The annual meeting of the OSJD Commission on Infrastructure and Rolling Stock, that took place at the OSJD Committee premises (Warsaw) with the use of the videoconference mode on 9-10 November 2020, summed up the working results of the Commission in the reporting period and considered the objectives and plans for the following period.

Dear Colleagues!

It is a pleasure for me to welcome all of you in my new status – Chairman of the Committee of the Organisation for Cooperation between Railways.

A scheduled meeting of the OSJD Committee’s members took place on 12 October 2020. The meeting had a mixed format, with some members physically present at the OSJD Committee in Warsaw and others attending virtually through a videoconferencing system. The participating members of the Committee represented a total of 22 OSJD countries.

In accordance with the Work Plan of the OSJD Commission on Freight Traffic for 2020, the final annual meeting of the OSJD Commission on Freight Traffic in a videoconference format was held from 6 till 9 October 2020 with the participation of the representatives of railways of the OSJD member countries from

In 2020, the Railways of Azerbaijan celebrate their 140^th anniversary. This anniversary is an important event not only for the railway, but also for the Republic of Azerbaijan and the entire region as a whole, because it was the construction of the railway that gave an additional powerful impetus to economic development.

Session XLVIII of the OSJD Ministerial Conference was held from 28 till 30 September 2020 in a videoconference format with the participation of the delegations of the OSJD Ministerial Conference members from the following OSJD member countries:

Meeting XXXV of the Conference of General Directors (Authorized Representatives) of OSJD Railways, organised by the OSJD Committee, took place in the period from 14 till 16 September 2020 in a videoconference format with the participation of General Directors and Authorised Representatives from the following OSJD railways:

Over the past few years, the Lithuanian Railways’ structure (Lietuvos Geleźinkeliai) has undergone the greatest changes: the company, composed of a group of subsidiary enterprises has become more open, transparent and effectively functioning in the interests of the Lithuanian state. More recently, the structure of the group has also changed: passenger transportation, freight and infrastructure companies have been established, which are united by efficiency, responsibility, insight and leadership.

The Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov attended the signing of a contract, which took place on 21 May 2020, between the management board of BDZ and Siemens Tron for the supply of 10 new electric locomotives.

On 14 May 2020 the first ever transportation of semitrailers in a freight train on the route Germany – Poland – Lithuania was organised by the Lithuanian Railways (LG Cargo¹) and Polish State Railways (PKP Cargo) using CargoBeamer technology (for more details about this technology please see OSJD Bulletin number 1-2019, pp. 26-31).