Shipments on the Russian Railways’ network to and from the SCO countries in 2022 amounted to 202 million tons, an increase of 8.1% compared to 2021. In the first quarter of this year, 70 million tons were transported, which was 47.5% more than during the same three-month period in 2022, according to the company’s press release.
On 10 May 2023, Oleg Belozerov, the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Russian Railways took part in the fourth meeting of the heads of railways of the member states in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) via video link.
Addressing the meeting, Belozerov noted that the main railway network of the SCO member countries exceeds a combined length of 340,000 kilometres and that these countries account for 75% of the world’s rail freight shipments.
Oleg Belozerov said that the International Transport Corridors (ITCs) were a key element in the regional connectivity and competitiveness of the economies of the SCO countries and stressed the need for closer cooperation.
"We are interested in creating a permanent communication mechanism that would allow the exchange of national infrastructure development plans and best practices to eliminate bottlenecks," said the head of Russian Railways. "Such a mechanism could eventually become a tool for improving the cross-border connectivity of the SCO rail network."
In addition, Belozerov informed his colleagues about the Company’s work on the development of ITCs, the development of joint infrastructure projects, and the development of a network of transport and logistics centres.
The participants in the meeting also discussed issues around digitalisation, the development of human resources and cooperation in the field of ecology.
Other documents discussed at the meeting included the action plan proposed by Kyrgyzstan for 2023-2025, which will be subject to subsequent approval by the Council of Heads of Government of the SCO member states, and the initiative proposed by China to promote the quality and sustainable development of international rail transportation in the SCO member states.