The First Southeastern Workshop on Environmental Protection at Railways, organized by JSC “Serbian Railways” – Center for Sustainable Development and UIC, and under the patronage of the Ministry of Environment, Physical Planning and Mining, has started today.
According to Prof. Dr. Dusko Bajin, Deputy Director General for Strategy and Development of “Serbian Railways”, who opened this reunion, “Serbian Railways” adopted in May last

year Waste Management Plan,which includes documentation about type, texture, quantity, and measures to reduce waste, especially hazardous one. The procedures and waste separation methods, storage and treatment are also listed.
In order to deal with waste issue, we started from railway junctions Beograd, Nis, Subotica and Sombor, and initial activity is reconstruction of existing warehouses. It is necessary to provide assets for waste storage, because there are a lot of limitations, both spatial and organizational and financial, said Mr. Bajin and added that good cooperation with international institutions, especially with UIC, is present during this work. Prof. Dr. Dusko Bajin also emphasized great support of Institute of Transportation “CIP”, which also participated in operational development of Environmental Protection Plan.
Mr. Alex Veitch, Head of Sustainable Development at UIC, pointed out great influence of railways in the field of environmental protection, speaking also about advantages of railway traffic compared to road and air traffic when it comes to noise issue and carbon dioxide emissions. Railway can have bigger roll in the market, due to small emission of gases that create greenhouse effect, and because it is safer than other forms of transportation, said Mr. Veitch.
He emphasized that one of the main goals of UIC is to point out the importance of environmental protection and sustainability for all railway traffic participants. In that aspect, this reunion is very important both for current cooperation, and for future connection of experts in this field.
The workshop will last for two days and the representatives of regional railways will also participate by sharing different experiences and presenting practical solutions for important issues in the field of environmental protection.