Harmonizing electronic information exchange in rail transport.

 

Issues related to the facilitation of international rail transport have been receiving increasing attention in the region, and the Committee on Transport, at its fifth session, took note of the draft framework for enhancing the efficiency of railway border crossings along the Trans-Asian Railway network and beyond. The Committee acknowledged that a common understanding of the issues identified in the draft framework, which included electronic information exchange among railways and between railways and control agencies, would be instrumental in ironing out inefficiencies in international rail transport (ESCAP/CTR/2018/8, para. 29).


The issue of electronic exchange of information among railways was further considered by the Working Group on the Trans-Asian Railway Network at its 6th meeting, held in December 2019. The Working Group recognized that scattered initiatives lacking in coherence could undermine the seamless flow of information along the railway corridors and lead to inordinate delays at the border crossings. It requested the secretariat to consult with interested member countries to identify good practices and explore the possibility of a multilateral arrangement on the issue (ESCAP/TARN/WG/2019/6, para. 17). 

On 7 and 8 July 2020, ESCAP and the Organization for Cooperation between Railways held a joint virtual meeting of experts on challenges and opportunities for international railway transport along the Trans-Asian Railway network and beyond during the pandemic. Participants at the meeting reaffirmed the need for a suitable modality for the harmonization of electronic information exchange among railways and between railway and control agencies. The secretariat stands ready to support the parties in this important initiative.