OREANDA-NEWS. April 09, 2010. In Bratislava, Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin presented a project to build a 1520 mm gauge railway line to Vienna. Vladimir Yakunin’s talk was part of a presentation of joint Russian-Slovak projects, during Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Slovakia.

Mr Yakunin said that under the project, the broad-gauge railway will be extended from Koљice to Bratislava and Vienna. The goal of this project is to create a competitive direct rail link connecting European states with Russia and Asian countries.

As a result of this project, the need to shift cargo between trains at stations where the European rail network meets the broad-gauge track will be avoided. This will halve freight delivery times from Europe relative to sea routes – from 30 to 14 days - and the working capital saved, depending on the value of the freight, will be between USD 100 and USD 1000 per container.

Mr Yakunin noted that in 2007 and 2008, the project’s four-way working group (involving Russia, Ukraine, Slovakia, and Austria) carried out a preliminary investment feasibility study and began market research.

According to estimates, the volume of transport on the Koљice – Bratislava line could reach 23.7 million tons by 2025, and 18.5 million tons on the Bratislava – Vienna line. The planned route to Europe will carry both containers and raw materials (iron ore, non-ferrous metals, and others), and the reverse route will carry containers. According to preliminary estimates, the cost of the project to build the new rail line could exceed 4.7 billion euros.

"I would like to note that we consider the project to build the Koљice - Bratislava – Vienna rail line, along with other international projects of Russian Railways, to be a centre of gravity for other areas of business, cumulatively forming a powerful trade and transport system. This will prove to be a catalyst for the process of rapprochement and effective cooperation between 1520 mm and 1435 mm gauge railway systems, and will provide a boost to economic ties between countries of the European Union and Russia, and between Europe and Asia as a whole", Vladimir Yakunin said. *** Russian Railways has been working with the railway administrations and transport departments of Slovakia, Austria and Ukraine since 2007 on the project to build a line to Bratislava and Vienna with 1520 mm gauge track, involving the construction of an international logistics terminal.

In May 2009 a memorandum was signed on the creation, with the participation of Russia, Ukraine, Slovakia and Austria, of a joint venture, which began operating in December 2009.

In 2011-2013, a feasibility study, a complete business plan, and design work will be conducted. Construction of the new line is scheduled for 2013-2015. Commercial train services will begin in 2016.

The construction of the Koљice - Bratislava – Vienna rail line will enable freight train services to avoid the need to shift cargo between trains at stations where 1520 mm tracks meet 1435 mm tracks, leading to a reduction in delivery costs and times, and consequently reducing the transport component of the end price of transported goods. The continuous rail link will provide a faster and simpler means of delivering European goods to the growing markets of Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and other countries that use the 1520 mm gauge standard.