On behalf of all of the members and staff at UIC, we express our heartfelt condolences to the families and relatives of the passengers who were killed and to those who suffered injuries from the very tragic railway accident. We also express our deepest sympathy for the train crew member who was killed in the line of duty.

Together with these points of view that I have mentioned above, we cannot help hoping that the Chinese Ministry of Railways, one of UIC’s very important members, will share the analysis of this tragic accident with all railway colleagues around the world, and that they will contribute even more than before to the development of railways worldwide.

UIC Director-General Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, who shares and fully endorses Yoshio Ishida’s message to the MOR and the international railway community, also wishes to express his solidarity towards the Chinese Railways at this time.

UIC members’ statistics for 2010 indicate an average overall growth of 3.4%, measured in tonne-kilometres for the freight sector worldwide, confirming economic and trade recovery. As for passenger transport, the statistics provided show a 3.5% jump in passenger-kilometres worldwide, boosted by the development of rail traffic in Asia and in particular by railways in India.

With an 8% increase compared to 2009, Russia’s extremely dynamic freight sector represents almost a quarter of tonne-kilometres transported in the world. The United States and Canada notched up 4% growth whilst representing over 25% of total tonnage transported, whereas China, which represents 70% of the total tonnage in Asia (and Oceania), showed a slight sag at only 3%. Indian Railways saw its traffic increase by 9% followed closely by Kazakh Railways with 8%. Europe (non CIS) for its part showed an increase of 7%, a trend which has continued through the early part of 2011. Growth was at 1.5% in Africa.

Passenger transport growth worldwide remains steady on the whole due to growth in Asia, particularly India, which saw an 8% increase, and China, which saw a 0.4% increase.

Passenger transport remains steady due to Indian Railways which has seen its traffic increase by 8% on average throughout 2010 compared to 2009 in passenger-kilometres, whilst representing almost half of passenger traffic in the Asian region. Passenger rail transport in China, representing over a third of the traffic volumes reported, increased by an average of 0.4% in 2010. Passenger transport in Russia saw a decline of 9%, whilst remaining stable in Europe. Africa on the other hand remains steady with a 0.2% increase.

The plenary meeting of the Safety Platform will take place on 11 October in Paris at UIC HQ. On the following day, the 12 October, the UIC HQ (Freight dept. together with the Safety unit) is preparing a special workshop with the title: “Safe loading – a matter for all railway partners”

UIC is pleased to invite all the actors of the logistic chain to attend this seminar that will be briefly introduced by railway experts, followed by a succession of focused workshops led by representatives from all the categories of actors involved.

The seminar shall conclude on the next steps to be taken by all the actors in order to maintain and even improve the high level of safety of the transport of concentrated goods by rail.

You will find all the information on the following UIC internet address: http://www.uic.org/spip.php?rubrique2024

Please transfer this invitation also to further partners who are involved in the loading process of freight wagons/units.

UIC, in close association with Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI), is organising the Asset Management Seminar in Daejeon (Korea) from 6 to 7 October 2011.

Infrastructure Managers and Railway Undertakings have had to adopt a more business-like attitude: their management focus has shifted from a technical approach towards costs and performance.

For many Infrastructure Managers, this development has led to a situation where stakeholders (such as the government and local authorities, train operators and the public) have started to impose more severe requirements with respect to performance and costs, forcing infrastructure managers to perform new and transparent trade-offs to be able to make the right decisions. This alternative way of managing infrastructure is called ‘asset management’. Asset management comprises all systems, methods, procedures and tools to optimise costs, performance and risks for the complete rail infrastructure life cycle. The aim is to achieve optimum value for money. These methods of optimisation intend to address all infrastructure activities (building, maintenance and renewal, including machines and materials) over the whole life cycle as well as the consequences of these activities for the government as owner and for the train operators and passengers as users.

Asset management should consider the following:

• Company mission, its shared values, leadership and communication.
• Information management and knowledge management: direct access to all relevant data, at the correct level of integration, in the correct format.
• Risk awareness: performing risk analyses and evaluating results shall be a standard practice as part of the decision-making process.
• Long-term vision: taking long-term effects into account when making short-term decisions (Life Cycle Cost Analyses).
• Adequate instruments: object registration, risk analyses methods, maintenance concepts, work planning, control, infra condition measuring & monitoring and the filing of asset maintenance history and asset status history.

The management of physical assets (their selection, maintenance, inspection and renewal) plays a key role in determining the operational performance and profitability of industries that operate assets as part of their core business.

The main goal is to achieve optimum value for money.

Over the years, and as the need for infrastructure managers (IM) to adopt a more commercially-oriented attitude has developed, it has proven to be vitally important for every IM to understand the link between accounting and charging, requiring the adoption of a business logic ensuring that cost drivers are properly identified and controllable and that investments are made taking into account future needs. To this end, railway infrastructure cost accounting frameworks should deliver more than just important background information for setting charges – crucial for good business management is the ability to produce a cost and revenue comparison by market segment. This can then underpin decisions as to which services business activities should focus on and what levels of public funding are required to fulfil Public Service Obligations (PSO) agreements in the scope of multi-annual contracts with predefined levels of service. The seminar will also serve as an opportunity for Europe and overseas countries to exchange best practice in the area of Asset Management.

