Breitspur Planungsgesellschaft mbH
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| Joint-stock company | |
| ISIN | 🆔 |
| Founded 📆 | 2008 |
| Founder 👔 | |
Area served 🗺️ | |
| Members | |
Number of employees | |
| 🌐 Website | breitspur.com/en/ |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
Breitspur Planungsgesellschaft (IPA: b r aɪ t p u: r p l a: n ʊ ŋ s g ə z ɛ l ʃ a f t; commonly abbreviated to BPG) is a multinational joint-stock company dedicated tooperating the Košice-Vienna broad-gauge line. There are four participating parties, each holding a 25% stake in the company. The four participating countries are Austria (Austrian Federal Railways – OBB-Infrastruktur)...[1], Slovakia (Railways of the Slovak Republic)[2], Ukraine (Ukrainian Railways)[3] and Russia (Russian Railways).[4]
The company was founded in 2008 with a single objective –to create one continuous, integrated logistics corridor between Asia and Europe. This target is to be reached by extending the existing 1520 mm line to the Twin City Region Vienna-Bratislava at the centre of Europe.
The main precepts for the project are economic feasibility, environmental sustainability[5], international cooperation and social security. The project is currently in the phase of environmental assessment[6], planning and approving. The project is expected to be fully operational by 2033[7]
Recently, there has been a significant increase in the volume of economic exchanges between two of the economically strongest continents in the world – Europe and Asia. New interest groups, business platforms and narratives have emerged, striving to participate in lucrative exchanges, that are still expected to dramatically rise in the upcoming years. Among these are initiatives such as the New Silk Road[8] and BreitspurPlanungsgesellschaft. BPG is a complementary project, interconnected with other major projects in the area. Its main goal is to broaden the economic cooperation between the two continents while adhering to principles of sustainability, growth, and human security[9]
Facts and Figures
Alignment: An electrified single-track railway system with passing loops and crossing stations for freight transport only. It is also anticipated to serve as an efficient and environmentally-friendly logistics solution, fully integrated with the 1520 mm railway network and connected to the 1435 mm railway network.
Transhipment Areas and Maintenance
- Terminal in Western Slovakia (NovéZámky region)
- Rail-to-rail terminal in the Twin-City Region Vienna-Bratislava (in Austria)
- Maintenance depot (Eastern Slovakia, Haniska)
The construction phase of the project is expected to last for up to 100 months. The employment opportunities that stem from the construction phaseare predicted to produce additional value of €28.6billion to the four project countries. The expected tax income volume is pre-calculated at €9.6 billion.The estimated traffic forecasts have projected 18.2 million transported tons of cargo by 2030. By 2050, this number should have increased to 22.9 million tonnes[10].
All current results of relevant studies confirm the technical, legal, and economic feasibility of the broad-gauge connection between Košice and the Twin-City Region Vienna-Bratislava.
Company profile[edit]
Breitspur Planungsgesellschaft is owned, operated, and maintained by four equal partners from Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine and Russia. Each country is represented by its national railway operator.
OBB-Infrastruktur[edit]
OBB-Infrastruktur is a subsidiary under the control of ÖBB-Holding AG, a holding company wholly owned by the Austrian state, under the Ministry of Transport. It has been functioning in its current form since August 2009.
ÖBB-Infrastruktur invests more than two billion euros into in railway projects per year. Among its most significant projects are the expansion of the Southern Line (Pottendorfer line, Semmering base tunnel, Koralm railway), a four-track expansion of the Western Line, construction of Park&Ride facilities and automation of signalling control and customer information.
In terms of the Breitspur project, OBB-Infrastruktur’sresponsibilities include the planned construction of rail-to-rail base terminals, facilities, and any necessary infrastructure in Austria.[11]
Russian Railways[edit]
Russian Railways under its current organizational structure was established by the RF Government Decree № 585 on September 18, 2003 . It is a fully state-owned vertically integrated railway company that provides services to sustain the stable operation of industrial enterprises, to ensure the timely supply of essential goods to the country’s most remote corners and to provide affordable transport for millions of Russian citizens.
There are two specialised companies providing cargo logistics services under the supervision of Russian Railways. These companies are GEFCO (partially owned) and RZD Logistics (fully owned). Russian Railways is one of the four partners of the Breitspur project and is responsible for the future construction of the railway network, the base terminals and any additional infrastructure required in the Russian Federation.[12]
Railways of the Slovak Republic (ŽSR)[edit]
ŽSR has been functioning in its current form since January 1st 2002. It provides transport and traffic services that corresponding to the interests of the state transport policy and market requirements, including related activities.
ŽSR is a company fully owned by the state and is responsible for all aspects of managing the Slovak Republic's railway network. Together with its sister companies Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko (ZSSK) and ZSSK Cargo, it is under the supervision of the Ministry of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic.
