Representatives of transport ministries from countries traversed by Rail Transport Corridor 10 discussed at a conference in Brdo Pri Kranju, Slovenia, on Wednesday the railway infrastructure, its management and the promotion of Corridor 10, agreeing to set up a task force propose concrete solutions.
The conference was attended by transport ministers and transport ministry officials from Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Turkey. Croatian Transport Minister BOZIDAR KALMETA said Croatia was very much interested in the revitalisation and promotion of Corridor 10.
The initiative to increase competitiveness and transport speed, notably of cargo transport, along that corridor is in line with a similar initiative launched by Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia which in 2010 established a joint company, Cargo 10, in order to promote Corridor 10. This initiative is already giving results because cargo transport time has been reduced, said Kalmeta.
Croatia has done a lot in terms of investment in its railway network and will continue to invest in the rail infrastructure along Corridor 10, Kalmeta said, adding that the country enjoyed the European Commission's support in this.
The EU has been co-financing, through its programmes ISPA and IPA, the overhauling of the Vinkovci-Tovarnik and Okucani-Novska railway sections, and this year a tender will be published for the overhauling of the Dugo Selo-Novska railway, an investment worth EUR 100 million, Kalmeta said.
Slovenian Transport Minister Patrick Vlacic said participants in today's conference agreed to set up a task force to promote cooperation in three areas.
The first area is about joining together the already existing plans in the field of rail infrastructure of the countries through which Corridor 10 passes, given the technical details specific to those plans and their interoperability. The second area is the management of the rail infrastructure to remove as much as possible administrative and customs barriers slowing down transport along the corridor, and the third area is the promotion of Corridor 10 to increase cargo transport along that route as much as possible.
Removing customs and administrative obstacles to cargo transport would make Corridor 10 more competitive in relation to Corridor 4 whose current advantage is that transport along it proceeds almost entirely through countries that are inside the European Union, which is why there are no delays caused by customs and other border procedures, said Vlacic.
(Hina)