Organization for Cooperation of Railways
The Organization for Cooperation of Railways (OSJD or OSShD) (Russian: Организация Сотрудничества Железных Дорог or ОСЖД), was established as the equivalent of the International Union of Railways (UIC) to create and improve the coordination of international rail transport. Concerning especially the transports between Europe and Asia, it has helped develop cooperation between railway companies and with other international organisations. The members of this organisation created an international transport law.
At a conference in Sofia, Bulgaria on 28 June 1956, the governmental ministers managing railway transport of Eastern bloc countries Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Vietnam, East Germany, China, North Korea, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, the USSR, and Czechoslovakia decided to establish a special inter-governmental organization, the executive body of which started operations in Warsaw, Poland on 1 September 1957.
In contrast to Western European countries, railway links between OSShD member countries are characterized by long routes (8000 to 10,000 km), different and severe climatic zones, and two track gauge changes on a single route (1,520 mm (4 ft 11 27⁄32 in) and 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) ). Focusing on collective resolution of railway transport problems, OSShD role has developed with new frontiers increasing freight transport times.
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