a railway transport system that is interoperable. In Central and Eastern Europe and in the Caucasus region and Central Asia, which we have generically called “the Wider Black Sea Area”, when it comes to infrastructure projects, aside from construction and rehabilitation, the key word is interoperability. And interoperability means ERTMS, which has a basic components the command and control elements (ETCS) and telecommunications (GSM-R). In fact, three of the six European corridors will be equipped with the European Railway Traffic management System (ERTMS) by 2015 and in 2020 all the six European freight corridors will be equipped with ERTMS. These corridors represent only 6% of the total length of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), but it carries over 20% of the European freight traffic. In Europe, a little over 2.000 km of railway tracks are currently equipped with the ERTMS system; most of them are located in Western Europe.
The countries around the Black Sea, although they are part of different geographical regions or structures, are joined together by the common interests related to the importance of this area in the commercial transit between Europe and Asia. Politically, they are located at the junction between the two fundamental structures of Europe and Asia: the European Union and the Commonwealth of independent States (CIS). Even though there are differences when it comes to the standard 1.435 mm gauge in Eastern Europe and the 1.520 mm gauge in most countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia, two regions that make up the Wider Black Sea Area, they are, however, very important and they should be considered, because they raise many obstacles in the way of interoperability; they work together to establish special routes designed to increase freight traffic, thus contributing to the economic growth of the area. The economic growth is also enhanced by the location of these regions near the Black Sea, an element which generates numerous economic projects.
Whether we are talking about the countries in Central Europe or those that were once part of the former Soviet bloc which, as we mentioned before, use the broad gauge, interoperability applies to all railway services and it concerns the harmonization of the technical specifications on rolling stock, control and command systems, signalling and telecom systems, operational norms, maintenance and repairs. Interoperability improves the railway services, favours technical and operational innovations and ensures unitary cross-border rail links. With regard to the telecom and interlocking field, interoperability finds its first obstacle – the low level of IT preparation, the fact that there isn’t the possibility of advanced notification and the existence of several types of interlocking systems that aren’t standardised.
Infrastructure projects, a major economic component
Transport infrastructure development has been the main focus of all major projects of economic cooperation in the area, especially in the last 10 years. This was mainly due to freight transport safety, the fact that railway transport is eco-friendly, but especially due to the fact that, from the point of view of the transport costs, compared to land-maritime transport, railway transport is much more efficient. Transited by major international transport corridors, east to west and north to south, this area stands in the middle of all routes linking Europe and Asia. Being aware of these advantages, all the countries plan to make the most of their situation. On another note, the international financial institutions make massive investments in the infrastructure projects developed in this area.
Many railway infrastructure projects have their origin in the interest shown by the European Union in facilitating some of the routes that ensure freight transport to Asia by crossing the Black Sea Area and the adjacent regions.
Connecting the European and Asian networks
It is very important to mention the fact that, in the past, many attempts were made to develop railway corridors between Europe and Central Asia and the Caucasus, but with very limited results. They also hit against the reticence with which the project proposals were perceived by the former Soviet countries. Once it collapsed in 1991, the economic relations and interests became more visible and major railway transport project began to be developed.
Central and Eastern Europe, as well as Central Asia and the Caucasus region, the one located west of the Black Sea, in one word the “Wider Black Sea Area”, have always represented a linking transport platform between areas that differ from the geographical, demographical and, especially, the political point of view. For them, the main advantage was the possibility to grow economically as a whole, but also as independent regions. The fact that they are geographically separated by the Black Sea doesn’t represent an obstacle, but a factor that generates projects and which influences and stabilizes the economic relations. Thus, we can safely talk about the development of the railway infrastructure in the Wider Black Sea Area as a decisive factor in the economy of its countries.
A very important aspect is the importance of developing regional transport networks for a stronger cooperation in the field of trade and economy, with the aim of ensuring sustainable development in the Eurasian platform, which is seen as a project generator. In the last years, after having stabilized the economic and political relations between the various regions that make up the Wider Black Sea Area, the joint interest in developing the transport infrastructure on the Europe-Caucasus-Asia corridor increased considerably. To that effect, the railway infrastructure plays a major role and, if until now the direct route which ensured a constant link between Europe and the Pacific Ocean was the Trans-Siberian Corridor, recently, the leaders of the Wider Black Sea Area countries manifested their wish for a better and more efficient rail link between their countries. To that effect, the TRACECA corridor plays a major role.
Another very important part is played by construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars rail link, which replaces the link to Central Asia through Armenia. Baku-Tbilisi-Kars links three countries on the railway map: Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey (Turkey being a major gate to Europe). The presidents of these three countries have been discussing about the possibility of connecting the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars rail link, starting 2011, directly to Europe through Marmaray, a railway tunnel that runs underneath the Bosporus strait and which will be finalized in 2012. Hence, one more advantage for the railway infrastructure and for the freight and passenger transport between Central Asia and Europe.
Improving port capacity
The railway infrastructure acts as a catalyst for an increased regional integration and for the support of trade and foreign investments in the Area. The businessman, the large project developing companies, the logistics operators will see that, for the projects they develop or for those already under implementation, they will be able to rely on the railway infrastructure. That is why it is very important to build and rehabilitate the Black Sea ports, in order for them to become actual railway logistics centres that can ensure a constant transport flow to and from Europe and Central Asia.
The Black Sea, which is located between Eastern Europe and the Caucasus and Central Asia, represents the perfect link for the construction, reconstruction and modernisation of the railway freight transport corridors. However, in order to achieve this, in order to make good use of the potential that the Black Sea has as an intermodal hub, the infrastructure in ports and the railway capacity in the area have to be improved.
The International Union of Railways (UIC) has identified to that effect the need to rethink and reorganise the railway transport capacities in ports, especially in Central and Eastern Europe. The Terminal Management Project (TEMA) aims at analysing and defining an optimized management model for the railways and the intermodal freight terminals which are connected to most of the ports. Hence, TEMA identified approximately 150 main hubs (terminals, maritime and inland ports, border points) in Central and Eastern Europe and along the main freight corridors, especially those connected to the Black Sea. TEMA also analysed the technical capacities of these railway hubs, as well as the railway infrastructure links and the main corridors that run between them. The TEMA project also analysed several case studies on some of the main railway lines, together with the adjacent terminal, illustrating several management models, as well as the cost structure.
The “Silk Road”, back in operation
The development of the Eurasian infrastructure crossing the Black Sea is due to TRACECA, the most important transport programme elaborated by the two continents.
TRACECA was born in 1993, during the Conference held in Brussels, which welcomed the participation of transport and trade ministers from 8 countries – 5 from Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and 3 from the Caucasus region: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. On this occasion, an agreement was signed concerning the implementation of a Technical Support programme, financed by the European Union, for the development of the West-East transport corridor in Europe, which crosses the Black Sea through the Caucasus region and the Caspian Sea and exits in Central Asia. Although there are still some political dissensions, Iran has recently manifested its intention to join the TRECECA programme. Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine are also part of this programme. Hence, TRACECA becomes the equivalent of the TEN-T network of the EU member states.
The TRACECA Corridor was designed as an alternative to the Trans-Siberian railway route, which links the north part of Asia and exits the Sea of Japan. Due to the project development, TRACECA is also a much faster railway route.
One of the priorities established through the TRACECA programme concerns the external support granted for the modernisation of the regional railway telecommunications system, which would reduce the maintenance costs on the TRACECA routes and also improve safety and efficiency.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have manifested their interest in acting as a partner in the development of this corridor. To that effect, a special focus will be placed on countries such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the most important railway networks in Central Asia.
by Elena Ilie
Share on:
