Leaders from the CIS Railway Council’s Directorate and various organizations involved in passenger rail transportation have gathered in Samarkand for the 31st meeting of the CIS Passenger Commission.
Deputy Chairman of the Directorate of the CIS Council for Railway Transport Oleg Nikitin and Director of Uztemiryulyulovchi JSC Sharofiddin Qodirov both spoke about the importance of the meeting and the conferences that will be held as part of it. They also discussed the progress made in domestic and international transportation of passengers, as well as the priority tasks ahead.
“The pandemic caused disruptions in passenger rail transportation around the world,” said Nikitin. “But the system is gradually improving. Information technologies are advancing, and the quality of services is improving. We need to learn from each other and share best practices in passenger transportation. We should also accelerate the process of digitalization of the system and cooperate more. Uzbekistan has a lot of positive experience that others can benefit from. This is what the 31st meeting is all about.”
The Express-1, Express-2, and Express-3 electronic systems are currently used in the CIS and Baltic countries to sell tickets for international destinations and book seats. Now, the Express-3 system needs to be improved.
“The Express-3 system is reaching the end of its service life,” said Andrey Komissarov, Director of the Express Research Center at the Russian Railway Research Institute. “We plan to use the new generation of ‘Express International’, a system for quickly selling tickets to passengers and providing complete information about flights in the CIS. This system is already in use in Russia and is supported by our colleagues in Uzbekistan. With the introduction of this modern system in the CIS countries, passengers will have more convenience.”
At the meeting, attendees will review the creation of an international integration system of passenger trains “Express International”, as well as draft documents, decisions, and appeals prepared by the working bodies of the Council. There will also be a signing of a protocol to consider measures to promote the development of electronic travel documents for international and domestic trains in the CIS. Finally, the participants will discuss cooperation between the railway administrations of the CIS and Baltic countries in international passenger transportation.
[gallery-13728]G.Khasanov, photos by A.Isroilov, UzA