The ATTI (Agreement on freight Train Transfer Inspection) Special Group anniversary celebrations began with an evening event at UIC headquarters on 10 June and continued on 11 June with the ATTI General Assembly. This event, coordinated by Paulo Lira de Freitas (UIC Senior Freight Advisor) and Beatrix Perrot (ex UIC) convened with Chair Stefan Zebracki (DB Cargo) and the Executive Committee members: Alain Voltz (Fret SNCF), Thomas Dangl (Rail Cargo Group), Dirk Euler (DB Cargo), Jean-Marc Blondé (SBB Cargo), Fabiola Stori (Rail Traction Company) and Jan Kavřík (ČD Cargo, a.s.).
UIC Director General François Davenne opened the event with an inspiring speech, emphasising UIC’s commitment to spearheading initiatives, establishing working groups and collaborating closely with members to address common challenges in the rail sector. He highlighted the recognition and endorsement of the ATTI handover procedure by key stakeholders, including the European Union Agency for Railways, underscoring the necessity of continuing to advance ATTI’s objectives.
Chair Stefan Zebracki reflected on the fruitful and collaborative work within UIC, expressing gratitude to all ATTI members. He highlighted the remarkable growth from 30 railway undertakings a decade ago to over 170 today, showcasing the power of unity and teamwork.
Roberto Mele and Beatrijs Claeys from the European Union Agency for Railways delivered an insightful presentation on TSI OPE 2023, providing crucial clarifications on the Safety Management System and operational changes for RUs and IMs.
Paulo de Freitas presented the new ATTI RUs and highlighted the increasing ATTI RU membership, with the current tally up to 175 members since the last General Assembly.
After the presentation of the strategy and ongoing developments by Stefan Zebracki, two proposals were voted and approved:
- The first proposal, by Dirk Euler (DB Cargo), was on ATTI strategy development for the next 1-3 and 5 years, in the fields of operation, freight and digitalisation. He mentioned the desire to develop a narrative for future partners and added that there was a need to consider how lobbying could be improved.
- The second proposal, by Thomas Dangl from Rail Cargo Group, addressed the Agreement – Appendix 2 Quality Guidelines, an addition to the quality guidelines for the 2025 version.
Dirk Euler (DB Cargo) was elected the new Chair of the group for the next three years. Stefan Zebracki said that he had been very pleased to be the chair of the ATTI group but will be active in the future in other fields, such as wagon assessors and DAC. The current ATTI RUs were re-elected to the Executive Committee.
After the presentation by Paulo de Freitas of the 2023 final accounts, the provisional budget for 2024 and the forecast for 2025, Jean-Marc Blondé, SBB Cargo, presented the further developments of the QMS database, focusing on technology, dangerous goods and operations. He highlighted the increasing number of RU members – from 117 in 2018 to 175 in 2023 – showing how important the database is. However, he stressed the need for more data.
The 6th proposal on the adaptation of the Internal Regulations on Management of special situations point 8.5 was also voted during the General Assembly.
Alain Voltz launched the first ATTI video explaining the basics of ATTI, how it functions, and its purpose for railway undertakings who want to join. ATTI has been streamlining rail freight operations for 10 years, making rail freight more interoperable and competitive.
This video can be watched here:
English version: https://lnkd.in/eR6bS4Xa
French version: https://lnkd.in/eidZMhq6
German version: https://lnkd.in/e5HYqhWW
He also introduced the new ATTI showcase LinkedIn page available here: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/98971915/admin/dashboard/
Stefan Zebracki asked participants to complete the online feedback survey on this assembly and mentioned that the next General Assembly would be held on 3 June 2025 either online or in person (to be discussed).
