The High-Level Meeting on Deepening Digitalization of International Rail Transport in Asia-Pacific was held on 13-15 May 2025 in Xi'an, China with online participation, including participants from the PS IGC TRACECA

Participants from railway administrations, members of the Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) Network, presented tangible progress in rail digitalization based on their strategies and policies that aim to deepen rail digitalization in the region. The representative of the GSTIKC elaborated on the initial proposal to set up a regional railway standards connectivity scheme (RSCS) to enhance the efficiency of international transport in the region by improving technical and operational interoperability.

The parties have been encouraged to continue to implement measures on electronic data exchange between railways and between railways and regulatory agencies in an endeavor to enhance the efficiency of international rail transport. For that purpose, the General Principles on electronic information exchange outlined in the new annex to the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Trans-Asian Railway Network and the ESCAP Strategy 2030 on Accelerating Rail Digital Transformation in Asia-Pacific have been noted.  

The representative of the PS IGC TRACECA presented a practical example of the joint pilot project for the use of e-CIM/SMGS railway consignment note between railway administrations of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Türkiye and Ukraine, which is supported by international organizations (OSJD, CIT, UIC, UN ECE / UN CEFACT, and PS IGC TRACECA).

Other topics discussed included addressing rail cyber threats, and the draft regional framework on cyber security which will be considered by the Working Group on Trans-Asian Railway Network; development of high-speed rail networks in the region; railway linkages between Southeast Asia and North and Central Asia; capacity building and increased practical application of electronic information exchange in railway transport; digital rail asset management; use of big data and data analytics in rail decision making; and digital customer services.