The annual UIC Finance Platform Plenary Session took place on 21 May 2026 and was opened by Stefano Pierini, Italian State Railways (FSI) and Chair of the Finance Platform. He discussed the ongoing developments to strengthen the financial mechanisms within UIC and the push to make socioeconomic benefits more tangible for private investors.

During his welcome speech, François Davenne, UIC Director General, highlighted the importance of standardising and automating financial processes to support efficient, sustainable multimodal transport and strengthen cooperation with different mobility partners. He also presented key UIC initiatives, including the UIC Open Multi-Modal Toolkit (OMMT) and a new Clean Mobility Carbon Credit Coalition, aimed at improving financing access and advancing climate-aligned rail investments.

Moderated by Chakib Metennani, UIC CFO and Coordinator of the Finance Platform, the session focused on presentations from UIC’s sectors, including Passenger accounting, Freight accounting, Rules governing financial relationships between companies, the Office of Debt Compensation on issues related to certain railways being released from observation, the Taxation Group, and UIC Statistics Platform.

Guest speakers included:

• David Sarfatti, UIC Passenger Department, who detailed how UIC’s multimodal initiative promotes open standards, and the use of the OMMT toolkit to enable seamless, efficient, and interoperable door to door transport while improving the passenger experience and revenue sharing across partners.

• Joo Hyun Ha, who gave a presentation on UIC Advocacy, which aims to position rail as a key solution in climate finance and carbon markets to attract investment and unlock new revenue streams. It promotes adapted financing models and a carbon-credit coalition to accelerate low-carbon rail development and expand access to global funding.