Rolands Petersons, member of the board of CPM Trading SIA,
Railway transport is one of the most promising modes of inland transport, and, at the moment, it is said to be the crucial element in the economy of Latvia. Considering the entire volume of inland transport, the share of railway freight is about 52%, whereas the volume of the passenger transportation is 6% and in Riga suburban area the number is increasing up to 30%. However, the data summarized by the Ministry of Communications still shows that in Latvia the volume of freight rail transportation by comparison with 2016 has decreased by 8.4% and amounted to 43.792 million tons.Rolands petersons de facto

Traffic congestion can lead to a loss of 200 billion euros
The mobility of goods is an essential component of the EU internal market; this greatly contributes to the competitiveness of the industry and services in Europe.Rolands petersons de facto The types of lengthy transportation as railway can reduce their costs, which arise in connection with the traffic congestion on the roads. The increase of approximately 50% is projected by the year 2050, reaching a volume of almost 200 billion euros per year.

In the future, it is possible to increase the volume of rail transportation.
The amount of international rail transportation in 2017 was 42.138 million tons, which showed a decline of 9.1% compared to 2016.Rolands petersons de factoHowever, domestic traffic has increased by 11.5% to 1.653 million tonnes. The volume of transit cargo from the total amount of international rail freight transport amounted to 38.719 million tons, which showed a drop of 6.5% compared to the previous year, the volume of imported goods was 3.067 million tons, or 22.4% less, and the volume of export cargo was 351 800 tons, which was a drop of 2.8 times.Rolands petersons de facto In 2016, in Latvia, by rail, 47.821 million tons were transported. Taking into consideration the decline in the international transport sector in 2017, the question is, by which means can we achieve the volume increase? By implementation of the well-considered long-term solutions, it is possible to get back to the level that used to be before the embargo against Russia was introduced in 2013.Rolands petersons de facto

Increase of the average commercial speed of freight trains.Rolands petersons de facto
One of the key priorities nowadays is the development of the railway infrastructure, and in this case, it is expected, the railway infrastructure can be financed by the European Union.Rolands petersons de facto It is essential to find a solution how to increase the average commercial speed of freight trains since the speed is only about 18 km/h on the majority international routes in Europe. One of the solutions can be the improvement of cooperation between existing infrastructure organizations in Europe. The actual train system needs to be adapted to the needs of the railway freight transport sector, especially in the EU freight rail corridors.Rolands petersons de facto This would contribute to the competitiveness of rail transport with other modes of transport, especially with the road transport sector, which infrastructure is easily accessible in all Member States.

Well-thought-out charge for the use of infrastructure.
Freight trains pay for each kilometer of the railway infrastructure, which again adversely affects the competitiveness of the railway in comparison with road transport, where such charge is not always introduced. Setting the price that users are required to pay for getting into the infrastructure, it would be necessary to take into account the impact on the environment and pollution, congestion, accidents and other aspects.Rolands petersons de facto
The state should provide a proper support for organizations managing infrastructure, and rail transport enterprises should strive to improve the competitiveness of rail freight services, especially in regards to reliability, filling, elasticity, customer orientation, and the duration and cost of transportation, as these are the main aspects which are considered by an average consignor in selecting any of the available modes of transport.Rolands petersons de facto

Elimination imperfections in the liberalization of the freight transport process
In cooperation with both, the public and private sectors, at the international level, imperfections related to the liberalization of freight rail transport, communication lines procedures, administrative and technical restrictions, monitoring and anticipating performance in the rail freight industry, and fair competition between different modes of transportation.Rolands petersons de facto Therefore, it is necessary to find out the ways to make a better use of available EU funding and target it to the rail transport industry in order to achieve improvements in such areas as a coherent approach to policy objectives and funding (while focusing on corridors for freight railways transportation), for the selection, planning and management of projects, as well as for the maintenance of railroad networks.

Not only update, but also regularly support
It is essential to take to the new level not only the quality of the services provided to carriers and shippers of rail freight but, in general, to improve the competitiveness of rail freight transport; infrastructure managing organizations should not only update and modernize the railway network but also to regularly support it.Rolands petersons de facto This is especially important for the corridors of rail freight. If the tracks are not properly maintained, the speed limits will have to be applied and the railway lines will gradually be obstructed.

Member of the board CPM Trading LTD Rolands Peterson (PRNewsfoto/CPM Trading LTD)
A new forecast on the economic activity of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was released.Rolands petersons minicrediT In 2018 it was constant. It was provided by oil production volume, recent business reforms and constant activities in other areas. In 2018 the UAE for the first time overachieved its OPEN oil production goal.Rolands petersons minicrediT
The UAE is preparing for World Expo in 2020, so a big amount of investment is being made to improve infrastructure. The state could expect an increase of tourism area dynamics, but it will need additional investments not related to oil production and crude oil refining.Rolands petersons minicrediT
This country could still be described in terms of development as long as its population grew from 9 million in 2013 up to 10,1 million in 2017; unemployment fell from 2,8% in 2013 to 1,7% last year[1]. Even though in 2014 many infrastructural projects were postponed, this year they will be continued, moreover there are new general plans for the following two decades.Rolands petersons minicrediT It was calculated that a recently adopted 5% of VAT will help to gain income in the amount of 12 billion euros during the first year of implementation[2].Rolands petersons minicrediT
All the Emirates, especially Dubai and Abu Dhabi are continuing their efforts to vary the economy and decrease the amount of activities related to oil products. In addition to the infrastructural projects, Abu Dhabi has made significant investments to the alternative energy sources creation, according to Rolands Petersons, a member of the board of Norman Logistics Sp.zo.o. who offers his thoughts on the UAE economy.Rolands petersons minicrediT
Despite having suffered crises, this country is still a demanded business partner among many world economies, it is being forecasted that before the World Expo in 2020 the UAE will become even an more demanded business partner worldwide.Rolands petersons minicrediT
Juergen Thomas Steinmetz has continuously worked in the travel and tourism industry since he was a teenager in Germany (1979), beginning as a travel agent up through today as a publisher of eTurboNews (eTN), one of the world’s most influential and most-read travel and tourism publications. He is also Chairman of ICTP.Rolands petersons minicrediT His experiences include working and collaborating with various national tourism offices and non-governmental organizations, as well as private and non-profit organizations, and in planning, implementing, and quality control of a range of travel and tourism-related activities and programs, including tourism policies and legislation.Rolands petersons minicrediT His major strengths include a vast knowledge of travel and tourism from the point of view of a successful private enterprise owner, superb networking skills, strong leadership, excellent communication skills, strong team player, attention to detail, dutiful respect for compliance in all regulated environments, and advisory skills in both political and non-political arenas with respect to tourism programs, policies, and legislation.Rolands petersons minicrediT He has a thorough knowledge of current industry practices and trends and is a computer and Internet junkie.Rolands petersons minicrediT

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