This podcast is the second in a series entitled ‘Connecting the world of railways, a conversation with…’ brought to you by the International Union of Railways, UIC.

As UIC approaches the beginning of its centenary year, this podcast offers an opportunity to hear from its Director General François Davenne and explore a number of topics that are part of the current UIC narrative such as sustainability, resilience, digitalisation and how the railways need to evolve over the first decade of UIC’s next 100 years.

The questions put to Mr Davenne include:

• The past 18 months or so have been an exceptionally challenging period for us all and we have had to enter into new ways of working and organising ourselves. The UIC team continues to deliver while working mainly from home. What are the highlights that stand out for you?
• There are several reasons why customers should be flocking to take the train for their journey on top of energy efficiency, but what could be the narrative that the railways should propose to change behaviour and initiate a change in the transportation paradigm?
• 2022 will be the year of the UIC centenary and you will have the honour of being its DG during this momentous period. There are a number of mainstream events being planned next year as part of the centenary programme, with it all being kicked off by an international symposium on 30 November and 1 December in Paris. A core thread of this event will be what railway transportation will need to look like in the next five, 10 and 15 years. What is the picture that you can paint for our listeners? What might the panorama look like?

Listen to the podcast here:

https://soundcloud.com/uicrail/connecting-the-world-of-railways-a-conversation-with-francois-davenne

Enjoy the podcast and see you soon for the next one. Stay tuned!