The 15th Meeting of the UIC Regional Assembly for the Middle-East (RAME) was held on 3 May at the Dead Sea, Jordan, at the kind invitation of Jordan Hejaz Railway (JHR). UIC eNews 447 (released 5 May 2015) reported on the main results and decisions reached during this meeting.
During the 15th RAME Meeting, Mr Abbas Nazari, Director General of the International Affairs Bureau of Iranian Railways and Director of the UIC Middle-East Regional Office (based in Tehran), gave a comprehensive overview to participating Directors-General of the main activities and achievements reached by the UIC ME Regional Office and its team since the 14th RAME Meeting in Tehran.
The report was introduced by a video illustrating the wide scope of activities developed under coordination of the UIC Middle-East Regional Office in close coordination with members from the RAME Region and the Coordinator for the Middle-East at UIC HQ, Mr Paul Véron.
Mr Abbas Nazari first reported on the conferences, workshops and working group meetings coordinated by the Regional Office since the 13th RAME Meeting:
- UIC RAME / OTIF Conference on application of the COTIF (November 2014, Tehran),
- 1st UIC RAME International Conference on “Railway Interoperability, Standardisation, Harmonisation for the Middle-East” organised by UIC with OTIF, CIT and Qatar Rail QRC (30 – 31 March 2015, Doha, Qatar),
- 2nd UIC RAME Rail Safety Working Group Meeting (September 2014, Tehran),
- Participation in EURASIA RAIL, 5th International Rolling Stock, Infrastructure & Logistics Exhibition (5 – 7 March 2015, Istanbul). UIC Regional Office Director and UIC Director General participated in Istanbul.
Conferences and workshops in preparation for the next period in the Middle-East Region were:
- The UIC RAME joint workshop “Signalling and ERTMS - Solutions for the Middle-East” – Asset Management (4 – 5 May, Dead Sea, Jordan),
- 3rd International Rail Transportation Exhibition and Related Industries (17 – 20 May, Tehran),
- 4th International Conference on Recent Advances in Railway Engineering (ICRARE) (17 – 20 May, Tehran).
- ECO Railway Summit Meeting (17 May, Tehran). UC Director General and UIC Middle-East Office Director will be attending.
The UIC Regional Office for the Middle-East produced a series of DVDs, CDs and documents in close cooperation with members and UIC HQ:
- CD ROM of the 14th RAME Meeting (November 2014, Tehran)
- CD ROM of the UIC/OTIF Conference on COTIF application (November 2014, Tehran),
- CD ROM of the UIC RAME Rail Safety Working Group (September 2014, Tehran)
- DVD of the 1st UIC RAME International Conference Railway Interoperability, Standardisation, Harmonisation organised by UIC, OTIF, CIT, Qatar Rail QRC (March 2015, Doha, Qatar)
- Updated version 2015 of the UIC RAME Directory (organisation and contact details of the Middle-East)
- Preparation of the Directory of the Rail Transport Companies and Related Industries in the Middle-East Region
- Updating the UIC and the UIC Middle-East websites: www.rameuic@gmail.com and me@rameuic.com
This information material can be obtained by UIC Members (email address of the UIC Middle-East Regional Office: rameuic@gmail.com
The UIC Middle-East Regional Office also prepared a video which highlighted the rail projects and achievements of UIC RAME Member Railways.
Mr Ömer Yildiz, President and Director General of Turkish Railways (TCDD), presented the current railway projects and developments in Turkey, including high speed, freight services, connections to neighbouring countries and future corridors.
Mr Ebrahim Mohammadi, from the Movement and Mobility Section of RAI, presented the current situation and the projects and achievements in Iran with a focus on the development of important transport corridors linking Iran and the Middle-East to Central Asia.
According to the decisions adopted during the 15th RAME Meeting at the Dead Sea, one of the important missions for the UIC Middle-East Regional Office led by Mr Abbas Nazari for the months to come will be the preparation of an updated version of the “Vision and Strategic Action Plan 2013 – 2020 for the Middle-East” that will integrate the latest projects and railway achievements that were recently decided or implemented in the region.
