OREANDA-NEWS. April 04, 2013. During a visit to France by a delegation of the Directorate of Railway Stations, a branch of Russian Railways, an agreement was signed on cooperation and twinning between Yekaterinburg and Stasburg stations.

The choice of these particular stations is due to the similarity of their architectural design and size and the structure and intermodal character of their passenger traffic. Alexander Burdin, the Russian Consul General in Strasbourg, attended a ceremony to mark the placement of commemorative plaques at Strasbourg train station.

The agreement on cooperation and twinning Yekaterinburg and Strasbourg stations sets out six pairs of sister stations in a programme launched by the Directorate of Railway Stations and SNCF's division Gares et Connexions (Stations and Connections).

The programme was approved as part of the February 2010 agreement to establish partnerships in the form of twinning stations between Russian Railways and SNCF, which was signed during the Year of Russia and France.

The planned cooperation envisages direct contact between the staff at the twinned stations to share experience and information, conduct joint cultural events and exhibitions, take part in language internships and develop personal and professional skills of station employees.

Programme activities planned for 2013 focus on developing and improving service quality and investment attractiveness and creating a barrier-free environment for people with disabilities. Concerts, chess tournaments and culinary competitions will also be organised.

"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 on the training programmes undergo internships at SNCF railway stations. At the moment, we are actively exchanging experience in the quality control of services and discussing the prospects for the joint implementation of projects to reconstruct and modernise stations," said Sergei Abramov, the head of the Directorate of Railway Stations.