Session XLIX of the OSJD Ministerial Conference was held from 15 till 18 June 2021 at the OSJD Committee in Warsaw in a videoconferencing mode. The session was attended by the representatives of the delegations of the members of the Ministerial Conference from 22 OSJD member countries, as follows:

Within the framework of the subject “Updating the Agreement on the Use of Freight Wagons in International Traffic (PGW)” in accordance with the approved Work Plan of the OSJD Commission on Freight Traffic for 2021, the OSJD Committee (Warsaw) held two meetings using the videoconferencing mode.

The Polish company “Polish Broad Gauge Metallurgical Line” (PKP LHS LLC) and the Chinese operator “China Railway International Multimodal Transport” (CRIMT) have signed an agreement on the organisation of international multimodal transportation on the route China – Europe – China. The first train, operated by the PKP LHS LLC, has already arrived in Slawkow.

The Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway line (HSR) is an intercity high-speed railway line connecting the capital of China, Beijing, with the city of Zhangjiakou in Hebei Province. This line, which is an important link in the transportation system for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, originates from Beijing North Railway Station and has a length of 174 kilometers.

Azerbaijani Railways CJSC and its subsidiary – ADY Container LLC are working together to diversify and expand transit capabilities of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The roadmap and document on the planning and construction of the Mazar-i-Sharif- Kabul-Peshawar railway line were signed by the representatives of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Republic of Uzbekistan and Islamic Republic of Pakistan at a historic conference in Tashkent on 2 February 2021.

The 57^th meeting of the OSJD/ERA Contact Group on the subject: “Collaboration between ERA and OSJD on the analysis of the relationship between 1520-mm/1524-mm and 1435-mm rail systems of EU and non-EU states”;

A regular meeting No. 2/2021 of the OSJD Committee Members was held in Warsaw on 5 March 2021 using the videoconferencing mode.

From 19 till 23 April 2021, meeting XXXVI of the Conference of General Directors (Authorised Representatives) of OSJD Railways was held in the OSJD Committee premises using the videoconferencing online mode, which was attended by the general directors and authorised representatives from the following OSJD railways:

On 13 January 2021, the city of Chengdu (China, Sichuan province) witnessed the official launch of the world’s first technical prototype of a high-speed magnetic levitation (Maglev) train using high-temperature superconductivity, as well as a track line to test the new train. The prototype has been developed using the original technologies of the Southwest Jiaotong University (SWJU, an OSJD affiliated enterprise).