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.

Today the OSJD incorporates 29 countries of the world with a population of almost 2 billion people and an area of about 37 million square km. The total length of the railways of the OSJD member countries is about 300 thousand kilometers, by which about 5.5 billion passengers and 5.5 billion tons of goods are transported annually.

The activities performed by the railways at present stage are incorporated with rather difficult conditions which are caused by the coronavirus infection (COVID-19) pandemic and affected almost all countries in the world. I am confident that the solidarity shown, the joint efforts and partnership will enable us to overcome this most difficult period.

The challenging situation in the world made it necessary for all of us to act more decisively and harmoniously in the new reality. In this regard, it should be noted that the railways of the OSJD member countries are taking all the necessary measures to further develop and improve international freight traffic in the Eurasian space. It is also necessary to underline the important coordinating role of OSJD and other international organisations in the process of ensuring reliable and uninterrupted transport links between Europe and Asia, as they create necessary conditions for further progress, which is impossible without close cooperation between all of us.

From the very beginning of the restrictive measures imposed in most of the OSJD member countries and around the world in order to prevent the spread of the pandemic, the inter-national agreements, tariffs, rules and other documents adopted and operating within the OSJD framework have proven their relevance and effectiveness.

The work carried out within the OSJD frame-work to improve and develop 13 OSJD railway transport corridors, which ensure uninterrupted transportation between Europe and Asia and are among the priority investment projects for the development of railways in all OSJD member countries, is also of great importance in modern conditions. At the same time, special attention is paid to the development of container and multimodal transportation, since it is the most efficient and competitive mode of transport that meets the challenges within the framework of the “One Belt – One Road” initiative.

Over the past years, the number of regular container and contrailer trains running between China and the European countries has been steadily growing in the OSJD space, while the geography of multimodal container transportation itself is expanding, new countries are being connected, the unified CIM/SMGS consignment note is being introduced more widely, which makes it possible to significantly reduce the time required for crossing the borders between the areas where different transport law systems are applied.

The rapidly growing e-commerce has become a powerful impetus for organising and implementing the high-speed delivery of small postal items and groupage cargo by rail, not only in containers, but also in mail wagons.

The process of transition to digital technologies in the field of transport and logistics has received a new impetus everywhere - from the introduction of electronic transit customs declarations and consignment notes to the implementation of promising projects in such areas as electronic “rolling stock exchanges”, “electronic trains”, electronic ticketing and seat reservations systems and much more.

In connection with the electronic version of the CIM/SMGS consignment note which has come into force on 1 July 2019, the railway companies of the OSJD member countries are actively working on its use as a basis for cross-border container transportation in the direction between China and Europe.

It is also worth noting that the project of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) “Transport of postal items by rail between China and Europe” provides a new opportunity for the use of the unified CIM/SMGS consignment note and its further popularization for clients in international traffic.

Currently, the world market of transport services is characterized by a transition to closer international cooperation between its participants. Well-coordinated and harmonious operation of all modes of transport contributes to the growth of world trade and the solution of a significant part of social problems. In this regard, further OSJD activities aimed at fulfilling the main objective – the development and improvement of international railway transportation in the direction between Europe and Asia, increasing their efficiency and the level of services – seem extremely urgent. First of all, these activities are aimed to improve, harmonize and unify the legal,

regulatory and technical framework, to adopt the text of the Convention on Direct International Railway Traffic, to develop the railway trans-port corridors, to improve the tariffs for railway transportation, to facilitate the border crossing procedures, including wider implementation the unified CIM/SMGS consignment note, in order to reduce the time and costs for border crossing, to develop the container, contrailer and combined traffic, to introduce modern information technologies, to develop vocational training/education in the field of railway transport, to create the OSJD Academy, and many others.

Great assistance in the solution of many spectrums of tasks is rendered by close and fruitful cooperation with the international organisations, especially with the UNECE and UNESCAP, OTIF, EU, CIT, ERA, CCTT, UIC, EAEU, CSZT, WCO, UPU, FIATA, TMTM, OCE and others.

The deep understanding of global processes and the requirements for raising the level of environmental protection and energy efficiency, which are currently taking place round the world, makes it possible to increase the importance of OSJD railways for the development of international transport.

Dear Colleagues!

The new year of 2021 is approaching, which will mark the OSJD’s 65th anniversary.

In this regard, I would like to wish all those working for railways in the OSJD space and our international partners for cooperation good health, happiness, success in all undertakings and all the best for the benefit of railway transport development and for the prosperity and well-being of all our countries.