A High Level Regional Freight Meeting of national railway freight operators was held on 4 September, organised by HŽ Cargo.
In addition to HŽ Cargo’s Management, the meeting was attended by Mr Igor Cigula, Assistant Minister from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, Ms Renata Suša, President of HŽ Infrastruktura’s Management Board, and presidents and managers of the following regional railway undertakings: SŽ Tovorni prevoz, Željeznice Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine, Željeznice Republike Srpske, Montecargo, Makedonski železnički transport and Trainkos.
Mr Igor Cigula, Assistant Minister, talked about the market liberalisation and its impact on freight transport services, and pointed out that the meeting was an opportunity to resolve open issues.
Mr Danijel Krakić, President of HŽ Cargo’s Management Board, considers that there is a need for such a meeting and that this is one of the initial gatherings in a series to come. He indicated that a common goal of the regional national railway operators is to retain the leading position on their own domestic transport market and to provide customers with quality services. In addition, he added that we can alleviate administrative, technical, technological and infrastructure obstacles by common action, in order to increase efficiency, profitability and competitiveness on the market.
Ms Renata Suša, President of HŽ Infrastruktura’s Management Board, presented the investments in Croatian railroads, totalling around two billion Euro, currently the largest capital investment in infrastructure in Europe.
The national railway operators have come to a conclusion that further development of prosperous railway operators will partly depend on good multilateral and regional cooperation. Furthermore, the transport corridors passing through the countries in the region are demonstrating the potential of this European area as an integration system, acknowledging that they are inseparable from the rest of the European transport network.
At the meeting, the participants signed the Memorandum on Mutual Cooperation. The Memorandum has established a framework for enhanced cooperation among the national freight operators. This cooperation involves providing mutual support in implementation of organisational, technical and operational modifications, making available own experience, exchanging professional know-how, information and ideas.
(Source: HŽ Cargo)
