Not Every Mode of Transport Is Equally Useful!

On November 23, 2018, Moscow hosted the IV International Forum “Green Logistics: Ideas, Practices, Prospects” designed to introduce to the participants new technologies that ensure preservation of the environment. It is absolutely natural that such an event could not do without the participation of SkyWay Technologies Co., which develops the most environmentally friendly transport and infrastructure complexes of the future.

The main issues discussed in the first half of the event related to the imperfection of state regulation systems on maximum allowable concentrations of pollutants in water and air, ecoactivism as an instrument of economic competitive struggle, development of safe coal transshipment systems in Russia, construction of terminals with a focus on environmental protection while transferring dangerous goods.

After the interval, the forum participants discussed environmentally friendly traction rolling stock, gas turbine locomotives, hydrogen fuel cell trains, repair and transition of refrigerated rolling stock to modern refrigerants, development of rolling stock for transportation of dangerous goods, ensuring fire and environmental safety while transporting dangerous goods, introduction and implementation of an environmental strategy at industrial enterprises, provision of noise safety while implementing infrastructural projects, specifics in haulage of dangerous cargo in tank containers and much more.

It becomes clear just by the subjects of discussion that only the most prominent experts in relevant sectors, public figures and scientists, CEOs of designated companies were invited to participate in this International Forum. It is only necessary to point out that there was also a group of students from leading transport universities of Russia among the guests of the event.

The list of invited entities is also impressive, here are just some of them: Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation, Committee of the State Duma of the Russian Federation on Ecology and Environmental Protection, OAO Russian Railways, Federal Autonomous Institution “Research Institute “Center for Environmental Industrial Policy”, Russian University of Transport (MIIT), St. Petersburg State University of Transport, Association of Commercial Sea Ports, branch of “Nomura Research Institute Ltd.” (Japan) in Moscow, “Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd, Laboratory for Coal and Environment” (Japan), FGUP “Rosmorport”, Federal Party Project “Ecology of Russia”, Department of State Policy on Maritime and River Transport, Committee on Ecology and Environmental Protection under the Association of Commercial Sea Ports, Committee on Natural Resource Management and Environment “OPORA Rossii” (“SUPPORT of Russia”), Department of Labor Protection, Industrial Safety and Environmental Control, “Clean Seas” Foundation, Regional Public Ecological Foundation “Citizen”, Association of Refrigerated Rolling Stock Operators. In addition, representatives of the companies CRRC, Siemens, ALSTOM Russia, NPO “ORZT”, Bombardier, Sinara Group, Council of “Russian Maglev” cluster and others took part in the forum.

Comment by the representative of SkyWay Technologies Co. Mikhail Kirichenko, who participated in the IV International Forum “Green Logistics: Ideas, Practice, Prospects”: 

The tone of the event was set by a strongly-pronounced conflict between representatives of transport and environmental organizations: the former complained about too tight standards, high fines, ignorant citizens who consider more prestigious to have a real estate overlooking the sea ― read “near a port”, ― who build a house next to it, and  then they begin to complain about the unfavorable ecological situation, and the latter were adamantly standing their ground, saying they knew what the legislation stipulated, what to do, what requirements were imposed on sanitary protection zones, so please be in conformity with them.

The audience greeted with great interest speeches by Japanese representatives, who shared their experience in reducing the impact of coal transshipment on the environment.

The presentation of SkyWay project did not leave anyone indifferent, since it was originally created in order to minimize the negative impact of transport on the environment. Of course, there were voices of skeptics: “a beautiful fairy tale”, “we will see it in 100 years”, “too expensive, because all other types of roads have already been built”, “they are waiting for you only in the North, because you shouldn’t create competition where everything is available already”... However, the prevailing words were those of support, interest, invitations to their regions and regrets that the nearest plans to build Yunitskiy’s SkyWay Transport were carried out not in Russia. Moreover, there is no time to discuss half measures during the rapid approach of an environmental disaster, an understanding of which was demonstrated by the conference participants.

The discussion continued for a long time, and the editor-in-chief of “RZD-Partner” journal, seeing the keen interest of the audience, voiced his opinion on the need to organize a discussion of SkyWay project at the round table in the future, because it is no longer possible to neglect the fact that environmental issues have become of crucial importance presently. The guests of the forum stressed that such conferences attract the attention of the public to solving environmental problems and, moreover, allow to proceed to real actions.