UIC Held 98th General Assembly Meeting

International Union of Railways (UIC) held its 98th General Assembly Meeting. At the conference, which was held by teleconference method, many issues within the union were discussed and presented to the approval of the general assembly.

Ali İhsan Uygun, General Manager of the Republic of Turkey State Railways (TCDD), who made a speech due to the end of his UIC Vice Presidency, said, “We will continue the principle of Unity-Solidarity-University, which is one of the main discourses of UIC, encourage harmony and also consider the needs of all regions. We will take steps in this direction and continue to support all kinds of initiatives that will strengthen interregional interaction and cooperation.”

At the meeting, a virtual signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding on Shift2Rail was held between Shift2Rail Executive Director C.Borghini and UIC General Manager François Davenne. Afterwards, UIC President Gianluigi Castelli and UIC General Manager François Davenne conveyed the topics discussed and agreed at the regional chairman and executive board meetings held on 6 and 7 July, and were approved by the general assembly.

Meeting; UIC President Gianluigi Castelli continued by giving information about the memorandums of understanding and cooperation agreements signed during the year, the new normal work, the emergency plan for UIC expenditures put into practice during the pandemic process, remote activities and important fields of activity of UIC.

The nominations of PKP CEO Krzysztof Maminski as the new UIC President and ONCF CEO Mohamed Rabie Khlie as the new UIC Vice President were approved by the general assembly in the program.

Topics such as job descriptions of the newly established Security and Statistics Platforms, 2020 accounts, calculation of 2022 membership fees, concept paper on the multi-regional approach to the future of mobility, changes to the UIC status, Memorandums of Understanding to be signed and new members were approved by the General Assembly.

The mid-year financial situation for the 2022 budget and the activities and financial reporting of the UIC Special Groups, the rapidly continuing standardization studies that are of great importance in the integration of Research and Development activities, the "New Normal" White Paper for the post-Covid-19 normalization process, the intercontinental corridor development study, Detailed information was shared about the newly established Sustainability Task Force, the communication strategy of the UIC Digital Platform, and the UIC High Speed ​​Rail World Congress on “Smart Solutions for a New World” to be held in Beijing in 2022.

In addition, due to the 100th anniversary of the establishment of UIC and the European Railway Year, information about the events that will be held at the end of the year and in 2022, will depart from Amsterdam to Glasgow, organized in partnership with UIC and Alstom within the framework of COP26 (United Nations Climate Change Conference). It was stated that applications for the “Climate Train” would be welcomed.

To the meeting held by teleconference method; TCDD General Manager, RAME President Ali İhsan Uygun, UIC General Manager François Davenne, UIC President Gianluigi Castelli, PKP (Polskie Koleje Panstwowe, Polish State Railways) CEO Krzysztof Mamński, ONCF (Office National des Chemins de Fer, Moroccan State Railways) CEO Mohamed Rabie Khlie and nearly 140 UIC Members and officials attended.