On 4 April 2018, a video-conference was held by representatives of UIC and the Union of Railway Constructors (SSZD). The topic of discussion was the interaction between SSZD and UIC in the framework of initiatives and projects on BIM-technologies to be introduced within railway transport infrastructure.
From UIC the video-conference was attended by Mr Airy Magnien, Head of Data, Statistics and Economics, Mr Alain Jeanmaire, SNCF Deputy Head of the Digital Continuity Department, Mr Vytautas Kinderis, UIC Coordinator for Standardisation and East-West Relations, and Ms Irina Petrunina, UIC Advisor for CIS countries and APRA international organisations.
From SSZD the video-conference was attended by Mr Alexey Stepanenko, Vice-President of the Union of Railway Constructors, Mr Vasily Kupriyanovsky, Deputy Head of the National Centre for Digital Economy of Moscow State University, Mr Alexander Alkhimovich, Deputy Chief Engineer, Head of the Technical and Technological Development Service of Roszheldorproekt, which is part of the 1520 Group of Companies, and Mr Dmitry Chilin, Head of the Zheldorenergo Energy Support Centre, which is a subsidiary of Roszheldorproekt.
UIC and SSZD commitments in line with the digital progress of the international railway community
The participants of the video-conference discussed the possibilities, priorities and directions of cooperation between the two organisations within the framework of the Memorandum between the UIC and SSZD on the projects of implementing BIM-technologies on railway transport infrastructure. The issues of development and application of standards to be related to various stages of the life cycle of railway facilities were also touched upon: design, construction, operation. As a result of the video-conference, it was decided that the SSZD experts would participate in the UIC Rail TopoModel Project and the general principles of experts’ interaction towards BIM-direction were defined.
The Memorandum of Cooperation between the Union of Railway Constructors and UIC was signed in September 2016. UIC was founded in 1922 as an association of railway companies created to unify and improve technical facilities and organise an efficient operation of railways. UIC remains the one of the most suitable and potent platforms for the cooperation of international railway business and for the fundamental principle of technological neutrality (as an antidote against the industrial “lock-in technological strategy”) to be promoted and developed in the interests of UIC Members.
Mr Genady Talashkin, SSZD President and Mr Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, UIC Director General were informed about the results achieved during the video-conference and confirmed commitments to be adhered to by both organisations with regard to digital progress in the international railway community.
