Organization for Cooperation of Railways
Encyclopedia
The Organization for Cooperation of Railways (OSJD or OSShD) , was established as the equivalent of the International Union of Railways
(UIC) to create and improve the coordination of international rail transport. Concerning especially the transports between Europe and Asia, it has helped develop cooperation between railway companies and with other international organisations. The members of this organisation created an international transport law.
, Bulgaria
on 28 June 1956, the governmental ministers managing railway transport of Eastern bloc
countries Albania
, Bulgaria, Hungary
, Vietnam
, East Germany, China
, North Korea
, Mongolia
, Poland
, Romania
, the USSR, and Czechoslovakia
decided to establish a special inter-governmental organization, the executive body of which started operations in Warsaw
, Poland on 1 September 1957.
In contrast to Western Europe
an countries, railway links between OSShD member countries are characterized by long routes (8000 to 10,000 km), different and severe climatic zones, and two track gauge changes on a single route (1435/1520/1435 mm). Focusing on collective resolution of railway transport problems, OSShD role has developed with new frontiers increasing freight transport times.
Transport between Europe and Asia is controlled by different regulations from Western Europe, such as the Agreement on International Passenger Communication (AIPC), Agreement on International Freight Communication (AIFC), Rules of Mutual Use of Railway Cars (RMURC) and Agreement on Rules of Settlements Between Railways.
OSShD also improves the technical, legal and tariff compatibility between OSShD members and transport systems in Europe.
In 1990, OSShD consisted of 13 member countries (Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Viet Nam, GDR, China, North Korea, Cuba
, Mongolia
, Poland, Romania, the USSR, and Czechoslovakia). In 1992, it was joined by the six newly-independent states of Belarus
, Latvia
, Lithuania
, Estonia
, Moldova
and Ukraine
. The reunification of Germany influenced the participation of the former East-German Deutsche Reichsbahn
, which took observer status.
In 1992 in Ulan Bator, a new Conference of Railway General Directors was formed. This encouraged between 1993 to 1995, seven countries to join: Azerbaijan
, Georgia
, Kazakhstan
, Kyrgyzstan
, Uzbekistan
, Tajikistan
and Turkmenistan
. This created 24 active member countries in total.
In 1997, Iran joined the OSShD, with Germany
, France
, Greece
and Finland
joining as observers. Additional, 17 commercial members joined, including: Siemens
, Alcatel
, Plasser & Theurer
, Intercontainer-Interfrigo, Kolmex, and TransManche Link
/Eurotunnel
.
OSShD is also participating in preparation of the new convention on customs regulations in international railway freight within the framework of the UN ECE Inland Transport Commission to be presented at the UN ECE Inland Transport Commission forum in 1998.
OSShD has created various technical standards, which allow each companies equipment to attached to others, as well as specification for initially freight vehicles and then passenger carriages which each member could order to ensure cost efficiency/inter operation
Part of involved the creation of a common specification for variable-gauge wheel sets, designed for use on the 1435 and 1520 mm gauges. OSShD is also works on technical problems of different push-pull devices, brakes, car sizes, etc.
introduced a new generation of 24.5m four-axle coaches, termed OSShD Type B (OSShD-B), on "Görlitz V" bogies.
From 1968 this was further developed to met UIC-standard, and became known as OSShD-Y. Built by VEB Waggonbau Bautzen or VEB Waggonbau Görlitz in East Germany, the 24.5m carriage was characteristic by its arched top, rather than the Type-B curved top. Supplied to all OSShD members, it was often the basis for the bulk of many OSShD members stock, as well as being sold on to other railway companies.
International Union of Railways
The UIC , or International Union of Railways, is an international rail transport industry body.- Brief history :The railways of Europe originated as separate concerns. There were many border changes after World War I and the Treaty of Versailles. Colonial railways were the responsibility of the...
(UIC) to create and improve the coordination of international rail transport. Concerning especially the transports between Europe and Asia, it has helped develop cooperation between railway companies and with other international organisations. The members of this organisation created an international transport law.
History
At a conference in SofiaSofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
on 28 June 1956, the governmental ministers managing railway transport of Eastern bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
countries Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, Bulgaria, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, East Germany, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
, Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, the USSR, and Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
decided to establish a special inter-governmental organization, the executive body of which started operations in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland on 1 September 1957.
In contrast to Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
an countries, railway links between OSShD member countries are characterized by long routes (8000 to 10,000 km), different and severe climatic zones, and two track gauge changes on a single route (1435/1520/1435 mm). Focusing on collective resolution of railway transport problems, OSShD role has developed with new frontiers increasing freight transport times.
Transport between Europe and Asia is controlled by different regulations from Western Europe, such as the Agreement on International Passenger Communication (AIPC), Agreement on International Freight Communication (AIFC), Rules of Mutual Use of Railway Cars (RMURC) and Agreement on Rules of Settlements Between Railways.
