The President of Russian Railways Oleg Belozerov and the CEO of China Railways Sheng Guangji have signed an agreement on comprehensive strategic cooperation.
The two company heads signed the agreement in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on 25 June 2016.
Both sides expressed their mutual interest in implementing projects jointly in the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Silk Road Economic Belt.
According to the document, the parties will contribute to the active development of international transport corridors (ITCs) passing through Russia and China, as well as other countries, as part of a balanced development of the infrastructure along the national sections of the corridors and improve the technical characteristics of the railway lines with the aim of increasing train speeds and ensuring the smooth and uninterrupted passage of future freight traffic.
The parties intend to develop existing and future border crossings between China and Russia and the rail infrastructure on the approaches to the border crossings.
Russian Railways and Chinese Railways also agreed to take the necessary measures to optimise the conditions and technology of international container traffic, including organising regular container trains running to a timetable and facilitating the transportation of postal deliveries and e-commerce freight between China – Russia and China – Europe.
In addition, the parties expressed their intention to improve the safety and security system of shipments and electronic data interchange for international rail shipments and to expand the network of terminal and storage facilities along the main routes.
Russian Railways and China Railways also agreed to contribute to the formation of the Eurasian high-speed Moscow – Beijing International Transport Corridor and the implement the construction project to build the Moscow – Kazan high-speed railway line as a priority project on this corridor.
The parties will in addition make efforts to improve the attractiveness of passenger transport between Russia and China by developing new routes and flexible tariff conditions, raising the level of comfort and offering new tourist routes.
The document also provides for cooperation on science, technology and innovation, as well as on training railway staff.
While in China, the President of Russian Railways Oleg Belozerov also took part in the signing of an agreement between the JSC Sinara Group and the Chinese engineering company CRRC Corporation to cooperate on localising the production of high-speed rolling stock and railway equipment in the Russian Federation.
The agreement was signed in order to expand Russian-Chinese cooperation on developing high-speed transportation in the Russian Federation, in particular, the Moscow – Kazan high-speed railway, which is a priority project of the Moscow – Beijing Eurasian transport corridor.
(Source: RZD)
