In recent years, the governments’ agenda in Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus region, which define the Wider Black Sea Area, focused mainly on various programmes for railway infrastructure capacity development.
However, setting land connections between the two continents is still challenging and barriers can only be removed through an adequate decision policy on joint projects, for each member state of the Wider Black Sea Area, such as the development of proper transport infrastructures and the elimination of regulatory or institutional barriers which prevent the development of efficient transport services.
The governmental policies adopted in recent years seem to bring an ascending evolution for the railway infrastructure, which no longer holds the third place in the preferences of the population and of large project developers. Moreover, the railway infrastructure is beginning to outrun road and air transport, which until now seemed to be its unbeatable rivals.
The Black Sea and Caspian Sea ports play a decisive role in the Wider Black Sea Area. That is why it is extremely necessary to invest in the development of new rail links that can take over freight traffic, especially in order to provide alternatives to road transport. Hence, the railway infrastructure becomes the best guarantee for expanding the port hinterland. Most countries make efforts to connect the ports and the railway networks in order to increase railway capacity and the quality of the services provided. In fact, this idea reappeared at the same time as the proposals to create European railway freight transport network, so that the port services linked directly to this network could take over a large part of the freight traffic.
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 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.
On the one hand, European Union member states struggle to create a Single European Railway Area and Railway Packages I and IV (to be adopted in December 2012) tend to harmonise the financial development of railway infrastructure and to “unify” the legislative framework of the railway networks in Europe. Therefore, the new TEN-T guidelines, as well as the financing facilities initiated by the European Commission are aimed at developing the railway infrastructure by allocating community funds, apart from those that the countries receive from national budgets.
On the other hand, the countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia don’t dispose of such “community” funds, but the role of governments is essential for the development of railway infrastructure and of cross-border connections.
Therefore, many countries located in the east side of the Black Sea announced major projects for railway infrastructure development, first of all for intensifying economic development, but also for shifting as many freight from maritime to railway transport, as travel times by train is significantly reduced compared to waterborne transport.
Russia holds the first position in railway infrastructure investments. The RZD Pre-sident announced a total investment vo-lume in railway transport development of around EUR 324 Billion up to 2030. Since the beginning of the year, costs amounted to RUB 1.8 Billion (EUR 44.6 Million) and, by the end of 2012, investments allocated will amount to RUB 6.4 Billion (EUR 158.8 Million).
Azerbaijan invested EUR 38.7 Million in the development of railways in the first six months of the year.
This year, South-Caucasus Railways will invest AMD 13.5 Billion (EUR 26.9 Million) in the modernisation of the railway system, said the company’s CEO, Viktor Rebets. The company, a RZD subsidiary, manages in concession the railway transport in Armenia.
Turkey is to invest EUR 50 Billion in the next years in the development of railways, while the projects initiated amount to around USD 40 Billion. USD 30 Billion will be invested in the next 10 years in 10,000 km of high-speed railways. 4,000 km of new railways is expected to be constructed, said Minister of Transport Binali Yildirim.
Turkmenistan has continued to intensify constructions works on the North-South Corridor.
Kazakhstan is also involved in major railway infrastructure projects with massive investments driven by the set purpose of becoming a logistics hub in Central Asia.
Belarus and Kazakhstan railways have signed a collaboration agreement in industry for the deve-lopment of freight transport services and favourable transit conditions. The project on the “Modernisation of Georgian Railways” which includes the complete modernisation of main lines, the rehabilitation of infrastructure and replacement of rails, is going on according to plans. By 2015, Uzbekistan will invest USD 4 Billion in improving the railway transport system. It also plans to build a railway corridor of 230 km to connect Uzbekistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran.
In the past two years, Ukraine has massively invested in the railway infrastructure, the amount reaching EUR 4 Billion. Iran has focused on investments and will finalize 1,000 km of railways in 2012. According to Minister Ali Nikzad, around 11,000 km of railways are underway at the time being, a sum equivalent with the total number of km in 2005. The Iranian Ambassador in Kyrgyzstan, Manouchehr Moradi, said his country was ready to invest in the construction of the line in Kyrgyzstan, a section part of the transport corridor Iran-Afghanistan-Tadjikistan- Kyrgyzstan -Kazakhstan-China.
Iran plays a very active role in stressing trade connections with Central Asia, since Qazvin – Astara – Rasht railway will be built on its territory, more precisely, between Iran and Azerbaijan. The railway is the only missing link in the North-South Corridor. The construction of the route will make possible, for the first time in history, the establishment of a railway link of around 4,500 km from St. Petersburg to Bandar Abbas Port (Iran) in the Persian Gulf and a shorter connection between North-Western and Central Europe and Middle East and South Asia states. The line will be used in organising international container railway traffic and, according to experts, the freight transport market is estimated at 16-17 million tonnes.
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