After the statutory meetings a special programme was organised by Trafikverket, and in particular by Mr Hans Ring, Director of International Affairs at Trafikverket. This programme gave Mr Yoshio Ishida, UIC Chairman and Mr Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, UIC Director-General the possibility to discuss with Mr Gunnar Malm, CEO of Trafikverket, how transport issues – and in particular rail development – are governed in Sweden.

During this programme a number of discussions were held with various operators such as Mr Ole Kjörrefjord from EuroMaint and Mr Mikko Vahtola, member of the Board of Directors and CEO of Karelian Trains Ltd.

An overview of Stockholm’s fascinating underground city line project – monitored directly by Trafikverket – was also given by Mr Dan Sennerby, Project Manager.

A series of meetings were summarised through a very constructive and open discussion at the Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications, where the pros and cons of the Swedish approach, which dates back to 1998, were openly discussed. At the same time the role of UIC as a technical platform for all its Members and in particular for Trafikverket was also explained and appreciated.

Many thanks again to Hans Ring for having organised such an interesting visit in Stockholm. Stockholm will also be the venue of the next UIC ERTMS World Conference – with a focus on ERTMS Regional – from 24-26 April 2012.