There have been some recent changes to our neighbours in the Brussels office. Due to a need to find new accommodation to welcome their enlarged team, the SNCF-Europe team has departed, although only just around the corner in Rue Belliart.

East Japan Railways have decided to establish an office in our building and so we are delighted to welcome Mr Naoya Koide as the interim JRE representative. The permanent representative will join us in April and will significantly strengthen collaboration and links with all the European partners. The UIC Brussels team particularly welcomes this development of JR-East presence in Brussels, especially bearing in mind the forthcoming installation of Mr Mr. Yoshio Ishida as Chairman of UIC. This will help to better develop partnerships and work more appropriately and effectively on the issues that involve the UIC Brussels team particularly in the areas of standardisation, legislation, research and safety.