- Published: 26.07.2010.
Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia agree to intensify railway cooperation
The transport ministers of Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia agreed on Monday to intensify cooperation in railway services, notably freight transport along the pan-European transit corridor X.
The three countries want to revive Corridor X running from Germany through Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia to Turkey.
The Slovenian, Croatian and Serbian railway companies will establish a joint company, with headquarters in Ljubljana, to attract as much transport and income as possible for all three railway companies along that route, Croatian Transport Minister Bozidar Kalmeta told a joint news conference in Brdo Pri Kranju, Slovenia, after talks with Slovenian Transport Minister Patrick Vlacic and Serbian Infrastructure Minister Milutin Mrkonjic.
All three countries are interested in increasing competitiveness and the rate of transport along the Corridor X route, Valcic said, adding that one of the objectives was to ensure that cargo travelling from Ljubljana to Istanbul reached its destination in no more than 35 hours.
Representatives of the three countries' railway companies will sign a cooperation agreement in Belgrade on Friday.
During his recent visit to Ljubljana, the Turkish transport minister said his country would host a ministerial conference for all the countries Corridor X runs through, the transport ministers of Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia told reporters today.
The conference is expected to take place in September or October.
They stressed that Corridor X had great development potential in transit freight transport as it is shorter than Corridor IV running from Dresden to Istanbul.
(Hina)