The various types of gauges represent the basic difference between the international railway systems. Interoperability is vital for any type of railway service, because it helps optimize services and innovation. Based on the type of gauge, the railways are divided into: standard-gauge railways (1435 mm), specific to most European countries, broad-gauge railways (1520 mm) and narrow-gauge railways (700-1200 mm), used in mountainous, forest, agricultural areas and construction sites. The 1520 mm gauge is used in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Baltic region, Mongolia and Finland. In “Area 1520”, the total length of the broad-gauge network is of 226.830 km, the second network in length in the world, following the standard-gauge network. Because of the gauge differences at national and international level, passenger and freight traffic have gradually decreased. Hence, in international traffic, the gauge difference is a major obstacle standing in the way of an efficient transport system.
In this context, the countries for which interoperability represents a priority should invest in specific technologies and the application of new construction technologies, as well as special railway equipment which facilitates the integration of the respective network within the trans-European network. Collaborations with international partners, infrastructure modernisation, harmonisation of specific legislation, intensifying the measures for reducing stationing time at borderlines, these are several key aspects which ensure interoperability and provide an efficient transport.
Starting with the 19th century, Russia became the first country in the world to implement the broad-gauge railway network. The 1524 mm gauge was used for the first time in the construction of the St. Petersburg – Moscow double-track line, which became operational in 1851. This line became a landmark for future technical and scientific projects developed in the railway sector, a principle for transport policies in the field of railway construction in Russia. The project for this line helped boost the development of the domestic industry, which began to manufacture locomotives and wagons capable of operating on this type of gauge.
Starting with 1851, broad-gauge became the single measuring unit for all railway constructions in Tsarist Russia and all over the empire, and later in the Soviet Union. In 1960, the gauge was changed to 1520 mm, in order to facilitate calculations.
Studying the European and American experience, Russian engineers were the first to develop a selection method for the basic technical parameters in the railway sector, especially gauge and the maximum gradient based on local topography. Currently, Russia’s railway network is important for its connections with other countries. Railway transport helps economic growth and improves foreign relations. “The scale of the geographical area of Russia determines the role of transport as forming the economic backbone of the country. Besides, transportation links connect the country with the international community, being the material basis to ensure the international cooperation and integration of Russia into the global economic system.
The railway network in “Area 1520” is among the most important tools to strengthen the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation and achieve the political goals in foreign relations”, said Russian Minister of Transport Igor Levitin, during the “1520 Strategic Dialogue: Baltic Region” forum, held during February 8-10, 2010, in Tallinn, Estonia.
The need to adopt economic and common law regulations, necessary to ensure railway passenger and freight transport in international traffic appeared during 1951 – 1956. Following several reunions held in Warsaw (December 22, 1950), Prague (April 23, 1951) and Budapest (July 10, 1951), the first documents related to passenger and freight transport were elaborated and adopted, including freight transit in international traffic.
In 1956, the Organisation for Railway Collaboration (OCCF) was set up for the elaboration of the economic regulations necessary to ensure railway passenger and freight transport in international traffic.
OCCF aimed at ensuring the necessary premises for railway transit between Europe and Asia, including combined transport, as well as political collaboration, coordination of agreements on international railway passenger and freight transport and agreements on settlements of accounts between the participating companies. Currently, OCCF has 27 members. Active members are the representatives at executive level who ensure railway transport and the central railways companies of 25 countries: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, China, Korea, Estonia, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Hungary and Vietnam.
OCCF’s objectives concern international railway transport development and improvement, especially traffic between Europe and Asia, including combined transport; collaboration in matters related to economic, IT, technical-scientific and eco-friendly aspects of railway transport; collaboration in the field of railway exploitation and technical aspects related to the future development of international railway transport.
In order to develop an efficient transport system in Area 1520, work groups were created to facilitate cross-border transit, analyse the relations between the broad-gauge transport systems outside the communitarian space, harmonisation of the transport legislation, cross-border procedure coordination and container transport development between Europe and Asia.
