INTERNATIONAL UNION OF RAILWAYS unity, solidarity, universality Nr 179 - 31 march 2010 e-News International Cooperation Memorandum of cooperation between OSJD and UIC for 2010-2015 As part of active efforts to place UIC at the core of developments on the international railway scene, a number of international agreements have recently been concluded. These include partnerships with the World Bank, the United Nations, the Brazilian National Land Transport Agency, the African Union Transport Commission, and the American Public Transport Association (APTA), to name but a few. Given the importance of the rail projects and pros- pects to the East, where it could be said that deve- lopments are just beginning, it now seems essential to resume relations with an association that com- prises 27 rail networks stretching from the Urals to The Memorandum of cooperation between OSJD and UIC the East China Sea. It was with this in mind that for 2010-2015 is signed by Tadeusz Szozda, Chairman of the OSJD Committee, and Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, UIC Di- Jean-Pierre Loubinoux participated in a working rector General meeting in Warsaw alongside the senior decision- making bodies of the OSJD and Mr Tadeusz Szozda, Chairman of the OSJD Committee. The OSJD, through various technical committees, studies administrative and technical topics and projects for its members, some of whom also have UIC membership. Renewing the agreement bet- ween UIC and OSJD will enable in a first phase continuation of these joint studies, mutual participation in working groups or joint conferences, and this initiative has been particularly well received by the OSJD teams. This move will help consolidate UIC’s standing thanks to its credentials and its experience on the in- ternational railway scene, as well as it being a source of satisfaction to witness to what extent UIC is respected and esteemed Nr 179 - 31 march 2010 e-News International Cooperation / MoUs The various UIC Memorandum of Understandings signed - UIC signed a Memorandum of Understanding with African Union Commission (AUC) [18-19 March 2010, Addis-Abbeba (Ethiopia)] The two parties agreed to strengthen the coopera- tion on the basis of the 2007 AUC / UIC MoU. To that end, it was agreed that the Union of African Railways UAR, as the specialised technical agency of the AU in railway matters, would have a key role in the implementation of specific projects in coope- ration with UIC. - UIC signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Agencia Nacional de Transportes Terrestres (ANTT) of the Federal Republic of Brazil [9 March 2010, Sao Paulo (Brazil)] The two parties agreed to focus in particular on the development of a high speed rail system, a re- search and development strategy for high speed rail, development of rail freight lines, railway stan- dards and regulations, information systems and data exchange. This agreement should also pave the way for developing cooperation in matters of railway interoperability and station development. UIC is willing to support the development of a high- performance, competitive railway system for both passenger and freight transportation in Brazil, a country with a strong potential for rail transport due to its geographic, demographic and economic background. 2 Nr 179 - 31 march 2010 e-News - UIC signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the World Bank [11 February 2010, Washington (U.S.A)] The two organizations agreed to share knowledge, lessons learned, information and data. The wealth of railway expertise, professional knowledge and experience collected at UIC thanks to its members’ contributions – with around 200 on-going railway cooperation projects – will enable UIC to effectively support the World Bank’s strategy of “Safe, Clean and Affordable…Transport for Development” ser- ving economic growth, with particular focus on de- veloping countries. Recently, UIC has put stronger focus on activities related to energy efficiency, sus- tainability of rail transport, cost effectiveness, a se- ries of objectives that fit perfectly with the World Bank’s strategy. The recent launching at UIC of rail- way cooperation activities tailored to each region of the world should also allow increased synergies with the World Bank. - UIC signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) [8 February 2010, Washington (U.S.A)] The two organizations agreed to work together in extensive information-sharing covering the various technical, finance and management aspects of planning and building high-speed rail systems. 