The Rail System Technologies Workshop was held in Eskisehir at MERTCe (Middle East Railway Training Centre for UIC) from 17 – 21 June 2013 in accordance with the decision taken at the 11th meeting of the UIC Regional Assembly Middle East (RAME).
The workshop was aimed at developing cooperation and knowledge in the field of Rail System Technologies and providing shared experience.

The Training Workshop was co-organised by the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) and UIC MERTCe, which is established within TCDD.

There were 20 participants from Algeria, Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Indonesia, Jordan, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Yemen and Turkey which are members of Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC). The following activities were achieved at this workshop:

• The introduction of TCDD and Vision 2023,
• The introduction of railways and systems of participating countries,
• The latest developments on rolling stock,
• Training process for train drivers,
• The introduction of different types of train simulators used in the training of drivers at TCDD and information about the developments of simulator technology,
• Technical site visit to infrastructure, superstructure and manufacturing areas of High Speed Line construction,
• Technical visit to Turkey Locomotive and Engine Industry JSC. (TULOMSAS),
• Developments on signalling systems, electrification and telecommunication,
• The introduction of signalling and traffic systems in Turkey by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK),
• Technical visit to Ankara High Speed Traffic Control Centre.

The next training scheduled at UIC MERTCe will be dedicated to “Safety Management Systems” and will be held in autumn 2013 (exact dates to be communicated at a later stage).