OREANDA-NEWS. October 30, 2012. The Directorate of Railway Stations, a subsidiary of Russian Railways, and the Stations and Communications division at the French national railway SNCF, signed a twin stations programme during a visit by representatives of French railways to Moscow, reported the press-centre of RZD.

The programme will come into effect in 2013.

The document was signed by Sergei Abramov, the head of the Directorate of Railway Stations, and Rachel Picard, the Managing Manager of Stations and Communications at SNCF.

The programme was approved as part of the development of the Agreement to Establish Partnerships by twinning stations between Russian Railways and SNCF, which was signed in February 2010 during the Year of Russia and France. The cooperation between the two sides involves direct contact between the staff of the twinned stations in order to exchange experience and information, conduct joint cultural events and exhibitions and attend language courses during internships.

The programme of measures for 2013 focuses on the development and improvement of service quality, investment attractiveness and the creation of a barrier-free environment for people with disabilities.

During the year, it is planned that delegations from the French railways stations Paris Saint-Lazare and Toulouse-Matabiau will visit, respectively, the Baltic Station in St. Petersburg and the station complex in Samara, while Russian delegations from Belarusian station in Moscow and Sochi and Yekaterinburg stations will visit the Gare de L'Est in Paris and Nice and Strasbourg stations.

During the trips, joint Franco-Russian seminars are planned on a variety of subjects, including "Enhancing the Effectiveness of Transportation Security", "The Practice of Raising Investment for Station Reconstruction Projects," "Preparing Stations for the Olympics" and "Increasing Efficiency: Increasing Profit by Optimising Costs and Developing New Services at Stations."

"The French model of organising the station business is one of the most advanced in the world. Every year, more than one hundred of our employees undergo training at SNCF’s railway stations as part of our programme to increase their qualifications. At the moment, we are actively exchanging our experience regarding the quality control of services and are discussing prospects for the joint implementation of projects to reconstruct and modernise stations," said Directorate head Sergei Abramov.