The UIC senior management team was delighted to welcome the association’s new president, Krzysztof Mamiński, to UIC headquarters on 3 September. The visit offered a perfect opportunity for a thorough discussion with the president and his team, learn about his priorities for the association and present the UIC work programme for this year and the beginning of UIC’s centenary year in 2022.

Mr Mamiński declared his full personal support for continuity in the work being undertaken by the UIC team. In particular, he highlighted the importance of UIC’s role in advocating for the positioning of railways around the world and the core task of changing the image of rail and developing it worldwide. He cited UIC’s crucial role in standardisation as being central to achieving these goals. A key priority will be to use the momentum around global warming to gain greater visibility of the role of the railways and to encourage investment. Satisfying members’ needs will be another of Mr Mamiński’s priorities – communication on the added value of the solutions developed within UIC projects and the community’s achievements is crucial and must be highly proactive.

The very rich exchange that UIC had with PKP delegation that included Mr Krzysztof Mamiński - President and CEO of PKP and PKP team for UIC affairs headed by Mr Tomasz Lachowicz- Director of PKP Office in Brussels and Head of the UIC Chairman CAB, will undoubtedly allow to increase UIC outreach in the coming years.

For François Davenne, the momentum that the new president will bring and significant involvement on the part of PKP will facilitate project development in Europe and, through international cooperation with a wide range of stakeholders, on the Eurasian corridors in particular. 2022 will be the centenary of UIC, but it will also be a starting point for work on a compelling narrative for the sector. UIC’s broad portfolio of activities will be instrumental in defining a credible path for shifting the current mobility paradigm towards rail and public transport.

Mr Mamiński said: “Everywhere in the world, high-speed rail is one of the priorities. We have well-organised railway companies and we have high-speed rail well developed in Western Europe, but we must also think about constructing it in Central and Eastern Europe. We have to be proud of what we are doing, and we have to show it.

We’ve seen the tasks, goals and successes in the specific regions. Now we can try to make this coherent so that all the members from the whole railway sector worldwide can benefit from it.”