The European Management Committee (EMC) was held during the International Rail Freight Conference (IRFC), which took place in Prague from 12 – 15 March – and which was covered in the previous edition of eNews.
The meeting was attended by Executive Board Members of the UIC Europe Region (SNCF, DB, FS, MAV, PKP, ADIF, BLS, ÖBB and RZD) and served as an opportunity to discuss a number of important issues which will be on the agenda of the next Regional Assembly on 26 June this year.
Among the points discussed, it is worth mentioning the careful analysis to be made of UIC measures to improve the results of projects put forward in Forums, Platforms and sector meetings by technical experts from member railways.
UIC also seeks to draw its members’ attention to the added value of the projects and the advantages they subsequently bring in the shape of UIC Leaflets and documents sent to the railway community. To this end, a dedicated workshop will be held on 29 May.
The EMC meeting on 13 March was also an occasion for Mr Loubinoux to present European members with the encouraging results of the latest FP7, in which nine projects involving UIC are doing very well and are of particular interest to UIC’s work and all of its European members. The latter have moreover highlighted the contribution and professionalism of UIC’s technical and financial teams in the work undertaken with DG Research and the positive impact of this new move.
Also presented was the “Position Paper 2050”, in which UIC had a coordinating role among the other participating associations (CER, UNIFE, EIM, UITP), and which for the first time is worthy of providing a strategic vision of the whole railway sector. At the request of the members the document will be accompanied by a more technical annex.
On the same note, an update was made on the progress of discussions between UIC and UNIFE to ensure that the railway sector is better represented vis-à-vis the European Commission through the Shift2Rail initiative.
Furthermore, the European members welcomed the new application for membership by the Federal Passenger Company (FPC), RZD’s passenger division.
