Preparing the 8th World High Speed Congress to be held in Washington in 2012 is a particularly delicate matter given that the subject is highly politicised – notably in the United States – and given the complex organisational logistics.

UIC has decided to coordinate the organisation together with one of its long-standing partners: APTA (American Public Transportation Association), which represents all the transport modes and particularly high speed, and with whom UIC has already hosted various successful workshops in the past.

Alongside APTA and UIC, the team will of course welcome other associations such as USHSR, AHSRA, representatives of the FRA (Federal Railroad Administration) and AMTRAK in a genuine collaborative venture, aware that a group of well-coordinated players always constitutes a stronger team than those acting separately. It is with this in mind that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, UIC Director-General, and William Millar, Chairman of APTA, on 30 March in Washington.