Gaining Steam on the Eurasian Economic Union’s Railways
Quotes and Quotas is a digest of phrases and facts that help explain Asia’s infrastructure push.
The volume of EU-China cargo traffic traveling the Eurasian Economic Union’s (EAEU) railways is growing rapidly, a trend that is likely to continue in the short term. However, according to a new report by the Eurasian Development Bank’s Centre for Integration Studies, the EAEU and its neighboring countries will need to further expand transport infrastructure and remove a number of barriers to keep the momentum going.
2: The average number of hours it takes for goods to clear customs at railway border-crossing points in Russia
3: The number of times container-traffic volume between China and the EU is expected to grow from 2018-2020
4: The average number of hours it takes to complete border and customs formalities in EAEU member states
6: The number of hours it can take to complete container transshipment or bogie exchange, which is required for cargo to pass over border crossings when there are differences in track gauge
9–10: The number of trains that Poland processes daily at its border crossing with Belarus, four to five trains short of the negotiated 14-train target
18.2: The average speed in kilometers per hour of container trains in Europe compared to an average of 41 kilometers per hour in the EAEU, causing trains to slow dramatically as they enter the EU
43: The maximum number of conventional railway cars allowed per train under current Polish regulations, requiring incoming trains from Russia and Belarus, which average between 57-71 cars, to be split up at the border
5,000: The number of Europe-bound trains China hopes to have by 2020, lower than the current aggregate capacity of existing and prospective infrastructure
€475 million: The amount the European Commission allocated for Polish railway infrastructure development projects prior to 2020 in an effort to accommodate a significant increase in the volume of container traffic
$700 million: The amount invested by Belarus from 2011-2017 to develop its rail routes in line with China’s Belt and Road and enhance its railway capacity
Source: Belt and Road Transport Corridors: Barriers and Investments by Eurasian Development Bank
Check out our report The Rise of China-Europe Railways for more analysis.
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