Dear shareholders, customers and partners!
The period of active activity of our joint venture as a separate and independent business unit in the container transportation market began in 2016. It was the year when the Company's shareholders agreed and approved the key principles and strategic directions of development. Despite the difficult period of formation of the basic regulations of activity, we managed to double the volume of traffic in the first year compared to 2015 and to build up a good customer base for subsequent periods.
2017 and 2018 were periods of commercialization and active growth of the Company. The main focus was on working with future partners and counterparties. Together with my colleagues, I spent most of my time in the countries of origin and repayment of cargo flows for EPA OTLC services in the EU and China. There and then, through an open and constructive dialogue about the Company's development plans, the foundations were laid for fruitful partnership with key players in the Eurasian transportation market both in China and in European countries. In parallel with these processes, painstaking work was carried out on debugging technological interaction with carriers and transport companies both on the 1520 mm gauge space and on the adjacent 1435 mm infrastructure.
2019 was a special year for the company. In the conditions of slow growth of the world economy and a high level of uncertainty of geopolitical processes, it was the trans-Eurasian railway corridor that demonstrated maximum transparency, reliability and, at the same time, high dynamics of development. During the year, together with our European and Chinese partners, we have achieved a very good level of integration both in terms of infrastructure and technological cooperation, as well as in terms of marketing and contractual activities. As a result of such productive cooperation, a third of the way to our "One Million Containers station" was completed already in 2019.
The company confidently took a leading position in the market of Eurasian rail transit traffic and continued to set new records both in volume and quality indicators. And we have already made ambitious joint plans for the future, but 2020 has brought serious strength tests for all sectors of the global industry, including the transport industry. The rapid spread of coronavirus infection closed not only businesses, but entire cities and countries, sending people to long-term quarantine. In these conditions, it has become vital to ensure stable and safe communication between the countries of the Eurasian continent. And today it can be stated that it is railway transport that passes this test very well, providing a high level of reliability, safety and competitiveness of services.
We continue to implement a number of projects, including those aimed at creating a positive image and increasing the loyalty of cargo owners to rail transportation. Together with you, we are writing the latest history of the development of rail transport, based on mutually beneficial partnership and common strategic goals.
We thank our current partners and customers for the excellent results of their activities and the opportunity to enjoy such cooperation! We invite our future contractors to become members of the "One million Club"!
Alexey Grom
