OREANDA-NEWS. First Vice-President at Russian Railways Vadim Morozov has taken part in the TransRussia-2011 International Transport & Logistics Exhibition, which is being held in Moscow from 26-29 April 2011, reported the press-centre of Russian Railways.

"Since its inception, Russian Railways has been meeting effectively the demand of freight shippers and the wider population for transportation services. Over the years, the Company has significantly improved its key performance indicators. Between 2003 and the start of the economic crisis, volumes increased by almost 20%. In 2010, the recovery in industrial production saw shipping volumes increasing rapidly, with the increase for the year amounting to 8.8%," said Morozov.

He also noted that the Company has made significant increases in investment to expand through capacity on the approaches to Russian ports, expand freight capacity on the major routes of the railway network and upgrade rolling stock.

According to Morozov, the current priorities for Russian Railways are to eliminate some 5,500 km of bottlenecks on the rail network, reconstruct 7,000 structures and further develop the infrastructure of the Trans-Siberian and the Baikal-Amur Main Lines.

Strategic rail development is aimed at creating a network of high-speed lines, including fast links to connect the venues for the 2018 World Cup.

In the context of Russia’s growing international trade, Russian Railways is also paying great attention to serving export-import and transcontinental transit traffic, with plans now well underway to construct a broad-gauge 1520 mm line between the Slovak town of Kosice to Bratislava and Vienna.