A technological visit programme "East-West Transport Corridor: Logistics Solutions and Prospects" for representatives of the railway industry of the People's Republic of China has concluded in St. Petersburg. Supported by the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., the programme brought together executives from leading Chinese railway organizations, including China State Railway Group Company, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Northeast Asia Railway Corporation of Jilin Province, and logistics railway companies.
The visit was organized by the Corporate University of Russian Railways, the Department of Overseas Projects and International Cooperation, and the HR Department of JSC Russian Railways. The organizers prepared an intensive programme that included meetings and discussions with experts from the professional railway and educational communities, as well as an introduction to best practices at Russian Railways enterprises.
As noted by Roman Baskin, Director of the Corporate University of Russian Railways, this programme marks a long-awaited development in the systematic work on international cooperation that the University has been conducting for many years.
"The visit of our colleagues is a logical continuation of cooperation with China Railways. In recent years, over 50 Russian Railways managers have participated in five technological visit programmes in China, studying the experience of railway transport in various regions of the country—from the northwest to the southeast—including the organization of both passenger and freight transportation," said Roman Baskin.
As emphasized by the Department of Overseas Projects and International Cooperation of Russian Railways, this technological visit effectively became the first in-person event following a series of online meetings within the "BRICS Transport Academy," launched this year on the initiative of Russian Railways.
The participants of the programme learned about the history of railway transport development, modern technologies in railway operations, and projects of the transport and logistics system in Russia. The delegates also learned about the specifics of transit and multimodal services within international transport and logistics corridors, such as East–West and North–South. Presentations were given for the guests by managers from the Department of Overseas Projects and International Cooperation, the October Railway, RZD Logistics, RZD Business Asset, the Corporate University of Russian Railways, as well as FESCO and the United Transport and Logistics Company – Eurasian Railway Alliance.
As part of the technological visit, the Chinese colleagues toured major production and transport-logistics enterprises within the October Railway territory to gain a better understanding of modern technologies and solutions in Russian railway transport. Specifically, the guests were introduced to the operations of the St. Petersburg-Finlandsky terminal and logistics center, the most high-tech station Luzhskaya, and the ports of Ust-Luga and the Great Port of St. Petersburg.
The participants met with the leadership and faculty of the Emperor Alexander I St. Petersburg State Transport University. Rector Oleg Valinsky spoke about strategic objectives under the federal "Priority-2030" project, the work on creating "Advanced Engineering Schools," and cooperation with industrial partners. Evgeny Korovyakovsky, Associate Professor of the "Logistics and Commercial Work" Department at PGUPS, delivered a lecture on the development of Russia's transport and logistics system.
Following the week-long programme, both sides agreed that the technological visit was an important step towards the further development of partnership between the railway experts of the two leading railway powers—Russia and China. The Corporate University plans to further develop formats for international cooperation, including similar technological visits, as they are highly beneficial for improving the efficiency of the logistics projects of two countries.
Material published by the editorial board of the Gudok newspaper.