Rail Transport Corridors of the Organisation for Co-operation of Railways

Abstract

International transport corridors are part of the global transport system and are an important part of the activities of the Organisation for Co-operation of Railways2. The development activities in the Eurasian space are aimed at modernising and developing rail transport by upgrading the technical and operational parameters of the corridors in order to improve the competitiveness of railways in freight transport in Asia and Europe. These corridors are widely used to plan and organise the routing of container trains in international traffic between the OSJD member states. Today, nearly 300 container trains are in continuous operation. The aim of the article is to present the activities to date in the development of corridors, their role and importance in rail transport in the area of the member states of the Organisation for Co-operation of Railways. The article presents issues related to the development and freight transport on 13 international rail transport corridors from the Eurasian railway area. New corridor solutions were highlighted, as well as the New Silk Road3 which is part of China’s broader so-called One Belt, One Road Initiative concept. It is a global infrastructure plan developed in China and implemented in more than 100 countries, mainly in countries referred to as emerging markets. Keywords: international transport corridor, rail transport corridor, indicators for transport corridors, New Silk Road