Russian Railways mulls creating joint operator with European cos
VLADIVOSTOK. Sept 6 (Interfax) - Russian Railways (RZD) is considering the possibility of forming a joint operator with European companies to promote transit container shipments between China and Europe.
"One of the issues that we are now considering is strengthening our role in container transit from China to Europe. We currently have problems on the border between Belarus and Poland - in Brest concerning non-acceptance on the Polish side. And we, of course, need to strengthen cooperation with operators, not only Polish, but also German ones. Therefore, we are now studying the possibility of creating a joint company with European operators," RZD senior vice president Alexander Misharin told Interfax on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) on Wednesday.
The issue of development or purchase of new assets depends on the company's near-term plans for its European business, he said.
"Now, by the way, a [legislative] package is being introduced that liberalizes the European market and makes it accessible for an operator from any European country. Therefore, given an operator that belongs to other countries that are members of the European Union, it can operate on the territory of any country, so this new legislation can be used," Misharin said.