ŽSR manages and operates the railway infrastructure in Slovakia, provides services related to the operation of railway infrastructure, establishes and operates railways, telecommunication and radio networks, and constructs and maintains the railway infrastructure. The company is one of the four Breitspur project partners and is responsible for the future construction of the railway network, base terminals, and any additional infrastructure required in the Slovak Republic.[13]
Ukrainian Railways[edit]
Ukrzaliznytsia was founded in 1991 and is owned by the state of Ukraine and supervised by the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine. The operator of public railway transport is The State Administration of Railway Transport of Ukraine "Ukrzaliznytsia", which was established in December 1991. The management sphere of Ukrzaliznytsia covers the railways of Donetsk, Lviv, Odessa, Pivdenna (Southern), Pivdenna-Zakhidna (Southwestern), and Pridniprovska Railways, as well as other enterprises and organizations of integrated industrial-engineering complexes that enable freight and passenger transportation. This, the 13th biggest railway network in the world, is going to be responsible for construction of the railway network, base terminals, and additional facilities that are required for the BPG project in Ukraine[14]
The Project[edit]
Breitspur Planungsgesellschaft is a large-scope, multinational project to implement a broad-gauge railway network connecting Europe and Asia. The framework for the project is based on the anticipated, rapidly-emerging markets in Asia. These new markets provide a great opportunity for intense and prosperous economic cooperation with the economically mature and developed continent of Europe, where several economic world leaders are located. While both continents are already interconnected economically, the project aims to unify the existing network of routes, creating one synchronized system of freight transportation. The main, underlying arguments for the project are economic feasibility, environmental sustainability, international cooperation, and social security.
Project Goals
The goal of the project is to create a sustainable transportation corridor. Among the envisioned goals, there are 4 primary areas of focus. These are
- Environmental benefits – the reduction of CO2 emission levels stemming from more harmful means of freight transportation
- Economic benefits – the creation of 17,500 new jobs during the construction phase and 3,500 full-time jobs around the main distribution station
- Shortening of transport times – the time needed to transport cargo from Vladivostok to Vienna will be cut to 15 days
- New opportunities for regions and countries without direct links to sea ports.[15]
Organizational Structure[edit]
Breitspur Planungsgesellschaft mbH is a joint-stock company, owned, operated, and managed equally by four partner companies. The top managerial level consists of representatives from each company, each individual with experience from relevant fields to the project.
Alexander Andreas Schierhuber has represented ÖBB (Austria) in managing BPG since July 2018. Prior to that, he acted as the Export Manager for GAZ International, the export subsidiary of GAZ Group and largest Russian commercial vehicle manufacturer. He has been developing his expertise in Russia and Africa since 2016.
Mikhail Goncharov served for a succession of international consultancies throughout the CIS region and beyond, specialising in strategic communications, financial and investor relations, and crisis-specialized management from 1992 to 2005. Later, he became an adviser to successive Russian Railways CEOs and has worked on multinational railway projects since 2007. In this capacity, Mikhail Goncharov has been one of the four shareholder representatives in the BreitspurPlanungsgesellschaftmbH since 2009.
Peter Ondroušek worked as Director General for road, water and air transport at the Ministry of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic for four years. He also worked as the Vice-Chairman of the Transport Bank board of directors and has working experience from several government-related positions. All these positions were directly related to transport systems, road infrastructure and railways. Mr. Ondroušek joined Breitspur PlanungsgesellschaftmbH as one of the four Managing Directors in 2009.
Yurii Pavlyshynets was appointed as the Managing Director of Breitspur PlanungsgesellschaftmbH in December 2018. Mr. Pavlyshynets has been working as the Director of the Corporate Governance Department at Ukrainian Railways since October 2017, where he supervises a team of professionals responsible for all legal aspects of shares owned by Ukrainian Railways in legal entities.
History[edit]
2008 - The foundation of the joint venture Breitspur Planungsgesellschaft mbH took place, with the four partners taking an equal stake of 25% each in the company.
2010 - The participating railway corporations signed an agreement in Bratislava giving the green light to a pre-feasibility study for the BreitspurPlanungsgesellschaft project.
2011 - The study was completed and conclusively confirmed the technical and commercial feasibility for the project
2013 –A memorandum of understanding among the participating railway corporations was written.
2017 - The results of feasibility studies confirmed the technical, legal and economic feasibility of the broad-gauge connection between Košice and the Twin-City Region Vienna-Bratislava.
2018 - Authority procedures in Austria and Slovakia were initiated.
2033 - The planned start of operations (the new railway between Košice and the Twin-City region Vienna-Bratislava and two new terminals in Austria and Slovakia).
External links[edit]
Official website of Breitspur Planungsgesellschaft
Railways of the Slovak Republic
References[edit]
- ↑ "ÖBB-Infrastruktur. (2019). Startseite".
- ↑ "COMPANY PROFILE | ŽSR". www.zsr.sk. Retrieved 2019-08-22.
- ↑ "Офіційний веб-сайт Укрзалізниці". www.uz.gov.ua. Retrieved 2019-08-22.
- ↑ "Russian Railways". eng.rzd.ru. Retrieved 2019-08-22.
- ↑ "Sustainable Development Goals". UNDP. Retrieved 2019-08-22.
- ↑ "Oecd.org. (2019). Strategic Environmental Assessment and Environmental Impact Assessment - OECD".
- ↑ "Breitspur.com. (2019). Breitspur - Time frame".
- ↑ "World Economic Forum. (2019). China's $900 billion New Silk Road. What you need to know".
- ↑ Stekić, N. (2018). The 4th International Academic Conference on Human Security — “Human Security and New Technologies”. European Journal of Human Security, 2. pp. 93-96. Search this book on
- ↑ "Breitspur.com. (2019). Breitspur - Feasibility".
- ↑ "ÖBB-Infrastruktur. (2019). Startseite".
- ↑ "Eng.rzd.ru. (2019). Russian Railways".
- ↑ "www.zsr.sk. (2019). Železnice Slovenskej republiky".
- ↑ "Uz.gov.ua. (2019). Офіційний веб-сайт Укрзалізниці".
- ↑ "Breitspur.com. (2019). Breitspur - Feasibility".
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