1.
Background
In
the late 1990s, as the identification of the Trans-Asian
Railway nears completion, UNESCAP and its member countries
decide to take concrete action to test the operational capability
of the network through the definition of services matching
new international trade patterns and the implementation
of demonstration runs of container block-trains. The growth
in the movement of containers within Asia as well as between
Asia and its main trading partners provides an ideal potential
into which to tap.
2.
The Memorandum of Understanding
In September 2001, at a meeting in
Bangkok, a number of experts draft a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) formalizing their desire to collaborate towards the
implementation of demonstration runs as a first step to
develop international freight corridors and demonstrate
the capabilities of rail to serve trade flows between Asia
and Europe.
Altogether, eight countries and two international organizations
are directly involved in the project. The eight countries
are China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK),
Kazakhstan, Mongolia, the Republic of Korea and the Russian
Federation (all members of UNESCAP), and Belarus and Poland
(members of UNECE, i.e. UNESCAP’s sister agency in
Europe). The two international organizations to join UNESCAP
in the project are the International Union of Railways (UIC)
and the Organization for Railways Cooperation (OSJD).
With the exception of DPRK, all the participating countries
as well as UIC and OSJD sign the MOU during the period November
2001-July 2002. In addition, recognizing the importance
of the project, all UNESCAP member countries sign at ministerial
level, while DPRK railways later express their interest
in the activities and their agreement, in principle, with
the MOU.
The MOU is articulated on a series of Steering Committee
Meetings and a number of demonstration runs of container
block-trains along the routes in the corridor.
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3.
The Steering Committee
The Steering Committee is intended
to provide guidance on project implementation. It meets
on an ad hoc basis and functions as a forum at which policy
makers, railway managers and representatives of the private
sector formulates in a cooperative and solution-oriented
manner the recommendations necessary to the conduct of the
project. The Steering Committee convenes on three occasions
during the period June 2002 – September 2005.
1st Steering Committee Meeting - Vladivostok,
Russian Federation, 3 to 5 June 2002 - The Meeting
assesses the activities already undertaken by the participating
countries to develop services and facilities with respect
to container operations. It appraises itself of new international
containers services recently put in operation between major
origins and destinations along the corridor and how these
various efforts will contribute to the definition of schedules
for the demonstration runs of container block-trains (Meeting
report).
2nd Steering Committee Meeting –
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 6 to 8 November 2003 - The
Meeting agrees on a schedule for four demonstration runs
of container block-trains to take place along key sections
of the Trans-Asian Railway Northern Corridor between November
2003 and June 2004. The segments selected for implementation
are:
- From Tianjin (China) to Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia),
- From Lianyungang (China) to Almaty (Kazakhstan),
- From Brest (Belarus) to Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia),
- From Nakhodka (Russian Federation) to Malacewicze
(Poland).
-
(Meeting
report).
3rd Steering Committee Meeting –
Moscow, Russian Federation, 29 and 30 September 2005
- The Meeting reviews the implementation of the four demonstration
runs of container block-trains organized as per the recommendations
of the 2nd Steering Committee Meeting. It notes the smooth
implementation of the demonstration runs at both the planning
and operating stages, and recognizes that success is largely
due to enhanced cooperation among railways, greater awareness
of international trade patterns arising from globalization,
as well as the deployment of new skills to respond to the
industry requirements for efficient transport and logistics
services. The Meeting also identifies some areas where specific
actions will further enhance the attractiveness of international
rail services, e.g. greater cooperation between railways
and Customs administrations, and a common approach in relation
to international tariffs (Meeting
report).
4th Steering Committee Meeting
– Astana, Kazakhstan, 19 and 20 September 2006
– As a prelude to the establishment of a mechanism
to monitor the quality of container block-train services
through the regular monitoring of operation of specific
container block-trains along designated routes, the Meeting
agrees to re-run three demonstration runs organized during
the period November 2003-June 2004, namely:
- From Tianjin (China) to Ulaanbaatar
(Mongolia),
- From Lianyungang (China) to Almaty (Kazakhstan),
- From Brest (Belarus) to Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia).
The Meeting also agrees on the implementation
of new demonstration runs of container block-trains along
the following routes:
-
From Vostochny (Russian Federation) to Almaty (Kazakhstan),
- From an origin in Kazakhstan to the Baltic Sea port
of Klaipeda
(Lithuania),
- From the port of Busan (Republic of Korea) to Martsevo
(Russian
Federation).
Noting
with satisfaction the work under way in the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea to upgrade the line section
between the port of Rajin and Tumangang (border station
with the railways of the Russian Federation), the Meeting
requested the secretariat to liaise with all concerned
parties to organize a demonstration run of a container
block-train from the Port of Rajin to Khasan with onward
connection to the Trans-Siberian main line. The Meeting
also encouraged all railways of the UNESCAP region to
take part in the Ministerial Conference on Transport to
be held in Busan, Republic of Korea, from 6 to 11 November
2006 and to sign the Intergovernmental Agreement on the
Trans-Asian Railway Network for which a signing ceremony
will take place on 10 November 2006. (Meeting
report)
4. Demonstration
runs of container block-trains
Over the period November 2003-July
2004, UNESCAP and the railways concerned implement the four
demonstration runs agreed upon at the 2nd Steering Committee
Meeting as follows (Map):
i. November 2003
- Port of Tianjin (China) to Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia)
- Distance: 1,700 km
- Time: 75 hrs 20 min
- Daily distance: 542 km
- Load: 99 TEUs
- Cargo: second-hand cars, computers, beer,
garments, milk
ii. April 2004
- Port of Lianyungang (China) to Almaty (Kazakhstan)
- Distance: 5,020 km
- Time: 7 days 6 hours
- Daily distance: 694 km
- Load: 76 TEUs
- Cargo: TV components, automobiles
iii. June 2004
- Brest (Belarus) to Ulaan-baatar (Mongolia)
- Distance: 7,200 km
- Time: 8 days 16 hours
- Daily distance: 830 km
- Load: 69 TEUs
- Cargo: furniture, construction materials,
canned food, consolidated cargo
iv. July 2004
- Nakhodka (Russian Federation) to Malaszewicze
(Poland)
- Distance: 10,380 km
- Time: 12 days 8 hours
- Daily distance: 840 km
- Load: 92 TEUs
- Cargo: consumer goods, electronic products
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