Lithuanian Railways) Nia
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June 2012, № 3/14 (special edition) ISSN 2029-4212 RAIL NEWSPAPER FOR THE TRANSPORT PROFESSIONALS THE „VIKING TRAIN“ IS A CONNECTING LINK BETWEEN SCANDINAVIA AND THE NEAR EAST 2 RAIL RAIL 3 ail transport is one of the most ecologi- tion technologies, cooperation with related oday nobody doubts that intermod- housing operations to national GDP increased cal modes of transport, using which for institutions, appropriate management – all al transport is the best instrument to and during the years 2010 and 2011 the trans- Rtransportation of goods ten times less this integrated complex not only allows to Tmake cargo transportation fast, safe port sector of Lithuania generated around 13 fuel is used up. Alongside with the continually take care of ecology, to preserve and save and cost effective. Lithuania is very interest- % of GDP. developed legal framework of the European nature, but also allows to optimise time and ed in the successful development of trans- The international competitiveness of Lith- Union as well as secured financial support, it sets financial resources both for our partners port infrastructure projects connecting the uania in transport and logistics is to large ex- a background to develop a more environmen- and customers as well as for us. Baltic and Black Sea regions along the East– tent determined by a favourable geograph- tally-friendly rail transport business and to im- We are in continuous search of new de- West transport corridor. Without any doubt ical location at the crossroads of North, East prove the technical, technological and organi- velopment possibilities and are working to- Turkey is the key economic player and the and West and well-developed transport infra- sational mechanisms of interoperability betwe- wards widening the circle of partners in the most desirable trade partner in this chain. structure. en rail transport and other modes of transport. directions of both East and West. In order to In our view the main instruments for the The key elements of Lithuanian transport Ecology as a social factor in all kinds of business coordinate development in the Eastern regi- development of East-West transport cor- infrastructure comprise the extensive net- activities is among priority topics in the EU long- on, a representative office has been establis- ridor is the project of intermodal train “Vi- work of high-quality international and nation- term strategy. It is especially of high importance hed in Odessa in conjunction with partners – king” and the initiative of East-West Trans- al roads and railroads, 4 international airports in production and transport, where environmen- the company „Plaske“; likewise, cooperation port Corridor.. and the port of Klaipėda, which is the main tal pollution is one of the gravest issues. Consi- is being maintained with the Port of Sam- Initiative of East-West Transport Corri- multimodal node of Lithuania and is the north- dering a decline in global consumption and the sun in Turkey. Great expectations are evo- dor provides the frames of cooperation of ern-most ice-free port in the Baltic Sea. Cargo relating trade flows, the next challenge of these ked by the accession of the Governments of various levels involved in freight transpor- handling in Klaipėda seaport is growing each days to be faced by business is optimisation of Georgia and Moldova to the Freight Trans- tation process, that is: transportation, logis- year. I am glad to mention that Klaipėda sea- costs, the major portion of which is accounted portation Coordinating Council „Baltic Sea – tics companies, terminal operators, ship- port is the leading port in container handling for by fuel and other costs relating to logistics. Black Sea“. In order to develop relationships pers, national, regional and domestic au- among the Baltic States. In this context, Public Limited Liability Com- with partners in the direction of the West, thorities, as wel as science and research in- Talking about our future development pany AB „Lietuvos geležinkeliai“ (Lithuanian Rail- i.e. Scandinavia, cooperation is being main- stitutions. plans and goals I would like to distinguish our ways) can rejoice over a successful implemen- tained with diverse light and heavy indus- The “Viking Train” already proved itself as main priorities for the year 2012 and several tation of the project on the intermodal shuttle try companies as well as logistics compa- a very successful case of intermodal trans- important projects. train „Viking“, which runs on the route Klaipėda nies. With the aim to attract extra freight flo- portation between the Baltic and Black This year we are planning to promote sus- - Vilnius - Minsk - Kiev - Odessa (Ilyichevsk). The ws and to secure appropriate relationships, seas. The amount of containers handled by tainable mobility, improve traffic safety, stimu- joint project, undertaken by three countries – Li- regular meetings are also arranged with the this train is growing each year even in the late innovative solutions, and further develop thuania, Belarus and the Ukraine – as well as rail- companies of Klaipėda