Railway Infrastructure and Service Provision

Railway Infrastructure and Service Provision

1. 
   The density and accessibility of the railway network in Belarus is comparable to other Central European countries. In general, the network density for railway lines at the national level is high in central Europe (including the Benelux countries, Germany, Czech Republic and Poland) and lower in the peripheral countries (including Scandinavia, the Iberian peninsula, western France, the Baltic States, Turkey, and Bulgaria). The highest network density can be found in the Czech Republic, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany (all above 100 km/1,000 km2). These nations are followed by Hungary, Austria, Poland, United Kingdom, Netherlands, and Slovakia with 65–80 km/1,000 km2. At the lower end of the range are Norway, Finland, Turkey, Greece, and the Baltic countries with values of 20 km /1,000 km2 or below. ^{REF _Ref264022194 \h \* MERGEFORMAT} With 26.5 km/1,000 km2, Belarus has a railway network density similar to the other countries in the same region of the continent. Since 1990, there has been a significant drop in rail freight transport in many Central and Eastern European countries in terms of both total volume and modal share. Many of these countries have therefore reduced the size of their rail networks and as a result, the densities of their railway networks have decreased. This is not the case in Belarus where the railway transportation market is still significant and the traffic intensity is very high—well above the European average.
   

Table . Estimated Average Annual Investment Needs for the Modernization of Rolling Stock (US$ million and thousands)