During their visit to Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC) HQ in Dar es Salaam on 28 August 2023, the Africa Coordination Team, Christian Chavanel and Maria Lafont, had a very fruitful meeting with the extended Management Team of TRC. Discussions focused on safety, security, membership, interoperability, telecommunications, rolling stock and UIC Africa Region activities.
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Bruno T. Ching’andu, DG Tanzania Zamia Railway Authority (TAZARA), met the UIC Africa Coordination Team at TAZARA HQ in Dar es Salaam on 28 August 2023. We had a great exchange with TAZARA DG and the extended Management Team on safety, security, membership, interoperability, telecommunications, rolling stock and UIC Africa Region activities.
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It was a great privilege for Christian Chavanel and Maria Lafont to meet Hanya Mbawala, Director of the Land Transport Regulatory Authority (LATRA), and Moses Nyoni, Safety Expert, at the LATRA offices in Dar es Salaam on 29 August 2023. We had a productive exchange on safety, membership, interoperability, telecommunications and UIC Africa Region activities.
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Dr Abdi Zenebe and the Ethio-Djibouti Railways (EDR) Management Team hosted a meeting with the UIC Coordination Team at the EDR offices in Lebu Railway Station, followed by a station visit, on 30 August 2023. Discussions covered infrastructure, safety, security, capacity building, regional cooperation, railway investments and UIC Africa Region activities. The visit continued on to the EDR maintenance workshop.
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Hlina Belachew, DG Ethio-Railways Corporation (ERC), welcomed Christian Chavanel and Maria Lafont to the ERC offices in Addis Ababa on 31 August 2023. Fruitful discussions on a number of vital issues followed, including safety, security, standards, training, membership, interoperability and UIC Africa Region activities.
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During their visit to Ethio-Djibouti Railways (EDR) in Djibouti on 2 September 2023, the UIC Africa Coordination Team met with Hasan Kamil, Deputy CEO EDR and the extended Management Team. Discussions focused on security, animal collision, ILCAD and tourism opportunities for railways. The rich technical visit covered Nagad Railway Station, the loading and unloading of wagons at the port, Djibouti Multi-Purpose Port and its railway terminal, as well as Nagad freight terminal.
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Christian Chavanel, Lucie Anderton and Maria Lafont were very pleased to have a fruitful meeting with Phillip Mainga, KRC MD, at the Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) in Nairobi on 5 September 2023. Discussions focused on safety, security, protection of biodiversity, membership, regional cooperation and investment opportunities for railways. The meeting was followed by a visit to Nairobi Central Railway Station.
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The UIC Africa Coordination Team were honoured to meet Hon. Onesmus Kipchumba Murkomen, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Roads and Transport, on 5 September 2023. A most interesting discussion focused on financing opportunities for railways and the role of railways in regional cooperation. Follow us for more information on UIC Africa activities.
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François Davenne met His Excellency Mansour Faye, Minister of Infrastructure, Land Transport and Public Works of Senegal, in the presence of Malick Ndoye, in Dakar on 7 September 2023. Discussions focused on the upcoming International Forum on Financing Rail Projects in Africa, scheduled from 19 to 21 October 2023, the role of Senegal in the development of railways in Africa, and investment into railways.
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François Davenne met with Mayacine Camara, Chair of the Board of Directors, Malick Ndoye, DG CFS, Ms Touré, General Secretary of CFS, and Mamadou Dia, Director of the Department of Railway Transport, Minister of Infrastructure, Land Transport and Opening-up, at CFS HQ in Dakar on 7 September 2023 to discuss the International Forum in Dakar, from 19 to 21 October 2023. Discussions focused on financing rail projects in Africa and joint collaboration at the Senegal Pavilion at COP28 in Dubai.
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François Davenne met with Samba Ndiaye, DG GTS and the extended Management Team in Dakar at the GTS HQ on 7 September 2023. Discussions focused on the adaptation of technical guidelines to meet the needs of Senegal, safety and training. François Davenne confirmed that, at the end of 2023, UIC will be launching a working group for Africa on the co-existence of standard and metric gauge and inviting those countries outside of Africa (in Asia, Europe and Latin America) who have similar experiences.
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During a visit to Dakar, the UIC Africa Coordination Team, Christian Chavanel and Maria Lafont, met with Abdou Ndene Sall, DG SEN-TER, at SEN-TER HQ on 8 September 2023. A fruitful discussion centred on safety, peer reviewing, the co-existence of standard and metric gauge railways, signalling, and training.
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Thank you to the SETER Team and Patrick Tranzer, DG SETER, for organising a most exciting technical visit of the Dakar Railway Station, followed by a visit to the Coloban offices of SETER, for UIC and our colleagues from CFS and GTS on 8 September 2023. The visit offered an up-close view of TER DAKAR’s operating system and in particular showed the high level of performance achieved in terms of safety and punctuality – among the best in the world.
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We were thrilled by a visit to the CFS Workshop in Thiès and our meeting with the formidable CFS Thiès Team on 8 September 2023. The visit included passenger and rolling stock maintenance workshops, the operation centre, and an up-close look at the refurbishment of wagons and locomotives.
