The railroads serving the Russian ports have reached its maximum traffic capacity, the Russian Ministry of Transport said.
Transport Minister Igor Levitin told the Second Railroads Congress there is an urgent need to upgrade the rail infrastructure, port’s side tracks, railyards, pricing policy, etc., and make amendments to Russian law on transport. The railroads authorities should seek to eliminate bottlenecks, carry out an overhaul of technology planning, moving empty railcars and management of the operation of the entire rolling stock.
The amendments to Russian transport legislation will make all those engaged in rail transportation responsible for the railroads network smooth operation. Both shippers and Russian Railways may be fined for railroads congestion, untimely removal of empty railcars from railways, or supply of locomotives by railroads authorities. "Business entities should be held accountable for their work", said the Minister.
The official said that RZD and the entire rail industry should be customer-focused providing efficient services to passengers and cargo owners. In the course of structural reforms the government has established the mechanisms that supported the state-owned rail monopoly.
However, the railroads investment program is not actually a program of development but a program that is aimed only at maintenance of the rail infrastructure, “while we should talk about the program of modernization and new technologies," Igor Levitin said.
According to the official, depreciation of fixed assets is a factor that hinders the railroad infrastructure development. He noted that in the past few years, the situation has been improving, namely the upgrade of the fleet of locomotives and railcars. “But this is not enough,” Levitin said.
Transport Minister Igor Levitin told the Second Railroads Congress there is an urgent need to upgrade the rail infrastructure, port’s side tracks, railyards, pricing policy, etc., and make amendments to Russian law on transport. The railroads authorities should seek to eliminate bottlenecks, carry out an overhaul of technology planning, moving empty railcars and management of the operation of the entire rolling stock.
The amendments to Russian transport legislation will make all those engaged in rail transportation responsible for the railroads network smooth operation. Both shippers and Russian Railways may be fined for railroads congestion, untimely removal of empty railcars from railways, or supply of locomotives by railroads authorities. "Business entities should be held accountable for their work", said the Minister.
The official said that RZD and the entire rail industry should be customer-focused providing efficient services to passengers and cargo owners. In the course of structural reforms the government has established the mechanisms that supported the state-owned rail monopoly.
However, the railroads investment program is not actually a program of development but a program that is aimed only at maintenance of the rail infrastructure, “while we should talk about the program of modernization and new technologies," Igor Levitin said.
According to the official, depreciation of fixed assets is a factor that hinders the railroad infrastructure development. He noted that in the past few years, the situation has been improving, namely the upgrade of the fleet of locomotives and railcars. “But this is not enough,” Levitin said.