To underscore its global reach, it was decided that UIC (the International Union of Railways) would acquire a new Internet address ending in “.org”, as is the case for all the main international organisations. UIC’s website can now be accessed at the address www.uic.org, which replaces www.uic.asso.fr and will be in service from 15 April 2009.

A website address is a powerful component of an organisation’s identity, and the new address, www.uic.org, will be more reflective of UIC’s status as a worldwide organisation bringing together 196 railways from 5 continents. As the new UIC Director General Jean-Pierre Loubinoux explained, “this new Internet address has symbolic value. It enables UIC to position itself among the family of recognised international institutions and expresses the strong desire, reaffirmed by the Members, to make UIC a global player in the promotion of rail transport.”

This modification also entails a change of e-mail addresses. From now on, all UIC e-mail addresses will be formed in the following way: name@uic.org. Aside from the change to “.org”, only one e-mail address has been modified. E-mails sent to the Communications Department are now to be sent to com@uic.org, “com” replacing “communication”.

Nevertheless, the domain name “.uic.asso.fr” (Internet and e-mail addresses) will not disappear. Connections to the website and e-mails sent using the former domain name will be redirected automatically to the new address ending in “.org” for as long as the “uic.asso.fr” domain name is maintained.