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Article: Asian railways rise to meet the growth challenge: Asia with its strong economic growth represents great potential but also a huge challenge for rail transport. While rail has failed to meet the challenge so far, there are encouraging signs of change.(Asia)
- Article from:
- International Railway Journal
- Article date:
- January 1, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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UNTIL a few months ago, the prospects for international railfreight in Asia, and particularly transit freight traffic linking Asia, Europe and North America, looked pretty bleak. But a series of meetings and agreements since October give a glimmer of hope that things might be about to change for the better.
The first conference took place in the Korean capital, Seoul, when the International Union of Railways (UIC) staged its first Asian Railway Summit. This gave a good snapshot of both the opportunities and the problems facing Asian railways. Mr Vipin Sharma, the UIC's deputy CEO, highlighted the huge demand for transport as well as the huge investment needed. ...