OSShD also improves the technical, legal and tariff compatibility between OSShD members and transport systems in Europe.
In 1990, OSShD consisted of 13 member countries (Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Viet Nam, GDR, China, North Korea, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
, Poland, Romania, the USSR, and Czechoslovakia). In 1992, it was joined by the six newly-independent states of Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. The reunification of Germany influenced the participation of the former East-German Deutsche Reichsbahn
Deutsche Reichsbahn
Deutsche Reichsbahn was the name of the following two companies:* Deutsche Reichsbahn, the German Imperial Railways during the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich and the immediate aftermath...
, which took observer status.
In 1992 in Ulan Bator, a new Conference of Railway General Directors was formed. This encouraged between 1993 to 1995, seven countries to join: Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
and Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
. This created 24 active member countries in total.
In 1997, Iran joined the OSShD, with Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
joining as observers. Additional, 17 commercial members joined, including: Siemens
Siemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
, Alcatel
Alcatel
Alcatel Mobile Phones is a brand of mobile handsets. It was established in 2004 as a joint venture between Alcatel-Lucent of France and TCL Communication of China....
, Plasser & Theurer
Plasser & Theurer
Plasser & Theurer is an Austrian manufacturer of rail track maintenance and track laying machines. It is the world's largest in its segment, accounting for 6% of Austrian exports of the machinery and iron and steel construction industry.- History :...
, Intercontainer-Interfrigo, Kolmex, and TransManche Link
TransManche Link
TransManche Link or TML was a British-French construction consortium responsible for building the Channel Tunnel under the English Channel between Cheriton in Kent, United Kingdom, and Sangatte in France.-History:...
/Eurotunnel
Eurotunnel
Groupe Eurotunnel S.A. manages and operates the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France. The Company operates the car shuttle services and earns revenue on other trains passing through the tunnel...
.
Europe-Asia freight operations
The main theme of the OSShD is in the programme for perfecting railway links between Europe and Asia. The OSShD defines success as the increase in freight volume that can be achieved both by direct investment in technical equipment, and by rationalization and improvement of existing procedures and services. The major programme provisions were presented at international conferences and published in Schienen der Welt, 4, 1995. The freight and passenger volumes between Europe and Asia, and the major railway flows were defined within the implementation of this programme, taking into account the activities in Europe of UIC, UN, ECE Inland Transport Commission, and the Trans-European Main Line Railway ProgrammeRoutes
- Druzhba-AlashankouAlashankouAlashankou or Alataw Pass is a border town in Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. It is a port of entry by both railroad and highway from Kazakhstan as part of the Eurasian Land Bridge. The town is named after the Dzungarian Gate , a pass connecting...
crossing point - in 1994, the Ministers of Transport of Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, approved the regional programme for development and use of the international railways via the border crossing-point Druzhba-Alashankou until the year 2000 - Berlin-Warsaw-Minsk-Moscow corridor - in 1995, the Ministers of Transport of Belarus, Germany, Poland and Russia signed a cooperation agreement on modernization, reconstruction and development of the Berlin-Warsaw-Minsk-Moscow corridor
- Korea-Germany freight train
Legal
Agreements on international freight communications and the Carriages of Goods by Rail (CIM), and new rules on transporting dangerous freight prepared by OSShD based on UN recommendations and the Regulations governing the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail (RID).OSShD is also participating in preparation of the new convention on customs regulations in international railway freight within the framework of the UN ECE Inland Transport Commission to be presented at the UN ECE Inland Transport Commission forum in 1998.
Equipment
Part of involved the creation of a common specification for variable-gauge wheel sets, designed for use on the 1435 and 1520 mm gauges. OSShD is also works on technical problems of different push-pull devices, brakes, car sizes, etc.
Carriages
In 1962 the East German railway company Deutsche ReichsbahnDeutsche Reichsbahn
Deutsche Reichsbahn was the name of the following two companies:* Deutsche Reichsbahn, the German Imperial Railways during the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich and the immediate aftermath...
introduced a new generation of 24.5m four-axle coaches, termed OSShD Type B (OSShD-B), on "Görlitz V" bogies.
From 1968 this was further developed to met UIC-standard, and became known as OSShD-Y. Built by VEB Waggonbau Bautzen or VEB Waggonbau Görlitz in East Germany, the 24.5m carriage was characteristic by its arched top, rather than the Type-B curved top. Supplied to all OSShD members, it was often the basis for the bulk of many OSShD members stock, as well as being sold on to other railway companies.
Future work
OSShD is presently working in the areas of- Specification of technical parameters for high-quality freight lines
- Confirmation and simplification of legal regulations on procedures at frontiers related to transportation across Eurasian continent, delivery terms, financial responsibility, etc.
- Creation of competitive conditions for acceptance and carriage of large freight volumes to improve OSShD members' financial conditions
- Development of new forms of freight carriage by block freight trains from large-scale senders to large-scale receivers in shortest possible time at competitive prices