3 Nr 179 - 31 march 2010 e-News Regional Cooperation / Asia UIC participated to the PPP Days 2010, Manila, Philippines PPP Days 2010, a premier global event for PPP pu- blic practitioners, was organised at the Asian De- velopment Bank in Manila from 22nd to 24th March 2010. The event was jointly organised by the World Bank Institute and ADB, with support from ADB Ins- titute, Multilateral Investment Fund, a member of the Inter American Development Bank Group, Go- vernment of Philippines and International Finance Corporation. The meeting was attended by more than 250 delegates from 45 countries who shared experiences on innovations in PPP policy, structu- ring and financing in railways, roadways, health, education, power and water resources. UIC was invited by ADB to share the PPP expe- riences in the rail sector during the event’s transport session as part of developing joint initiatives by UIC and ADB in the development of sustainable trans- port systems in the region. UIC was represented by Mukul Saran Mathur, Head of Asia Regional Office, New Delhi. While UIC presented an overview of in- ternational rail projects implemented under PPP elaborating success and failures, the meeting de- bated on broader issues of project structuring, risk allocations, government responses, availability of finances, investor perspectives, the role of multila- teral banks in developing and implementing the PPP projects in the event of global liquidity crises. Rail Freight Save the date! Global Rail Freight Conference organised by UIC and hosted by Russian Railways (RZD) on 6-7 July 2010 in Saint Petersburg The worldwide professional rail sector represented by UIC is organising the Global Rail Freight Confe- rence on 6-7 July 2010, at the kind invitation of the Russian Railways (RZD) and their President, Mr Vladimir Yakunin. The Global Rail Freight Conference is one of the leading events in the international rail freight calendar and will bring together top executives and decision makers, rail and logistics pro- fessionals, customers, influential politicians and regulators, and institutions from across the globe. This event will be a key opportunity to discuss the fundamental topics of the rail freight sector: 4 Nr 179 - 31 march 2010 e-News Conference Highlights: * Railway transport in times of the global economic meltdown * Green Logistics – An opportunity for rail! * Railway liberalization – How to attract private investments? * Rail Land bridge – Conditions for success * Combined Traffic – The future of the container * Wagonload – Thriving in North America, surviving in Europe? * Combined Traffic – The need to drive efficiency * Global logistics built on rail – Creating customer value For more information about the programme, speakers, registration or venue, please visit: http://www.uic-grfc.org Rail freight: Growing Intermodal traffic in the Central and Eastern European Countries As part of the rail freight project DIOMIS - Developing Infrastructure use and Operating Models for Intermodal Shift – a workshop was held in Vienna on 25 March. Under the motto “Growing Intermodal traffic in the Central and Eastern Eu- ropean Countries”, key stakeholders met to discuss the growth potential of combined transport and to share their experiences on the challenges and opportunities for combined transport in that geographical area. The confe- rence was opened by Mr Macher, CEO of Rail Cargo Austria who stressed the strategic importance of the region. He explained RCA’s aim to run a suc- cessful multimodal network along key corridors together with long lasting partners in the industry. Mr Macher, CEO, Railcargo Austria The key findings of the study for CEEC countries were presented by Mr Mertel, from KombiConsult, and can be summarised as follows: * In the medium term intermodal rail/road traffic in CEEC countries will continue to be fed primarily by container hinterland traffic 5 Nr 179 - 31 march 2010 e-News * In the long term (> 2013) continental transport will be key to the growth of intermodal traffic and outpace increase of maritime traffic on most international trade lanes owing to booming transport of supplies, components, semi-finished and finished products between CEEC countries and western European markets * Intermodal traffic on international lanes between CEEC countries and west Europe will grow faster than the entire European intermodal industry. * Intra-CEEC intermodal traffic will grow strongly but market share will remain comparatively small except for container traffic with intra-regional sea ports. * Domestic intermodal traffic may achieve significant levels in CEEC countries with container ports, in other countries widely limited to distribution/collection of international shipments on national ser- vices via hubs. Messrs Kienzler (H+P Transport Consultants), Son- dermann (KombiConsult) and Peetermans (Chair- man of the UIC Combined Transport Group) invited representatives from the industry to give their views on the conditions needed to