The President of Russian Railways Oleg Belozerov and the President of the national French railway company SNCF Guillaume Pepy held a meeting at which they discussed the prospects of cooperation between the railway companies of Russia and France.

“Our countries have much in terms of working together on railway transport, but we see great potential in our cooperation and are ready to discuss additional development opportunities,” said Oleg Belozerov, President of Russian Railways.

The participants in the meeting noted that Russian Railways and SNCF have long standing partnerships with regard to the development of freight and passenger transport, station modernisation and the use of modern technology in ticket selling. Rail transport is recognised as a global leader in terms of environmental friendliness and transport safety.

During the meeting, the partners discussed the prospects for developing new passenger routes, modernising station complexes and implementing other infrastructure projects in Russia and abroad, including high­speed rail projects. In particular, it was noted that French companies have 35 years of experience in the construction and operation of high­speed lines and that the consortium, with the involvement of engineering company Systra and SNCF, had already already signed a contract with OJSC High Speed Line – ­ a wholly owned subsidiary of Russian Railways – ­ to provide technical consulting on the development of project documentation for the construction of the Moscow -Kazan high­speed railway line.

The parties agreed to continue the series of consultations to determine the most promising areas for cooperation and to discuss specific joint projects.

(Source: RZD)