The IX International Conference “Transport Services Market: Cooperation and Partnership” opened in Moscow today. The strategic partner of the conference is JSC Russian Railways and its organisers are Business Dialogue and the business magazine RZD-Partner.

This year, pressing issues for the development of the rail industry will be discussed under the banner of the conference’s key theme: “Industry and Government Interaction: the Formalisation of Mutual responsibility”. Over the course of two days, participants will analyse existing tools for collective responsibility and balancing the interests of the industry with those of the government in the development of rail transport. Among the main topics to be discussed are: the future of public procurement in terms of market forms of railway governance, network contract as a guarantee of the transport services economy, and mechanisms of state support for the industry in terms of a public-private partnership.

A welcome letter was sent by the President of JSC Russian Railways, Vladimir Yakunin, wishing conference participants the best of success.

The conference began with a plenary session, during which scheduled reports were given by Deputy Minister for Transport of the Russian Federation Andrei Nedosekov, First Vice-President of JSC Russian Railways Vadim Morozov, Chairman of the Presidium of the Not-for-Profit “Board of Market Participants of Operators of Rolling Stock Services” Sergei Maltsev, General Director of the Institute for the Problems of Natural Monopolies Yuri Saakyan, and President of the “Centre for Strategic Research” Foundation Mikhail Dmitriev.

The plenary discussion will continue in the afternoon, the main speakers at which will be JSC Russian Railways Vice-President Salman Babayev, JSC Russian Railways Senior Vice-President Valery Reshetnikov, Deputy Head of the Department for Control over Transport and Communication of the Federal Antimonopoly Service Svetlana Zinovieva, heads of leading operators and representatives of the expert community.

The business portion of the first day will finish with an open dialogue in which views will be exchanged with the audience on the problems of effective cooperation between all participants of the transportation process in order to safeguard the interests of cargo owners. The discussion is expected to centre on the mechanisms for meeting the needs of manufacturers for the timely and reliable delivery of products.

Evening events will include a summing-up and an awards ceremony for the winners of the Annual Reports and the “New Verst” Transport Industry Websites Competition. The highlight of the first day will be the awarding of the “Russian Railways Partner 2011” Prize.

The second day of the conference is dedicated to roundtable discussions on a number of pressing topics. Considerable attention will be given to the problems of financing and modernising the railway infrastructure without excessively raising tariffs, the features of pricing when managing a private fleet, as well as the shortage of rail carriage fleet and unsettled market conditions. Participants will also discuss such topics as the formation of a competitive market in rolling stock maintenance and the prospects for the development of regular special container trains. 

The final stage of the conference will be an interactive platform in the shape of a debate in which participants will examine key aspects in the transportation of essential goods around numerous round tables. A summing-up will then take place with the participation of moderators for each round table. The debate will thus precipitate the development of a consolidated position among all interested parties on the appropriate approaches to be taken to optimise the transportation process.

Business Dialogue Press Centre
E-mail: media@businessdialog.ru