By Jeon Han and Lee Hana

"Toward a future of peace and prosperity" is the slogan of the 34th conference for general directors of the Organization for Cooperation between Railways (OSJD) slated from April 8-12 in Seoul. Korea will host the annual event for the first time after earning full membership last year.

Based in Warsaw, Poland, the OSJD is a multilateral organization that brings together public rail operators across Eurasia to improve the coordination of rail transportation in the region. Its conference is considered the United Nations General Assembly for continental railways.

This year's event is expected to attract more than 300 general directors and representatives from rail operators in 27 countries including Russia, China, Mongolia, Poland and Kazakhstan. They will share their respective countries' results last year in five areas such as freight volume, number of passengers and in-car facilities and discuss expanding multilateral cooperation.

"As this will be our first time hosting this international conference since becoming an OSJD member, we will definitely put our best foot forward," said Korail CEO Son Byung-seok. "We will treat the conference as a prime opportunity to showcase to global rail leaders our rail technology, potential and vision for Eurasia's continental railroads."

hanjeon@korea.kr