Blue Corridor 2015 - passing through

© gazeo.comThree cars weren't many, but more joined along the way

This year's edition of the rally, the 9^th since the initiative began in 2008 (although the first international Blue Corridor ran in 2010), started on May 24, 2015 in St. Petersburg, Russia and headed for Paris, France, to join the World Gas Conference, exhibit the vehicles and promote the idea of using natural gas as fuel for road transport. Due to unevenly developed CNG refueling infrastructure in Europe, organisers of the event – Gazprom Export and E.On Global – had to plan the route meticulously to avoid using petrol. It led through Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. And it was in Poland that we caught up with the participants and talked to them.

The 2015 Blue Corridor's official Polish stop was on May 27, at Warsaw's only CNG refueling station at Pradzynskiego st. In fact, another station (an LNG/LCNG one) will be built soon, at MZA Warszawa's city bus depot at Ostrobramska st. (to become the largest station of its kind in Europe), but for the time being the one at Pradzynskiego st. is the city's sole CNG retail point and one of only 25 stations across entire Poland. This shows how precisely the route needs to be planned for the rally, but then its goal is to raise awareness concerning the use of CNG and LNG as motor fuels, so maybe things will change for better in the next couple of years. Meanwhile, listen to Eugene Pronin of Gazprom Export talk about the mission of the Blue Corridor NGV rally.