Seminar venue: Hotel Riviera in Daejeon.

Co-hosted by China Chamber of International Commerce, Zhuzhou Municipal Government and China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corporation, the Summit will be held in Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province on 23 September 2011. UIC will participate in the exchanges through a presentation made by Vincent Vu, Coordinator for UIC Asia.

Under the theme “Develop Rail Transport, Make a Wonderful Urban Life”, the Summit will feature in-depth discussions on the opportunities and obstacles in railway transportation in China, as well as the development of urban railways in China based on a new scientific and strategic development outlook. With topics on how to facilitate the combination of national rail transport projects and international technique and capital topping the agenda, the summit also aims to provide solutions on how to promote technical exchange and cooperation between Chinese and international enterprises.

As one of China’s leading R&D and manufacturing bases for rail transport facilities, Zhuzhou will establish China’s biggest industry park for rail transport, where enterprises from sectors such as rail transport facility manufacturers, electronics & information technology, new materials, new energy and other related high-tech industries will be situated.

Apart from member companies, CCOIC will invite around 300 representatives from government, railway transportation managing departments, rail transport facility manufacturers both at home and abroad, investment companies, banks, associations, research institutions and academies. English and Chinese simultaneous interpretation will be available.

For more information and for the program overview please contact Mr. Wang Yan from China Chamber of International Commerce, +86-10-82217870, wangyan@ccoic.cn

The 8th World Congress on High Speed Rail will be held in Philadelphia, PA, on 10-13 July 2012. It is being organised by UIC and APTA together with Amtrak, the Association of American Railroads (AAR), the Federal Railroad Administration of the US Department of Transportation (FRA) and VIA Rail Canada – all UIC North-American Members.

The specific committees will meet in mid-September in Paris to pursue the general organisation of the congress: overall programme, round table themes and parallel sessions, student programme, etc.

The slogan of this 8th World Congress has already been chosen: “HSR connecting people, building sustainable prosperity”.

In an unanimous vote two days ago, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Board of Directors named Michael P. Melaniphy to serve as its new President and Chief Executive Officer effective November 1, 2011. Melaniphy will replace William Millar, who is retiring after 15 years as APTA President.

Melaniphy’s entire career has been in public transportation with 23 years of experience in the public and private sectors.

APTA Chair Michael J. Scanlon, who is General Manager/Chief Executive Officer of the San Mateo County Transit District in San Carlos, CA said, “Michael brings the ideal combination of tremendous energy and a proven track record in public transportation to lead the industry in these pivotal times. He not only understands — but has firsthand experience of — the critical role that public transportation plays in creating jobs and providing access to jobs necessary to move our economy forward.”

“It is an honor and privilege to be named APTA president,” said Melaniphy. “I believe fervently that public transportation is key to the economic vitality of our communities and our country. I am committed to working together with industry leaders, our stakeholders and elected officials so that we make the necessary transportation investments to grow our economy and ensure that Americans have access to quality public transportation.”

The appointment is the culmination of an extensive search process by a 12-member task force of APTA members chaired by Gary Thomas, who is APTA Vice Chair and President/Executive Director of Dallas Area Rapid Transit. “The Presidential Selection Task Force unanimously recommended Michael Melaniphy to become APTA’s next president because he is uniquely qualified to take our association to the next level,” said Thomas.

William Millar, APTA’s current President, called Melaniphy an excellent choice. “I am delighted that someone with such broad-based experience as Michael Melaniphy will be following me at APTA,” he said.

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is a nonprofit international association of 1,500 public and private member organizations, engaged in the areas of bus, paratransit, light rail, commuter rail, subways, waterborne services, and intercity and high-speed rail. This includes: transit systems; planning, design, construction, and finance firms; product and service providers; academic institutions; transit associations and state departments of transportation. More than 90 percent of the people using public transportation in the United States and Canada are served by APTA member systems.

(Source: APTA)

Eurail Group G.I.E., is partnering for the sixth time with the ’European Rails of Peace Project’. The Mobility Fund by Rail for the Young and the Disadvantaged established by UIC and the Council of Europe in 1994, is a fund that enables groups of European citizens from underprivileged/disadvantaged backgrounds to enrich their lives from an educational or cultural perspective.

In the year 2009 alone, €130,000 of funding was distributed between twenty-seven organisations which helped approximately seven hundred and fifty disadvantaged youngsters to travel outside their native country. Furthermore, this year the Eurail Group has granted 26 disadvantaged students from the Balkans with a complimentary second-class InterRail Global Pass; young citizens from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and Serbia were selected based on their age (18-25), social standing, personal motivation and education.

The InterRail Pass was established at UIC in 1972 to mark its 50th anniversary. It is valid in 30 participating countries, enables travellers to enjoy the diversity of Europe’s rail network. Rail travel provides a unique ’interactive’ experience and can give the flexible traveller a new perspective on life. InterRail offers the visitor countless travel opportunities ranging from modern high speed trains to the slower local trains, thus allowing pass holders to appreciate the stunning scenery while being absorbed in the local way of life.

(Source: Eurail Group)