On 12 November, Prague (Czech Republic) hosted the 17^th plenary meeting of the Coordination Council on Trans-Siberian Transportation attended by the General Director of JSC TransContainer Petr Baskakov. He told us what the company intended to do to enhance competitive advantage of the Trans-Siberian on the international container freightmarket.

«We are confident that the Trans-Siberian Railroad will play a key role in the integration of Russia’s railway transport into the global transportation system thus largely benefiting the Russian economy. This is why our main task today is to develop a high-speed, reliable and affordable container freight service covering all possible destinations in Europe and Asia. To achieve this goal, we have to focus on two key factors: carrying capacity of railway networks and our ability to provide a full range of logistics services», said Petr Baskakov in his statement.

In his words, today’s carrying capacity of the Trans-Siberian already allows for much larger freight volumes than are transported through it now. What prevents the Trans-Siberian traffic flow from expansion, among other things, is inefficient infrastructure hindering adequate access to the railroad.

«This is why TransContainer Company, for its part, does its best to address present and anticipated issues in keeping with its profile and competence. Thus, on 6 October a fully overhauled container terminal of JSC TransContainer was officially opened at Zabaykalsk station, in Russia. After the reconstruction, the terminal’s total capacity has reached 550,000 TEU a year with a potential of encompassing the entire freight flow from China to Russia by 2015», said Pert Baskakov. He also informed us that since the very first day of its independent activity, JSC TransContainer had been continually improving its performance as a provider of bundled logistics services, putting special emphasis on its international destinations. «Our experience has shown that the most efficient way of enhancing railway container transportation competitiveness is to launch joint projects with other countries’ transport companies», stressed Petr Baskakov.

He reminded that over past 6 months the company signed a number of agreements on establishment of joint ventures and provision of consolidated transportation services with foreign logistics companies, among which Kamigumi Co., Kintetsu World Express, UNICO Logistics Co., CRIMT and JSC Kaztransservice.

«I am sure that all the above mentioned projects will promote the competitiveness of the Trans-Siberian and will substantially contribute to development of the railway sector», said Pert Baskakov.

He also underscored that a more aggressive marketing strategy would be required for project implementation success. «We have learned from experience that the only thing that often prevents potential clients from using services of railway companies is simply their unawareness of advantages and special characteristics of the Trans-Siberian as well as of the high service level guaranteed to those who transport their cargoes via this railroad», said Petr Baskakov.