By signing a twinning and cooperation agreement on 19 March 2013 with Yekaterinburg railway station in Russia, Strasbourg railway station has become the sixth station in France to enter into a twinning arrangement with a Russian railway station. Strasbourg has also joined the “Station Twinning” programme launched in 2008 by SNCF and its Stations & Connections subsidiary, responsible for managing 3000 stations across France.

The plaque dedicated to this twinning arrangement was officially unveiled under Strasbourg station’s glass roof by Jean-Luc Schweitzer, Manager of Strasbourg railway station, and Ekaterina Kozyreva, Head of International Relations at Russian Railways’ (RZD) Passenger Stations Directorate, who also signed a cooperation agreement henceforth linking these two stations. This event was held in the company of Mr Alexandre Bourdine, Consulate-General of the Russian Federation, and the regional directors of two railway companies: Jacques Mazars representing SNCF for the Alsace region and Alexei Evdokimenko from RZD.

Principles of railway station twinning

Key actions that form the principle of the twinning arrangement between Russian Railways’ Passenger Stations Directorate and SNCF’s Stations & Connections involve jointly examining common issues, seeking solutions, communicating the expertise of those involved, taking advantage of others’ experience and developing the cultural skills of SNCF staff.

(Source: SNCF)