Last checked at 18 Jun 2013 14:31
JSC Georgian Railway has held a conference at the "Radisson Blu Iveria". Having invited government representatives, NGOs, IFIs, diplomatic corp and local business representatives the Director General - Mr. Mamuka Bakhtadze presented company development plans and results for the first quarter of 2013.
Georgian Railway, as the only national railway operator in Georgia, has three Strategic Business Units and five subsidiary companies.
The main motto for the company is"transportation safety".Georgian Railway plans to increase profitability and become the fast moving locomotive for national economy growth.
Unique location, natural monopoly status and deregulated freight tariff policy creates needed foundation in order to further develop the company, enter new geographic regions and increase the competitiveness of the Caucasus corridor.
The results of the improvement of operational indicators has significantly increased strenght of the technical side of the company. Namely, the increased weight of train composition has resulted in decreased electricity expense per 1 ton of transported cargo from 11 kwh to 10.2 kwh and the utilization of locomotive staff by 9-10%. Safety indicators have improved by 11% compared to the first quarter of 2012. Revenue from freight transportation increased by 13% compared to the first quarter of the previous year. The additional locomotives added by Turkmenistan railway have decreased freight car rental revenue for Georgian Railway. However this fact should be viewed as positive, as due to the increased turnover, utilization of wagons decreased, creating additional transportation capacity in the corridor.
In 2012-2013, 85.7 km of rail-tracks and electricity lines have been repaired, 68,000 wooden crossties have been changed.
5 new passenger trains have been added to the Passenger SBU. New air-bags suspension and modern brake systems will add to the comfort and safety of passengers during transportation. The company introduced 22-38% price discount according to the class of the wagon during the non-peak season.
According to the Director General, in future, the company plans to adopt Enterprise Resource Planning system, ISO 9001 standards and achieve harmonization with Eurounion directives. Georgian Railway's priority is close contact with cargo owners and other transporting companies. GR is creating Marketing group in order to achieve effective relationship with its clients and increase flexibility of the tariff system.
In 2013 the company expects an increase in cargo turnover and foresees to achieve increased transportation of liquid cargo by 870,000 tons and for dry cargo - 200,000 tons. In parallel there are negotiations with the Azerbaijan side to achieve unified transportation tariff for cargo groups such as: cotton, grain and coal. In case of successful outcome of these negotiations, additional cargo transportation increases are expected.
The company considers creating intermodal terminal in Batumi station in order to transfer automobile cargo from Turkey (Sarpi customs) into railway wagons. Company also plans to enter ferry transportation industry on the Black Sea. The above-mentioned plans should increase railway transportation by 900,000 tons annually.
Total salary budget has increased from GEL 100,7 million in 2012 to GEL 129 million in 2013, representing 29% increase in average salary for the employees between the years.
The Georgian Railway has hired MC Mobility Consultants GmbH to improve the technical parameters of the Tbilisi Bypass Project resulting in decreased technical and financial burden.