Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, Director General of UIC, was invited by the International Railway Journal (IRJ) to open the International Railway Summit in Vienna. This conference brought together a number of speakers from the railway sector, including Josef Doppelbauer from ERA, Philippe Citroën from UNIFE, Alain Flausch from UITP, Andy Doherty, Chairman of ERRAC, and others, to examine the changes in the railway sector and its sustainable development.

The seminar, held not long after the COP21 conference – which highlighted the commitments of the railway sector towards the environment – enabled UIC to reiterate a number of strong messages and look at the rail sector’s contribution to socio-economic developments at global level. This is taking the form of sustainable investment in terms of infrastructure, rolling stock and other services, as well as activities of research and innovation in Europe – such as Shift2Rail – and around the world, notably through projects developed by UIC in the Research Coordination Group (RCG) and the International Railway Research Board (IRRB).

These messages were particularly welcomed by the participants and relayed by all the speakers. The aim is to organise another conference next year in partnership with UIC.

To consult Mr Loubinoux’s speech please click on the image below: