Russian, Finnish railways expand container services

Russian, Finnish railways expand container services    Russian Railways and Finnish rail company VR Group Ltd. signed a memorandum of intent to cooperate on international container freight services.
   The parties intend to create a competitive transport service, operating container trains between Russia and Finland. Russian Railways and VR Group Ltd. will now make preparations for setting technical, technological and tariff terms for services on the Helsinki'Moscow route.
   The memorandum was signed during the annual conference on Russian-Finnish direct rail services, held over the past few days in Moscow.
   Both railroads boast large reserves of line throughput capacity, border crossings, an up-to-date regulatory and legal framework, new capacity for transporting cars such as the Mikhnevo terminal, and joint ventures engaged in goods transport that can offer shippers a full range of services and through rates. The companies also benefit from tariffs with special terms for container transport, coal, petrochemicals, and a range of other cargoes set to remain in place through 2011.
   'The growth of trade-economic relations between Russia and Finland during 2010 was reflected in the volumes of freight. In the first 10 months of this year, they increased by 14 percent,' said Vadim Morozov, Russian Railways vice president, in a statement.