On 7 April, the PSG Plenary meeting was held remotely, chaired by UIC Passenger Director Marc Guigon and Sophie Buyse from DB, the new temporary Chair of PSG following the departure of Roberta Rizzo who took over other responsibilities within Trenitalia.
UIC Director General François Davenne welcomed the participants and introduced the meeting, stressing the exceptional circumstances due to the Covid-19 crisis, which will have an impact on the activities managed by railway companies and associations in terms of budget and future priorities. With the objective of ensuring a balance between the extraordinary circumstances and the need to pursue the main activities, Mr Davenne highlighted UIC’s full commitment to reviewing the work plan in close cooperation with its members.
During the meeting, special focus was placed on the current Covid-19 Task Force set up by railway associations and in which UIC holds a leading role. Concerning the technical and commercial activities, UIC’s Passenger Director reported on the positive outcomes of the cooperation process between UIC project nTM (New Tariff Model) and FSM (Full Service Model) leading to the signature of a UIC-FSM Technical Agreement which paved the way for efficient common solutions in the distribution context.
Members also discussed the PSG budget for 2020 and 2021 assigned to the “work in progress” on the crisis situation which is still under review and being adapted by UIC.
Updates of activities concerning the relevant PSG projects were given concerning the Passenger Experts Subgroup, PRIFIS, PASSAGE, PATRIC and MERITS. For PASSAGE (PRM Group of Experts), in particular, its strategic interest at European level was highlighted due to the new legal requirements and the importance of the project opt-in for the next three years.
As for the next deadlines, UIC’s Passenger Director anticipated the launch of a call for candidates for the new PSG Chair and two members of the PSG Steering Committee, following the departure of some previous members.
The next meeting of the PSG Plenary will take place on 25 November in Luxembourg at the kind invitation of CFL.
