The 3rd international conference of the International Railway History Association IRHA-AIHC will take place in Bratislava in the Slovak Republic from 24 to 26 September 2009. This international IRHA conference is supported by UIC, Slovak railway companies ZSR, ZSSK, ZSSK Cargo, SNCF and SE Henry Cuny, Ambassador of France to Slovakia. The conference will be opened in the presence of Mr. Lubomir Vazny, Minister of Transport of the Slovak Republic.

Main theme of this 3rd international conference dedicated to Railway history and heritage, is “ Railways in Transition – Eastern European Railways – Past, Present and Future in the 20th and 21st Centuries”.

Four sessions will handle successively following issues:

 Historical overview of railways in Eastern European countries,

 Under Russian protection,

 After the Fall of the Iron Curtain: Changes, Problems, Modernisation”,

 Heritage and its Use.

In addition to the conference programme, a programme of visits is proposed by Slovak railways to delegates including the Transportation Museum of Bratislava.

The International Railway History Association IRHA was established in 2002 out of a joint initiative of railways, universities, scientific societies, railway and transport museums and cultural institutions as well as people interested in history and safeguarding of the archives and historic and cultural heritage of rail transport.

The IRHA is dedicated to the history and heritage of rail transport and its networks, to the memory of men and women who built and operated them, and to understanding the activities to which they gave birth, in particular their contribution to economy and society. The international association is chaired by Henry Jacolin, former Ambassador of France, Vice Chairmen are Miguel Munoz Rubio, FFE-RENFE and Paul Véron, UIC, and the Secretary General Prof.-Dr. Ralf Roth, University of Francfort.