and Odessa Termi- period of global economic slowdown. The TEN-T transport network ensuring intermodal- BFL way companies thereof, in 2008 was acknow- nals, Lithuanian, Belarusian and Ukrainian extension of the “Viking Train” line to Turkey ity and connecting it with third countries. ledged and recognised as a good practice exam- freight forwarders as well as the members of would benefit carriers of all countries along In order to reach our objectives we invest ple in the survey of the PROMIT project coordi- other target trade associations. this route. into transport infrastructure development, supported by the European Union funding. New port will become a gateway of the East- nated by the European Commission. Therefore, looking forward, being in Also, I would like to mention that Cauca- modernization of roads and railways, dredging However, Lithuania is considering various al- West transport corridor. In 2009, the European Intermodal Associa- constant search of new alternatives in the sian countries (Georgia and Azerbaijan), as and widening of the port navigation channel, ternative investment possibilities, including Our priorities devoted to the development tion (EIA) endowed the project with an award competitive global economy and feeling well as Scandinavian countries are interest- reconstruction and construction of quays. in the nomination „Best Intermodal Transport social responsibility, we would like to invi- ed in this project. This allows us to expect Also Lithuanian Government has planned the participation of private capital. of transport connections, implementation of and Freight Integration Service from A to B“. te you to cooperate and develop the „gre- that in future the “Viking Train” line will ef- to establish a number of public logistics cen- Due to growing volumes of freight handling innovative and intermodal solutions, will cre- These achievements would not have been en“ transport by connecting Scandinavian, fectively connect the Caspian, Black and tres near Trans-European network transport and transit cargo it was decided to increase the ate favorable conditions for cargo transpor- possible without a close cooperation among Baltic and other Eastern European as well as Baltic seas. corridors (TEN-T) crossing Lithuanian territo- capacity of the Port of Klaipėda. A new deep- tation between the Caspian, Black and Baltic all three countries‘ business and public sec- Near East countries. Lithuania is a progressive and dynam- ry. These centres will help Lithuanian transport sea port (up to 17-17.5 metres in depth) will seas. tor institutions, contemporary managerial so- ically developing country. Transport and sector to be a part of intermodal transport net- be built and will be capable of receiving larger lutions as well as targeted investments into Dr. Stasys Dailydka logistics sector is one of the most rapid- work and a nodal point composing effective vessels. It is planned that the port will be con- Dr. Arūnas Štaras, infrastructure and the rolling-stock fleet. Re- General Director of AB „Lietuvos geležin- ly developing economic sectors of Lithua- logistics services. structed on an artificial island.T he total costs Lithuanian viceminister of Transport, Chair- gularity, infrastructure, innovations, informa- keliai“ (Lithuanian Railways) nia. The contribution of transport and ware- Construction of these logistics centres is of the project are estimated to be 1 billion EUR. man of the Board of „Lithuanian railways“ BFL MODERNISATION PROGRAMME OF „LITHUANIAN RAILWAYS“ SC Lithuanian Railways, as state owned velopment we will build a fully functional company with more than 10 thousand and operational inland intermodal terminal The company „Lithuanian Railways“ in 2012–2014 is to be implementing infrastructure renewal and development investment projects and is further implementing Jemployees, performs three main activities with two gantry cranes and storage capac- – company is railway infrastructure manager, ity of almost 1000 TEU including container the measures of Priority IV „Essential Economic Infrastructure“ and of Priority V „Trans-European Transport Network Development“ of the Economic Growth Action freight and passenger carrier. service centre where client will be able to Talking about freight transportation, by car- do repair works of their containers or rent Programme of the EU Structural Support Use Strategy for 2007–2013, which will help to improve the national railway infrastructure. rying around 50 million tonnes annually, Lithua- a container for stuffing with export goods. nian Railways is in the Top 10 of EU freight trans- There will also be a land plots prepared and Passenger Handling Infrastructure at Klaipėda ment of Kaunas Station, the bypass Palemonas – portation market. It also is the major freight car- (flattened with connections to all necessary State Seaport“ – and its projects, which are to be Rokai – Jiesia and the Kaunas – Kybartai line; re- rier in Lithuania, as it carries more half cargo communications and infrastructure) for implemented by the end of the year 2014, will construction of road/track-side structures of the coming through or inside the country.