Problems, prospects and initiatives related to break-of gauge
The contact area between the 1435 mm and the 1520 mm gauges determine a series of actions in order to ensure a constant traffic flow. Hence, it is necessary to transfer wagons on bogies of various gauges. This causes stationing at border points and freight transhipment (in some cases). Because of the insufficient technical facilities (spaces, installations, technology, equipment, IT applications) and the unsatisfying cooperation between the decision-makers involved (railway regulatory bodies, customs, border police) the established technological processes are not properly implemented. The non application, for economic reasons, of the automated gauge changing systems (which are used on a small scale and only as experiment between Poland and Belarus for only one border point; in Spain, these systems have been successfully applied and in Russia tests are currently being made, in collaboration with Talgo) and the incompatibility between the various railway exploitation systems are some of the most frequent problems encountered at the contact area between the two types of gauges. The incompatibility resides in the different AC/CC power supply systems of the overhead catenary, with different voltages and frequencies – in case of electrified lines, the different traffic control systems (dispatch), signalling systems, interlocking and the different characteristics of the lines (axle weight, speed, weight etc.) Another problem encountered in the 1435 mm – 1520 mm break-of-gauge concerns legislation, more precisely the existence of different legal systems in the two areas, the lack (in some cases) of bilateral agreements on cross-border railway traffic regulation, the lack of proper IT applications with the help of which the arrival of a freight train is announced two hours before arriving at the border, the lack of data concerning the respective shipment (the so-called “train decomposition”), as well as the weak representation of licensed railway operators at international level. In order to solve these problems, it is necessary to intensify the measures concerning the reduction of the stationing period at borders (with the involvement of the neighbouring railway administrations in ensuring the minimal technical requirements and applying the technologies established and by expanding the scope of decision-makers in accordance with the legislative changes) and also harmonise the legislation (conventions, technical charts, unified transhipment documents).
Cooperating with specialized EU institutions, implementing automated gauge changing systems, ensuring the necessary infrastructure and rolling stock for high speed on cross-border railway corridors are only some of the prospects and initiatives which should be applied in order to solve the problems of the 1435 mm – 1520 mm break-of-gauge. In order to facilitate the access from one type of gauge to another it is important to regulate the financial aspect for internal settlements of accounts, ensure an active IT collaboration in the field of railway transport and a non-discriminatory access of licensed private operators in international traffic.
The importance of the Baltic Region
Despite the drop in the traffic volume, as a result of the
economic crisis, the Baltic Region continues to be a key element of cooperation in Eurasia. Therefore, this region is important for all the partners who use broad-gauge lines. However, the significant advantages in terms of competition and transit potential are not enough to ensure a long-term sustainable development. As Europe’s gateway to Area 1520 and the Black Sea, the Baltic Region needs a strong, synergetic impulse, especially in terms of rail infrastructure modernisation and cooperation in the transport sector, with a focus on the implementation of innovative elements.
Having as main objective the reorganisation of the railway system, Latvian Railways (LDz) and Russian Railways (RZD) will sign a cooperation agreement during the 52nd edition of the International Transport Forum, organised during May 13-14, 2010. This reunion will be attended by CEOs of various railway companies from the Baltic Region, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and other countries part of Area 1520. The 52nd edition will reunite 17 railway operators and aims at ensuring a proper coordination of all rail transport related activities in these countries. The participants will discuss and agree on the joint use of wagon and container depots and the organisation of the transport system at international level. They will also discuss various problems concerning railway safety and define the economic responsibilities of the operators in case of law violations, as well as various methods for solving the disputes between operators.
The key tendencies for long-term development will help minimize future risks and focus on the efficient implementation of the Baltic Region’s strategic potential. Hence, increasing rail transport attractiveness and competitiveness in this region, as well as consolidating investment resources for the integration of the rail infrastructure within the European network represent key aspects which bring transport efficiency and economic growth. In the current context, the competition between various routes and modes of transport, as well as between the major players on the railway market helps stimulate efficiency and increase the transport capacity in Area 1520.
As far as RZD is concerned, freight transport is a priority in the Baltic Region. Strategy 2030 stipulates an increase in the transport capacity on the Trans-Siberian route by building an additional 400 km around the main railway hubs.
