Košice–Vienna broad-gauge line

[3] The project is part of the Eurasian Land Bridge initiative to create a continuous rail connection between Europe and East Asia.

The aim of the project is to expand European rail network by laying Russian gauge tracks from Košice in eastern Slovakia to Vienna, creating an uninterrupted transport chain from Russia, China, Japan and other Asian countries to Central Europe.

[10] The vast majority of freight shipments between the EU, Russia and the Asian Pacific Region currently go by sea via the Suez Canal, a distance of between 17,000 and 22,000 kilometres (11,000 and 14,000 mi).

By extending the broad-gauge line, the promoters of the Košice–Vienna project aim to make the Trans-Siberian Railway more competitive vis-à-vis the sea routes.

In 2008, Russia, Ukraine, Slovakia and Austria set up a joint company to build the broad-gauge line from the Slovak city of Košice to the international logistics terminal in Vienna.

[1] In March 2014, Russian Railways CEO Vladimir Yakunin announced a project to link Europe and Asia via a multi-purpose transport corridor known as the Trans-European Development Belt.

The project envisages laying not only long-distance railway lines, but also pipelines for the transportation of oil, gas, water and power, as well as all types of communication from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic.

[10] Siim Kallas thinks that the main problem with this project is the customs fees in Russia, which result in international freight forwarders paying more than Russian companies.

[4] In the view of Polish representatives, the project has a political subtext in that it could potentially be used to economically isolate Poland and its lone Russian-gauge railway line that also originates in Ukraine.

[10] In 2013, Ukrainian Railways Director General Serhiy Bolobolin has stated that the project is vitally important for Ukraine and the entire European transport system.