KYIV. June 5 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine and Lithuania are mulling the possible ways of organizing supplies of freight and passenger cars, and diesel and electric trains made by public joint-stock company Kriukov Car Building Works (KCBW, Poltava region) for Lithuanian railways, including the setting up of joint production.
The Infrastructure Ministry of Ukraine said in a press release that the issue was discussed at the 16th meeting of the intergovernmental commission for trade, economic and research cooperation, as part of international transport week on June 2 in Odesa.
Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Andriy Pyvovarsky headed the Ukrainian delegation and Lithuanian Economy Minister Evaldas Gustas headed the Lithuanian delegation.
According to the press release, the parties also agreed to continue active work on the promotion of the Viking train project to the Turkish market, taking into account the development of two possible routes: by the Black Sea or via Romania and Bulgaria.
The sides also expressed their mutual interest in the development of container shipments using the Viking train.
“In the context of the readiness of Azerbaijan to join the project in the near term [this] was assessed as a good prospect to attract freight shipments from the Central Asia and China via the TRACECA transport corridor,” reads the press release.
There is an ongoing agreement to electrify the IX-B international transport corridor to increase the economic attractiveness of the train.
The Ukrainian delegation said at the meeting that in 2016-2017 the Korosten-Ovruch- Slovechne section will be electrified, which is part of the IX-B corridor. Lithuania plans to finish electrification in early 2016.
