Russian, Slovak, Austrian Transport Ministries Sign Memorandum On Kosice-Vienna Railroad

Muhammad Irfan Published March 18, 2019 | 06:30 PM

The transport ministries of Russia, Slovakia and Austria have signed a memorandum of understanding on the construction of a freight railroad linking the eastern Slovak city of Kosice with the Austrian capital of Vienna, through the Slovak capital of Bratislava, a Sputnik correspondent reported on Monday

VIENNA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th March, 2019) The transport ministries of Russia, Slovakia and Austria have signed a memorandum of understanding on the construction of a freight railroad linking the eastern Slovak city of Kosice with the Austrian capital of Vienna, through the Slovak capital of Bratislava, a Sputnik correspondent reported on Monday.

Russia, Austria and Slovakia, along with Ukraine, are engaged in an international project on the construction of the Kosice-Vienna railroad. Once completed, it will provide an uninterrupted rail transport corridor linking Western Europe and China. The Kosice-Vienna railroad will reduce freight delivery from Asia to Europe to 15 days. Remarkably, the railroad will use a 1,520-millimeter (58.8-inch) gauge, while the most commonly used railway gauge in Western Europe is 1,435-millimeter.

The memorandum was signed by Ladislava Cengelova, state secretary at the Slovak Ministry of Transport and Construction, Andreas Reichhardt, general secretary at the Austrian Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technoogy, and Russian Deputy Transport Minister Vladimir Tokarev. Under the memorandum, the signatories will continue efforts toward railroad construction and toward a supporting intergovernmental agreement.

The signatories will study the railroad funding scheme, looking into both state and private funding. According to the memorandum, quick coordination on funding is essential for reaching an intergovernmental agreement.

The creation of the broad-gauge railroad can take around eight years and cost around $6.4 billion Euros ($7.3 billion), according to its constructor Breitspur Planungsgesellschaft mbH.