Last night, at the meeting of all general managers of railway enterprises from Central and South-Eastern Europe with the Chairman of The Directorate General for Energy and Transport Matthias Ruete, “Serbian Railways “General Manager Milanko Sarancic said that the railways in the region of South-East Europe, which are not the members of European Union, expect financial support for investing in railway capacities, in the form of nonrefundable resources, and of course before the market admission to their infrastructure.
According to his words, application of EU legal frame in the railways of Central and South-Eastern Europe will provide European Union with more stabile transit conditions, faster, bigger and more quality mobility, that is the passage towards South of the old continent and Middle East.
“This will significantly ease the great demand for railway services, in the conditions of expected increased goods trade in the next few years, and that absolutely justifies future EU investment in European railway corridors, national network and rolling stock of the railways of South-East Europe, which are not the members of EU. This will improve their integration into unique European traffic system”, evaluated Šarančić.
He particularly emphasized that the creation of unique European traffic system and railway market can not be realized without joining all the railway enterprises of South-East Europe in it, under equal market and other conditions, and not forgetting the railways whose countries are not jet the members of EU.
“Railways of the countries which are not members of EU are exactly those which are located on the part of key European transport corridors, and could potentially give great contribution to market liberalization, open access to the infrastructure and greater mobility and economic development, not only of their own countries, but the entire region of South-East Europe and EU”, notified Šarančić.
He reminded the present that in certain countries in South-Eastern Europe the restructuring process has already given concrete results, and added that infrastructure has been separated from transport, number of employees reduced, productivity increased, and some railway headquarters already use the compensation for public transport.
“Till the end of next year, within the restructuring process Serbian Railways will define the network statements and compensation program, as well as the procedure for the allotment of infrastructure capacities”, he specified.
Šarančić pointed out the consequences of the lack of investments in railway capacities that lasted for several decades, and warned that without significant investing in infrastructure, rolling stock provision and, above all, equal competition conditions on European market, railways of this region can not equally participate in Europe.
“This is the problem that we can not solve without the assistance of EU, national states, that is without consistent implementation of EU traffic policy, as well as the policies and development programs of national states”, specified the General Manager of Serbian Railways.
According to his opinion, for investing in the international Corridor 10 on Serbian territory till 2010. there will be needed, approximately, more than one billion Euros.
“In the last several years, from the credit of European Investment Bank, we invested about 45 million Euros in Corridor 10 through Serbia, which means that, in order to prepare one of the key European railways, we need another 975 million Euros”, he said.
