On 25 April, on the occasion of the Conference of OSJD General Directors in Odessa, UIC Director-General Jean-Pierre Loubinoux reminded participants that the cooperative relationship between OSJD and UIC is a long story.
He said:
I had the personal pleasure to revitalise this cooperation with Mr Szozda in 2012 and this was followed by the review of our possible topics of cooperation in March 2013. And indeed the fields of collaboration are numerous and have increased particularly since 2010.
I will only mention, not to get too technical, the facilitation of border crossings, reservation systems,
some joint leaflets, the common approach on TAF and TAP, freight facilitation and interoperability – not only for border crossings – but also studies on corridors and administration to make the flow of traffic and the mobility of goods easier between East and West.This emergence of new intercontinental corridors is probably one of the main issues identified in our
future domains of cooperation. And the fact that the new UIC Chairman is Mr Vladimir Yakunin, Chairman of RZD, is a strong symbol for boosting this vision of railway corridors linking East and West to facilitate the mobility and goods and people between these two parts of the world.This will, very pragmatically, imply a participation of OSJD members in the UIC Global Expert Groups on international corridors, a common approach on standardisation and the review of some common leaflets which could migrate towards International Rail Standards, common studies on stations, safety & security, a shared vision that training of a new generation of young railway men and women is essential for the development of our railway system in the next century – and possibly also cooperation between OSJD and UIC on a common GIS system and common databases. This is not an
exhaustive list; I am sure that there are other strategic, technical or administrative issues that could be studied and developed together.”
Jean-Pierre Loubinoux’s address:
