Trans-Asia railway meeting set for Thursday

Trans-Asia railway meeting set for Thursday    Representatives from a host of Asian nations are scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss a trans-Asia railway that would link 28 countries on the continent.
   The meeting, organized by the UN body Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, follows ratification of an agreement on the railway by China, the eighth country to have signed off on the agreement after Cambodia, India, Mongolia, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Thailand.
   'The Trans-Asian railway network comprises 114,000 kilometers of rail routes of international importance,' ESCAP said in a statement. 'It aims to offer efficient rail transport services for the movement of goods and passengers within the ESCAP region and between Asia and Europe. The network will also provide improved access for landlocked countries to major ports.
   'The agreement also identifies stations of international importance, most of which are located inland and have similar functions to ports in the coastal areas. These so-called 'dry ports' will act as consolidation/distribution centers in the hinterland, create new opportunities for growth and help bring the benefits of economic and social development to a wider population.'
   ESCAP developed a similar inter-governmental treaty for development of an inter-Asia highway network.
   For more information is available here.