On 5 and 6 November 2018, UIC hosted two stakeholder workshops dedicated to the International Railway Solutions (IRS) currently being developed at its headquarters in Paris. The purpose of the workshops was to present and discuss the structure and high-level content of the work being performed with all stakeholders. Both IRSs deal with matters relating to energy consumption and energy efficiency.
The stakeholder workshops were essential to collect valuable feedback from all parties. The working groups will now analyse all of the comments and questions received and will take them into account for the development of the IRS documents. Final publication of both documents is expected in early 2020.
5 November 2018, 11:00-17:00 – IRS 90940 (SFERA Project: Communication with Driver Advisory Systems)
IRS 90940 aims to facilitate the use of DAS for international traffic by standardising data exchange between on-board systems and traffic management systems (TMS).
The stakeholders involved (e.g. RUs, IMs, DAS and rolling stock manufacturers) were given an overview of the ongoing work on the IRSs. They were then given the opportunity to explore the various aspects of the solution by means of seven posters displayed during the event and were invited to give their feedback. At the subsequent plenary session, the crucial points of IRS development were discussed and responses offered to some of the observations that had been made.
The material shared during this event is now available at the following page: https://events.uic.org/uic-stakeholder-workshop-irs-90940
6 November 2018, 09:00-15:00 – IRS 90930 (Traction Energy Settlement and Data Exchange)
IRS 90930 will replace UIC Leaflet 930. The purpose of the new document is to outline a common European approach to energy use in trains and locomotives by defining roles, processes and requirements for all parties involved (infrastructure managers, railway undertakings, etc.).
Following an introductory session on the general regulatory framework and the contents of the IRS, the stakeholders (RUs, IMs, energy suppliers, traction unit owners, etc.) were split into groups and took turns to discuss the main topics of the ongoing work alongside the working group members with the aid of five posters. This was followed by a round-table session in which the attendees discussed various aspects relating to the IRSs, as well as a final Q&A session.
The posters and round-table discussions helped the working group to understand the aspects of the work that need to be developed further.
The format of both workshops was intended to be interactive and to facilitate free discussion in order to take the needs of as many participants as possible into account for the upcoming finalisation of the new IRSs.
The workshops proved to be rewarding both for the attendees and hosts and provided excellent questions and feedback on the topics discussed.
