On 14 and 15 February 2019, the UIC Passenger Department held two “open days” at UIC headquarters dedicated to the topic of High-Speed.
The aim of the event, organised for UIC staff, was to give an overview of the key issues relating to high-speed rail and UIC’s role in this area. Question-and-answer slots were scheduled between each session to give staff the opportunity to discuss the main points and ask questions.
A series of presentations were delivered on this topic by a number of heads of departments and units. In addition, guest speaker Michel Leboeuf, Honorary Chairman of the UIC High-Speed Committee, spoke during the first two morning sessions about the past and future developments of high-speed rail, as well as the challenges to come.
The first morning featured Marc Guigon, Head of the UIC Passenger Department, and Paolo De Cicco, Senior Passenger Advisor, who gave an all-round view of the Passenger (and therefore High-Speed) Department’s activities at UIC.
In the afternoon, Marc Antoni, Head of the UIC Rail System Department, focused on the link between high-speed rail and the more technical aspects of the rail system.
On the second day, the topics of Safety, Security and the Environment were brought together in one session. The speakers were Bernard Penners, Manager of the Safety Unit, Carole Escolan-Zeno, Manager of the Sustainable Development Unit, and Grigore Havarneanu, Senior Security Advisor, who spoke about the main issues and activities in their respective departments and their impact on high-speed rail.
The concluding remarks were given by Mr François Davenne, UIC Deputy Director General, who highlighted rail as the backbone of future mobility and said that rail transport, compared to other modes, was the best in terms of speed, time and energy saving.
Running parallel to the event was an informative 12-poster exhibition on high-speed, open to all staff in the Louis Armand meeting room.
The “open days” event gave UIC staff the chance to listen to speakers from a cross-section of departments, to learn about their work and its impact on high-speed rail, as well as the role UIC fulfils on an international level.
