Rail Travel news.

Swissport International, has concluded a joint venture with Ukraine International Airlines (UIA), Ukraine`s dynamic carrier, under which the partners will jointly operate the  Interavia ground handling company. With its strong economic growth and its rapidly-rising air travel volumes, Ukraine fits ideally into the Swissport strategy of gaining key footholds in promising new markets.

Ukraine International Airlines has taken the landmark decision to sell a majority 51% shareholding in Interavia Ltd., the ground handling company it co-founded with its partner Airline Business Handling in 2005, to Swissport International. "We are delighted that, in Swissport, we have found such a strong, experienced and international partner," says Richard W. Creagh, Deputy President of UIA. "And we are confident that the new ownership arrangement will promote an extensive transfer of knowledge, generate additional airline business, enhance processes and further raise overall quality standards." The new arrangement will also enable UIA to concentrate on its core flight operations. Swissport already provides ground handling for UIA at various airports. But it will now also be active at the carrier`s Kiev hub. "Our goal here will be to accommodate all the growth for UIA while still offering top-quality products and services," says Mark Skinner, Vice President Business Development at Swissport International, who is in overall charge of the new collaboration. "We`re looking forward to taking over UIA`s hub management, and to entering these rapidly-growing Eastern European markets." Kiev, with its 2.6 million inhabitants, has gained substantially in both importance and appeal since Ukraine`s government changed and the country opened up politically. "The market here offers phenomenal potential," UIA`s Creagh confirms. "And it`s not just governments, embassies and businesspeople who are demanding more and more mobility to and from the country; with the boom we are seeing in the local economy, more and more private individuals are travelling by air, too." With annual operating revenues of EUR 2 million and some 12 000 flights handled a year, Interavia is the biggest ground handler at Kiev`s Borispol Airport. The company handled 1.7 million passengers in 2005, and expects to see a 21% increase in its business volumes for 2006. It also intends to expand its operations to other airports within the next 18 months.

The speaker of Ukraine's parliament has recommended turning the area around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant into a tourist destination.

Volodymyr Lytvyn said, "I think we must do everything to derive some practical good out of this tragedy, including by organizing extreme tourism," RIA Novosti reported.

Lytvyn said that offering tours of the area surrounding the Chernobyl plant would make people more aware of the impact that man-made disasters could have on life on earth.

The explosion that occurred at the Chernobyl facility on April 26, 1986, released a cloud of radioactive contamination that spread over parts of Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and other nations of Europe. Residents living within 30 kilometers (18 miles) of the power plant were permanently evacuated to other areas.

Speaking at a meeting for parliaments of the Commonwealth of Independent States member nations, Lytvyn urged the parliaments to work together to solve the problems caused by the Chernobyl accident

In Ukraine, they are going to create service “112” which will unite four emergency numbers: “01”, “02”, “03”, “04”. Such service is available in Kharkov. In Crimea, it will firstly appear in Simferopol, then in other towns. Some specialists suppose that creation of the service is very costly in terms of money.
  The chief of the main management of emergency ministry Of Ukraine in Crimea Serge Vasilchenho marked that this service would help person to cope with any emergency. He thinks that the management will be under one organization.

  The assistant of the chief of the main management of emergency ministry Vladimir Ivanov told that firstly such service would appear in Simferopol.

  “Then they will be available in Yalta, Alushta, and in other towns,” added V.Ivanov. “Though there are some financial difficulties, as that service will be created due to money from the local budget. This may cause problems, as the budget has already been planned.”

  Vladimir Ivanov also marked that there is a preliminary agreement with “Ukrtelecom” about the connecting of telephone number “112” to the net of emergency and inquiry services of the town. The number “112” is plugged in a mobile communication UM? network as the number of emergency service and is of great republican importance.

According to the information given by the Ukrainian Antimonopoly Committee, it has permitted Skinest Finants company to purchase over 25% shareholding of OAO Kryukovsky Wagon-Building Plant. Thus, the Estonian company will own more than 50% of the plant’s shares.

Nowadays the Estonian company owns 25.95% shareholding of the plant. The other largest shareholders of the company are British company Transbuilding Service Ltd. (24.93%) and Ukrainian holding company "TEKO-Dneprometiz” (19.98%).

Kryukovsky Wagon-Building Plant (Kremenchug town, Ukraine) is one of the largest wagon-building enterprises in the CIS, and the only Ukraine company constructing simultaneously freight and passenger wagons.

It was informed by the director of the Pridneprovsk r/w enterprise of "Ukrzaliznitsa" (acc. to "Yalta News")
According to the directors' board information, this r/w will unite all big resorts of the Crimea and will be used not only for transport but for excursions as well.
"We would like to do it in such a way that a passenger taking the train, for example, in Evpatoria could travel along the sea coast to Yalta without crossing Simferopol"