The 33rd ASEAN Railway CEO conference started on 19 October 2011 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The conference was attended by over 200 participants from the 10 member nations of this intergovernmental and economic association, set up in the region in a somewhat similar style to the European Union. Rail manufacturers from the US, Australia, Malaysia and Germany were also present.
Five of the association’s member countries are present at UIC through KTMB Malaysia, VNR Vietnam, Kerata Api Indonesia, Laos and Cambodian railway authorities. It was the occasion for UIC, along with RTRI, the Japanese rail research institute, to be present and sponsor the event.
Malaysian Transport Minister, The Honourable YB Dato’ Seri Kong Cho Ha, inaugurated the ceremony, focusing in particular on improvements in the region in the field of greener rail transport towards the future with plans to install new electrified and double track, new trainsets and EMUs, and new rail links in the country – especially from Singapore to China – and the extension of the successful airport express link to KLIA’s (Kuala Lumpur International Airport) new terminal.
This event was hosted by KTMB, with introductions from its chairman, The Honourable Dato’Sri Ir. Mohd Zin Mohamed and its President Dr Aminuddin Adnan.
This year’s theme was “Towards Smart Partnership”. It was the occasion for UIC to express its solidarity to all the railways in this region, especially its members and those who have suffered natural disasters during this period, and also invited SRT Thailand and MR Myanmar to join our association through a detailed presentation of the role of UIC Asia in the Greater Mekong sub-region projects.
Vincent Vu, Director of Institutional Relations and UIC Asia coordinator, delivered a speech on the latest developments at UIC, with special focus on security in railway network premises, sustainable needs proven by recent climate change catastrophes and station developments in Asia. He then updated the audience with the latest issues on standardisation at UIC, supported by a deeper and detailed description on worldwide rail standards by Hiroshi Tanaka, Director of RISC from RTRI.
All other ASEAN railways had the opportunity to describe and give in-depth details on their latest development and investment plans with all the planned international and industrial partnerships and their respective expectations. Improvements in Marketing and Operations of these companies were also fully covered with the wish to catch the most modern trends in these fields.
Finally, UIC stressed the help the association could provide in enhancing technical cooperation and compatibility not only within the Asean region but also with neighbouring markets such as China, India, the CIS countries and further west towards Europe.