“Building new lines will ensure a real opportunity to carry containers from the Far East to the western borders in only 7 days. By 2015, a freight shipment will require only 7 days to reach Brest, through the Belarus-Poland border. This will generate a real impact on railway competitiveness in the Baltic Region”, said Yakunin. According to him, RZD has intensified its efforts to promote the development of an integrated rail infrastructure for the International Transport Corridor (ITC), North-South axis. Experts estimate that the freight volume on this corridor will reach 25-26 million tonnes by 2015. The development of a direct rail link between North-West Europe and Iran through Russia and Azerbaijan will create a 4,500 km long bridge between the Baltic countries/St. Petersburg and the port of Bandar Abbas in the Persian Gulf, linking North-Western and Central Europe, the Middle East and South Asia.
“As a result of this project, the Baltic ports will become the European gateway to South Asia. As far as we are concerned, we will help create a competitive environment for the use of Russian ports on a large scale, especially the Baltic Sea and Black Sea ports, in order to promote export from Central Asia”, said Yakunin.
The globalization of the international transport market, the harsh competition and the increase in transport demand in Area 1520 require better communication and the elaboration of joint approaches for the development of an integrated transport system, able to face the increasing passenger and freight transport demand between Asia and Europe.
In regards to the Rail Baltica project, European Commissioner for transport Siim Kallas admitted, following a meeting with Estonian officials in Tallinn, in March 2010, that the project for the implementation of the standard 1435 mm gauge on the Rail Baltica corridor came a little late. Kallas said that “the 1520 mm gauge is the weak spot of the Rail Baltica project. The European Union urges the use of the standard gauge, but not all member states share this vision”. Kallas was informed by the governments of the Baltic countries that they have reached a joint agreement on maintaining the broad gauge and have excluded the option of building parallel lines with 1435 mm standard gauge in Estonia, because this would eliminate the need to change gauge when trains coming from the Baltic Region enter Poland. The statements made by Siim Kallas were denied by Pavel Telicka, Rail Baltica Project Coordinator, who said that the project will go on and it will remain a priority; also, the construction of this line will depend on the Lithuanian Government. He added that everything will become clear in the next few months, after having analysed the financing through European structural funds. Pavel Telicka has discussed the stages of this project with the Lithuanian Minister of Transport. Rail Baltica will be finalized by 2013.
Partnerships are vital for railway system integration
The implementation of major projects linking international railway networks is vital to increase cooperation in the transport sector. “The implementation of major infrastructure and innovative projects in the field of transport should be based solely on the basis of efficient and mutually beneficial cooperation between all the operators of the transportation process. Joining forces to improve the efficiency of the whole system will enable us to maximize our core competitive advantages”, said Kaido Simmermann, Chairman of the Board – Executive Director of Estonian Railways, during the “1520 Strategic Partnership” forum.
The economic growth in more developed countries is a major signal for the railway market, which stimulates trade in the Asia-Pacific region and Western Europe. These tendencies indicate the fact that customers are ready to increase product and service consumption, including those from the transport industry, and Area 1520 should respond by launching high-quality and competitive products. Achieving the integration potential of the transport system in Area 1520 will increase the attractiveness of the service market and thus ensure success in attracting customers.
“Transport is a key industry, determining the social and economic development of the state. The geographical position of Russia poses geopolitical challenges to the development of the transport infrastructure. In this context, historically established “Area 1520” comes out as an important strategic tool in the formation and implementation of an integrated transport policy of the CIS and Baltic states”, said Sergei Shishkarev, deputy within the Transport Committee of the State Duma (Russia). Increasing rail traffic competitiveness is a challenge for the business sector. The joint interests and interdependence between key players in the consolidation process of the transport demand determine the adoption of specific measures relate to railway modernisation, industry and transport service development and management system. As a strategic priority in the development of transport policies, network modernisation and integration may become a strong impulse for the implementation of modern railway transport technologies, the achievement of the transit potential and the stimulation of private investments. “Fast, reliable and safe transport is a task of utmost importance in the general transport policy of the “Area 1520” partnership member states.
International transport corridors are an integrated component of the global economy. In this context, railways with the 1520 gauge have a huge potential for the development of transport corridors and Eurasian economic links. The realization of this potential is the important task for all the parties involved”, said Sergey Katyrin, Vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation.
by Pamela Luică
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