In the framework of the European Year of Rail, UIC, the worldwide railway organisation, is hosting this one-day-online international event to make the different actors aware of the efforts made and the challenges to be faced by the railway community to improve accessibility for all.
Under the motto #YesWeCare #YesRailCares the Rail Accessibility Day 2021 will raise awareness of the importance of inclusion for the future of sustainable mobility with the rail as a backbone of it without leaving anyone behind and with special focus on supporting the most vulnerable customers, restoring confidence in rail travel for everyone, ensuring a seamless and safe journey for all and using digitalisation to foster autonomy.
The event will take place online on 5 October with the presence of representatives from different international organisations, institutions, industry and railway companies who will contribute to an interesting debate.
UIC intends to promote the idea of the railways as the mainstay of a future sustainable mobility vision to eliminate the main barriers with the objective of offering seamless transport services adapted to all.
Agenda
The event will take place online on Tuesday 5 October from 9:15 to 17:30 CET.
Language
Sign Language Interpretation (international English) and Captioning in English will be available during the whole event.
Programme
09:15-09:30 Welcome session
Welcome speech
François Davenne, Director General, UIC
09:30-10:15 Round Table: International Associations: What are the challenges to improve accessibility in the railways?
- Keir Fitch, Head of Unit, Rail Safety & Interoperability, European Commission
- François Davenne, UIC Director General, International Association of Railways, UIC
- Bryony Chetwode, European Passenger Federation (EPF) Representative and Secretary General for TravelWatch SouthWest, EPF
- Anne-Laure Le Merre, International Association of Public Transport, UITP
- Blaž Pongračič, Senior Policy Adviser Passenger, Community of European Railways and Infrastructure Companies, CER
- Sandra Dobler, Senior Legal Adviser, International Rail Transport Committee, CIT
- Ellinor Nyberg, Station Expert, European Rail Infrastructure Managers, EIM
Round table: open discussion
Moderator: Simon Fletcher, Director Europe, UIC
10:15-11:45 Panel I: International Cooperation
UIC PASSAGE: Accessibility Group of Experts’ 10 years of cooperation
Paola Negri, Passage Chairperson
PRM Assistance Booking Tool in ČD (Czech Railways JSC)
Jaromír Fól, International tariff and conditions of carriage manager in ČD (České dráhy) / Czech Railways JSC, Czech Republic
EDF’s work on accessibility and equal right of passengers with disabilities to rail travel
Gunta Anca, EDF General Secretary and chair of EDF “transport accessibility and passenger rights”
International cooperation: open discussion
Moderator: Vanessa Perez Miranda, Project Manager PASSAGE-CRTS-CEMP-TopRail, UIC
11:45-12:00 Comfort Break
12:00- 13:15 Panel II: Sustainability and Customer Experience
Sustainable Development and Accessibility
Matteo Salandri, Legal and accessibility specialist, Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI), Italy
Universal Design - PROACTIVE case
Laura Petersen, Senior Advisor, UIC
Inclusive mobility approach
Camille Jaigu, Urban platform program Manager and R&D Design Project Manager, Alstom, France
Accessibility in Spanish Railways
Santiago Fernandez Varea, Customer experience Director, RENFE, Spain
Sustainability and Customer Experience: open discussion
Moderator: Lucie Anderton, Head of Sustainability Unit, UIC
13:15-14:15 Lunch break
14:15-15:45 Panel III: Digitalisation
The latest solutions for PRM and the methodology of their implementation in PKP
Pawel Wroblewski, Chief Specialist, Research, development and digitization office, PKP, Poland
From customer insights to customer journey. Key features of an assistance reservation app
Tommy Zonnekein, Accessibility Programme, SNCB, Belgium
How to make stations and trains more accessible to the visually impaired with NaviLens
Raúl Moreno, Head of strategic partnerships and projects, Navilens, Spain
Digitalisation – open discussion
Moderator: Paola Negri, Passage Chairperson
15:45-16:00 Comfort break
16:00-17:15 Panel IV: Stations
Data exchange and the provision of accessibility data of the European railway stations and trains
Stefan Jugelt, Project Officer in telematics, ERTMS and Telematics Unit, European Railway Agency, ERA
The role and achievements of the Italian National Enforcement Body in the improvement of accessibility
Katia Gallo, Director of users’ rights office, Italian Transport Regulation Authority, Italy
Accessibility in Canadian Railways - DIGIM project
Catherine Langlois, Senior Advisor, Universal accessibility, VIA RAIL, Canada
Stations: open discussion
Moderator: Clément Gautier, Project Manager Station Managers’ Global Group, SMGG, UIC
17:15-17:30 General Conclusion
Paola Negri, Passage Chairperson
Registration
Contact
Vanessa Pérez Miranda, UIC Senior Advisor Passenger Department: perez at uic.org