On 1 October 2012, the 21st Plenary Meeting of the Coordinating Council on Transsiberian Transportation (CCTT) took place in Odessa, bringing together high-level delegates from railways, integrated operators (among them UIC, OSJD, CIT, NATO),... as well as shipping companies, ports, state organisations, operators & forwarders, etc.
The meeting served as an opportunity to discuss the economical and technical challenges of the Transsiberian Corridor as well as the successes achieved, the measures aimed at improving the effectiveness of container transportation between Europe and Asia and the need for harmonisation.
During this meeting, the Global Team of Experts (GTE), based on an initiative of RZD President Yakunin with the intention to promote the development of intercontinental corridors under the umbrella of UIC, was re-launched with the newly-appointed chairman Mr Valery Veremeev. Members of the group represent rail and non-rail key stakeholders (railway undertakings, freight forwarders, rail associations, potential customers, shipping lines and others). The GTE serves as a platform for exchange among all stakeholders, and to initiate and steer projects creating the right framework conditions for developing long-distance rail traffic. The GTE remains open to any interested member or outside party who can contribute to the promotion and development of intercontinental corridors.
UIC was represented by Mr Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, UIC Director-General, who insisted on the fact that trade volumes between Europe and Asia amount to more than 600 billion dollars a year and the market share of this exchange is only 1%. “By 2050 the demand for freight transport will grow by 80% and that of passenger transport will grow by 50% worldwide. By 2050 two billion people will have moved to cities, which will entail a cost due to environmental and infrastructure issues, and that means that innovative inter-city and intra-city rail solutions must be found. The forecast in rail is set to multiply by eight for freight and by 12 for passengers. All this is confirmed by the unprecedented investment plans in rail over the next 30 years – more than 5000 billion euros around the world. One of the answers of course is the search for greater unity and interoperability, most of it on the new international corridors. 90 years ago UIC was created with this aim of interoperability between neighbouring countries. Today, interoperability is between continents and also between complementary modes of transport. If we can overcome these issues of interoperability, and technical and administrative obstacles, we will certainly bring societies and the world new possibilities of efficient, safe and productive means of transport in a fragmented world, which needs these new corridors of unity more than ever.”
This Plenary Meeting also reflected strengthening cooperation between CCTT and OSJD.
The Coordinating Council on Transsiberian Transportation (CCTT) is a non-commercial transport association with an open-ended duration, registered in the main trade register of St. Gallen (Switzerland) on 21 February, 1997.
The CCTT was founded by the Ministry of Railway Communication of the Russian Federation (since 2003 — after the restructuring — JSC “Russian Railways”), DB AG (Deutsche Bahn), GETO (Association of European Transsiberian Operators), and KIFFA (Korean International Freight Forwarders Association).
Presently the CCTT features 136 members from 25 countries, including major railways and shipping companies, operators and forwarders, ports and stevedoring companies, state organisations, administrations and municipalities, telecom and marketing companies, as well as security services and media.
Main objectives of the CCTT are:
attracting transit and foreign trade cargo to the Transsiberian route;
coordinating the activities of the participants of international cargo transportation via the Transsiberian route (TSR) to ensure high-quality delivery of cargo and to develop economic relations between the countries of South-East Asia, Far and Middle East, Central Asia and Europe using the infrastructure of Russian railways.
Main functions of the CCTT are:
- coordinating the interaction of all participants of cargo transportation via the Transsiberian route;
- participating in the development of standards and regulations concerning the transportation process on the TSR;
- preparing suggestions on growing cargo transportation volumes on the TSR based on the analysis of the transport market;
- preparing suggestions on the elimination of the factors that restrain the attraction of transit and foreign trade cargo to the Transsiberian route;
- participating in the activities of other public and transport organisations within the competence of the CCTT
