The UIMC (International Union of Railway Medical Services) Congress 2015 and UIMC General Assembly were held in Potsdam and Berlin in Germany from 23 – 25 September 2015. The events were hosted by Deutsche Bahn and its occupational health medical service IAS AG.
The World Congress was opened in the completely renovated Kaiserbahnhof Potsdam (imperial station) – and the management academy of Deutsche Bahn. It brought together almost 80 participants from 24 countries and contributed to the health and well being as well as to the aptitude assessment of railway staff.
On 24 September the technical events started DB headquarters in Berlin. The morning session was dedicated to security issues. Prof. Gerd Neubeck – DB Security Department Director and Co-Chairman of the UIC Security Platform – presented DB’s security strategy and interesting key facts to the UIMC congress participants. Then there was a technical visit to a maintenance depot for Berliner S-Bahn and museum of rolling stock.
On 25 September the UIMC General Assembly took several important decisions concerning the activities over the next year. The members expressed their gratitude to Dr. Pierre-Albert Voumard for his 10 year leadership and achievements as the UIMC Chairman resigned. As new chairman of the UIMC the members elected Dr. Gennaro Palma (RFI/FS Italy), Dr. Christian Gravert (DB AG Germany) became Deputy Chairman, Dr. Catherine Cothereau (SNCF France) was re-elected as Secretary General. New members of the Management Committee included Dr. Armand Casolin (Sydney Trains Australia), Dr. Fonyad Gabor (Railway Healthcare Services Hungaria), Dr. Oern Terje Foss (NSB Norway), Dr. Olivia Carlton (Transport for London, GB), Prof. Milan Tuček (Czech Railways), Dr. Pierre-Albert Voumard (SBB Switzerland).
During the General Assembly session, Mr. Jerzy Wisniewski – UIC Director of the Fundamental Values Department briefed the participants on UIC activities and recent developments.
The next congress and UIMC General Assembly will be organised and hosted by ÖBB in Vienna next year from 28 – 30 September 2016.
