The two-day working meeting of the representatives of the parties of the international Viking combined train project transit project was held from 11 – 12 November in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.
Georgian Railways became a full member of the Viking project at the working meeting in Vilnius in April 2015.
The Viking combined train project is a joint railway project of Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Turkey. Its aim is to connect the Baltic and Black Seas by rail.
The Viking combined transport train started operating in February 2003.
Within the project there is active work to optimise cargo delivery in the Baltic Sea-Black Sea direction, process recommendations, develop technologies and routes of container trains, and improve the legal and organisational structure of mixed (multimodal) and intermodal transport.
“The participation the Georgian Railways in the project of container transit transport to link Transcaucasia, the countries of Middle Asia, with the region of Eastern Europe, the Baltic and the countries of Scandinavia means that Georgian can become a transport hub between Europe and Asia. Georgia will become an important link in the Viking project and in the TPACEKA (TRAnsport Corridor Europe Caucasus Asia) international programme – as noted in the joint statement of the project’s Coordination Council.
The Viking combined transport train was named the best European project in the freight transport sector by the European Union’s Transport Commission.
At the meeting, the parties discussed the report on carrying out the project and its future prospects, including making decisions on new competitive tariffs. The issue of Azerbaijan joining the project was also discussed.
“The idea of the afore-mentioned project is for the Northern European countries and the Baltic countries to join the Black Sea Basin. So far eight countries are listed as being part of the project, with the accession of Azerbaijan also expected. This means that we will have opportunity to connect the countries of Middle Asia to Northern Europe”, said Mamuka Bakhtadze, Director General of JSC Georgian Railways.
(Source: Georgian Railways)
