EAST WEST TRANSPORT CORRIDOR - EWTC

Meeting challenges for future

It is clearly evident that East – West transport flows will increase dramatically, despite the temporary effect of the current global economic crisis. Transport systems should be prepared to accommodate the growing demand for transport and logistics.
At the moment special focus is emerging towards the development of land transportation from China and other Far East and Central Asian countries to CIS and European countries. The key concern for businesses and governments - how to decrease the costs of transportation and make a better use of infrastructure? The business models and innovative solutions should lead to effectively operational logistics supply chain.
The growing demand for transport along East – West axis is a clear signal for governments to address the following issues: lack of infrastructure, a need for better interoperability between different infrastructures, standards and systems, as well as removal of physical and operational bottlenecks, especially on the borders.

What is the EWTC?

EWTC is geographically defined infrastructure linkages and intermodal transportation route between Asian countries (China, Kazakhstan et al.), Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, countries of Black Sea Region, Southern Baltic Sea Region countries (Lithuania, Kaliningrad district, Northern Germany, Denmark, Southern Sweden) and the markets of Central, Western and Northern Europe.
Also EWTC is an attempt to form the effective transnational supply chain, providing a variety of transportation and logistics services. To achieve the synergy effect and enjoy the benefits, cooperation between different stakeholders within the global supply chain is needed.
Lastly, EWTC is a useful tool for governments to combine the efforts to facilitate needed improvements, for transport and logistics business community to speak with governments and cooperate for gaining competitive advantage. Agenda for developing skills and qualification of logistics specialists in the context of Asia-Europe connections would be a task for EWTC platform of researchers.

A tool to use

Based on previous extensive research on the perspectives of EWTC, Strategy and Action plan of EWTC development were prepared. Today, within a second phase of the project, the aim is to implement the Action Plan and to develop a Green Corridor Concept as a best practice case in Pan-european perspective in order to match market demands for growing freight transport in the corridor as well as to and from the trading areas of EU, Russia and Far East with more efficient and environmentally-friendly transport solutions.
EWTC also implements the connection of the EU transport network (TEN-T) with the networks of neighboring countries (Belarus, Russia, Ukraine). That implies the multitasked agenda to improve transnational connections and conditions for businesses to operate along EWTC.
Within the EWTC a pilot scheme for crossing the EU-CIS border is used, drawing on the experience of intermodal shuttle train “Viking”, operating from 2003. Agreement between Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine allow the train to cross the border in 30 min. To apply the same principle and reach the same benefit for other border crossings along EWTC route is required.
Finally EWTC and its structures offer a framework for better linkages between the transport hubs and terminals as well as framework for improving the efficiency of the transport solutions in the EWTC to meet market demands.