Since its establishment in 2008, IRaTCA (International Training Centre for UIC Asia) offers training courses each year aimed at strengthening cooperation and networking among UIC members.

The session held during the last week of April focused on freight issues with Bernard Schmitt, UIC Freight Advisor. He reported on the UIC Freight Department’s ongoing activities and projects. The Combined Traffic Group and the corridor issue raised questions and were debated with the audience. He presented the maintenance rules of wagons and the involvement of UIC regarding the handing over process between railways. He emphasised the need to achieve the project e-wag which will standardise communication between wagons and locomotives.

Representatives from Malaysia, Mongolia, Russia, Pakistan and Australia delivered reports and presentations of their activities. In addition, Korail, the session’s host, organised some technical visits to the ICD Inland Container Depot Uiwang and the KTX rolling stock maintenance workshop.

Ms Irina Petrunina, UIC Advisor on CIS and International Organisations and Mr Vytautas Kinderis, UIC standardisation and East-West Relations Coordinator, took the opportunity to meet separately some Korean members of UIC, in addition to Korail, KRRI (Korean Rail Research Institute, KRNA (Korea Rail Network Authority) and ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute). Some ideas for projects in 2018 for the UIC Asia Pacific Region were discussed.