Director General of UIC addresses participants at opening ceremony
UIC attended and provided support for the 6th International ‘Eurasia Rail’ Rolling Stock, Infrastructure and Logistics Exhibition, which was held in Istanbul, Turkey from 3-5 March 2016.
The event was officially opened by Mr Moris Revah, Transport & Logistics Group Director of ITE Turkey, Mrs Burçu Baser, Managing Director of ITE Turkey, Mr Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, Director General of UIC, Mr Ömer Yildiz, Director General and President of the Board of Turkish Railways (TCDD) and Chairman of the UIC Middle-East Region, and Mr Binali Yildirim, Minister of Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communications of the Republic of Turkey.
In addressing the guests and participants at the opening ceremony, the UIC Director General underlined the dynamism of Turkey, “a region where the most ambitious plans and projects are developed and implemented, one of the most dynamic regions in the world for railways. Three years after the important milestone of connecting Asia to Europe through the Marmaray scheme, Turkey is further developing its railway system in all its constituent areas: high-speed rail, freight and intermodal services, connecting Turkey to international rail freight corridors including the Euro-Asian corridors or the New Silk Road, the modernization of equipment, the introduction of new technology such as ERTMS, new legal and organizational frameworks, etc.”.
He added that UIC as the global technical organization for railways, together with the UIC Middle-East Region, chaired by TCDD Director General Mr Ömer Yildiz, will continue to support all the railways in the region (Turkey, Middle-East Railways) in their development strategies and their efforts to improve competitiveness and efficiency.
UIC international cooperation activities are particularly focused on “promoting rail transport as the most sustainable transport mode (vis-à-vis the UN and leading international organizations), making a reality of international rail corridors, in particular the Euro-Asian corridors (from technical corridors to business corridors), improving interoperability and developing international railway standards (IRS), introducing new technology in connection with the digital revolution, optimizing safety and security, and preparing future generations of railway leaders through dedicated educational and training programmes”.
Finally, Mr Loubinoux announced two important international events that UIC will be organizing for the first time in cooperation with ITE-EUF (the Eurasia Rail organizer): “The 1st International Oil, Rail & Ports Conference” jointly organized with Iranian Railways (RAI) on 15-16 May 2016 in Tehran, and “The 1st International Conference on the New Rail Silk Roads” planned to be held on 4-6 October 2016 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Eurasia Rail in Istanbul hosted 261 local and foreign exhibitors from 21 countries. The official number of visitors was 11,539 from 52 countries.
A conference was held during the event at the World Rail Forum, with the participation of 39 speakers from 10 countries, including the UIC Director General.
The 7th edition of ‘Eurasia Rail’ will take place at the Istanbul World Trade Center on 2-4 March 2017.
