ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
November 16, 2004 Tuesday 9:57 AM Eastern Time

Railways of CIS states boost volumes of haulage

By Andrei Fomin

MINSK

The volume of rail freight turnover in CIS countries as well as in
Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia increased by 8.3 percent over the past
nine months as against the corresponding period last year. This
figure was quoted at the 39th meeting of the Council on Railway
Transport of CIS countries, which opened in Minsk on Tuesday.

It was pointed out that the growth in haulage was achieved mostly
thanks to railways of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus as well as railways
with high rate of growth in freight traffic – Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and
Lithuania. The meeting also called attention to such an important
figure as turnover of rolling stock, which was speeded up by 10.6
hours. As a result, railways could operate without increasing the
rolling stock.

Speaking in an interview with reporters, chairman of the Council on
Railway Transport of Commonwealth states and president of the Russian
Railways Company Gennady Fadeyev noted that this year witnesses “a
very good dynamics in haulage all over CIS countries, a very
impressive increment”.

He specially singled out Belarus where an increase in shipping
cargoes climbed up by 38.7 percent as against the corresponding
period last year. “This is a very high increment,” he added.

Executives of railway administrations from former Soviet republics,
as well as representatives from Bulgaria, Finland and the
International Confederation of Railwaymen and Transport Builders
Trade Union. The meeting agenda includes around 15 items whose
solution will help to consolidate interaction and cooperation between
railways.