During its 98th General Assembly, UIC, appointed Mr Krzysztof Mamiński, CEO of PKP (Polskie Koleje Panstwowe, Polish State Railways) as new UIC Chairman. His background and personality will enable UIC to articulate a clear project and progress even further. He succeeds Mr Gianluigi Castelli, Italian Railways FS Group.

Mr Mohamed Khlie, CEO of ONCF (Office National des Chemins de Fer, Moroccan State Railways) becomes UIC Vice Chairman, succeeding Mr Ali Uygun, Turkish State Railways. He will bring active participation and leadership in promoting strong regional activities within UIC.

Their two-and-a-half mandate will end on 31 December 2023.

Krzysztof Mamiński has held the position of the President of the Board of Polskie Koleje Państwowe S.A. since 2017 and is co-responsible for the development strategy of the rail sector in Poland by developing the areas of innovativeness, digitalisation and research at the PKP Group. At the same time he is a member of the CER Management Committee and the UIC European Regional Committee, representing the rails of East-Central Europe.

Krzysztof Mamiński is also a member of the Conference of General Directors of the Organization for Cooperation of Railways (OSJD), where he actively acts in favour of improving cooperation between Europe and other regions of the world. He has been involved in the rail sector for 40 years now, and worked his way up the career ladder, starting with the IT center with PKP and ending with managerial functions at the companies from the PKP Group. From 1990 to 1998 he held the position of the President of NSZZ “Solidarność” and was responsible for negotiations and shaping the social dialogue around the domestic transport sector.

From 1998 to 2002 he served on the board of Polskie Koleje Państwowe (Polish State Railways), holding the position of the Member of the Board in charge of restructuring and privatization (1998-2000) and employee affairs (2000-2002); co-author of the concept of restructuring Polish railways, actively involved in the successful implementation of a new structure taking into account the liberalisation of the European rail market.

Since 2002 and up until now he continuously holds a position of power in the Polish association of railway employers, including several times as President of the Board (2002-2003, 2005-2013 and since 2017 until now). He is also the Chairman of the supervisory boards of one of the biggest railway carriers in Europe: PKP Cargo S.A. and PKP Intercity S.A. An economist by education, he graduated from the Faculty of Management and Economics of Services at the University of Szczecin and post-graduate studies at Kozminski University in Warsaw; major: European Management Model, owner of an MBA diploma.

He said: “It is not only a great honour to be elected as the new chairman of UIC, but primarily an enormous responsibility and recognition for current activities – mine, as a manager with decades of experience, but mostly thousands of railwaymen and other people strongly involved in supporting the expansion of railway on daily basis. Since 1922 Polish National Railways (PKP) have been a member of UIC and, at the same time, one of the founding entities. It gives me a sense of satisfaction, that today, when for the first time in the history of European Union we are celebrating European Year of Railways, our voice has a chance to be heard even stronger on the international arena. Please bear in mind that PKP, as a member of all main, international organisations acting in the railway domain, represents the interests of entire railway sector in Poland.”

Mohamed Rabie Khlie graduated from the Mohammadia School of Engineering (EMI) in Morocco with a degree in Engineering. He joined the Moroccan National Railways Office (ONCF) in 1987, where he held various positions of responsibility before being appointed Director General of ONCF in July 2004.

At the head of ONCF, he was the initiator of structural changes that revolutionised the railway sector, making it a model recognised by institutions and even recommended as a reference.

Some of the key milestones led since his appointment, marking the history of the Moroccan railways, include:

• The first milestone which consisted in the successful conduct of the sector reform, through a major restructuring and reorganisation plan, which has helped to redress the economic and financial situation of the Office, while putting it on the path of sustainability and durability;
• The second milestone focused on the realisation of major projects that reconfigured the Moroccan railway system. It included the project of the first Arab-African high-speed train ’Al Boraq’ linking Casablanca (economic capital) to Tangier in the North (gateway to Europe) inaugurated in November 2018, and which is now the pride of a whole continent. In addition, there is the modernisation and increase in capacity of the conventional network, the construction of “new generation” stations, the development of a network of logistics platforms and the positioning as a logistics integrator.

For the last two decades, Mr Khlie has been continuously involved in international and regional activities related to the railway sector, contributing his vision, sharing his expertise and know-how, with the ambition and determination to contribute to reposition and establish the railways of tomorrow:

• Active member of the Intergovernmental Organization for International Rail Transport (OTIF) since 2006;
• Current President of the Maghreb Rail Transport Committee;
• Chair of the UIC African Region since July 2010 where he has succeeded in federating members around a common project supported by innovative actions put at the service of African Railway networks.

On another level, Mr Mohamed Rabie Khlie is involved in various work-related activities. He is a member of the National Council of the Association of Engineers of the Mohammadia School of Engineering (AIEM) and President of the Commission of Relations with International Institutions of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation

He said: “In the light of future challenges, our ambition is to launch a railway system that is stronger, more powerful, more inclusive and more useful.”

François Davenne, UIC Director General, said: “The new governance of the UIC composed of Krzysztof Mamiński, CEO of PKP, as our new Chairman and of Mohamed Khlie, CEO of Moroccan Railways, as Vice-President, has received unanimous support at the General Assembly that has just taken place.

The decade that begins with the European Year of Rail and that will also see in 2022 the centenary of UIC will be crucial for the future of our planet. The UIC, in its role as a global association of railway companies, is fully mobilised to provide concrete and effective solutions to make a massive modal shift towards rail desirable. I know that Krzysztof Mamiński shares this vision. He is honouring us with his leadership and his ability to drive this task.”