OREANDA-NEWS. December 08, 2014. In Paris, during the 85th session of the General Assembly of the International Union of Railways (UIC), President of JSC "Russian Railways" Vladimir Yakunin was reelected chairman.

Chairman of the UIC is an elective office. The term limit is two years, and it may be renewed for another two years. The first time the president of Russian Railways was elected to the presidency of the UIC was December 12, 2012. Mr. Yakunin was replaced as chairman of the UIC by Mr. Satoshi Seino, President of the East Japan Railway Company.

Speaking at the General Assembly, the president of Russian Railways noted the importance of global projects relevant to the railway industry, such as the Trans-Eurasian zone RAZVITIE and the creation of the Silk Road Foundation. According to the president of the company, these projects open up opportunities for both the UIC and its members to form a new frame of transport links with China, Europe, and the Middle East based on legal harmonization brought about with the help of the UIC.

In his speech to the General Assembly, Vladimir Yakunin talked about some of the results from the UIC’s program of action.

In 2013–2014, work was carried out successfully to enhance cooperation with the UN system. The UIC has joined the Senior Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport under UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

The UIC has reached a new level of interaction with other international organizations, including the Organization for Cooperation of Railways (OSJD) and the Railway Transport Council of the Commonwealth. The UIC is actively involved in the development of new transport law. According to Mr. Yakunin, one task of the UIC is to create an efficient platform for a the wide awareness of all stakeholders, promote the interests of the railway business, and prepare proposals for the development of multilateral cooperation.

The OSJD produced a new Agreement on International Freight Railway.

According to Mr. Yakunin, the agreement takes the new realities of the market and essential reforms made by the railway companies of most member countries of the OSJD (which are also members of the UIC) in terms of the division of labor of the state and railway undertakings, as well as the infrastructure and the carrier, into full account. Also, the project of the united Convention on Direct International Rail Transport is in the final stage.

Under the auspices of the Inland Transport Committee of the UNECE, a unified railway law that includes all progressive trends of existing legal systems of the OSJD and Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) is being created.

"The success of legal harmonization depends on whether we will see in the near future direct transportation between China, Korea, India, and other Asian countries on the one hand and European countries on the other, including the global international corridors of the UIC," said Mr. Yakunin.

Another key trend that is developing successfully thanks to the efforts of headquarters and members of the UIC is standardization.

"Here we have achieved significant results. More than 20 UIC memos were processed on international railway standards, an agreement with the International Electrotechnical Commission was signed, and an official invitation from the ISO to participate in the key 269th Committee was received. All this makes it possible to expect the recognition of international railway standards of the UIC worldwide," said Mr. Yakunin.

Separately, the president of Russian Railways addressed the issue of safety and security against acts of unlawful interference.

"Recently, the ITC UNECE started developing a new conceptual apparatus on these issues, and the working UIC group "Human Factor" developed and published a memo on the subject. As part of a special working group, UIC COLPOFER agreed to the document "Summary of Protecting the Information of Railway Infrastructure from Cyber Attacks," which will allow members of the UIC to use it in practice," said Mr. Yakunin.

2013–2014 were the most active years of participation of Russian Railways in the activities of the UIC.

Specialists from the holding Russian Railways are actively involved in the activities of almost all organs of the UIC in the following areas: passenger and freight transport, standardization, resource and energy efficiency, safety, security against acts of unlawful interference, control stations, providing health care in rail transport, and research activities.

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Soviet Railways was one of the founding members of the UIC. However, World War II and the ensuing Cold War ensured that the Soviet Union could not participate in this international nongovernmental organization.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the output of Russian Railways into new markets, participation in major international investment projects, and the need to develop relationships with other railway companies around the world have demanded the restoration of full membership in the UIC.

Pursuant to paragraph 10 of the Protocol of the 68th Session of the General Assembly of the UIC (June 12, 2006, Montreal, Canada), all members of the UIC unanimously approved the introduction of Russian Railways into the Organization as an active (full) member. On November 10, 2006, the entry of Russian Railways to the UIC was approved by the Board of Directors.

According to the decision of the 69th session of the General Assembly of the UIC (December 12, 2007, Paris, France), the president of Russian Railways joined the composition of the Executive Board of the UIC.

Russian Railways is the only railway administration with full membership in two regional assemblies of the UIC: European and Asian, with activities and projects in both European and Eurasian formats.

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The International Union of Railways (Union Internationale des Chemis de Fer, or UIC) was founded in 1922 as an association of railway administrations created to unify and improve the technical means and organization of railway operation. This organization is one of the most effective areas of cooperation in international railway business.

UIC members are railway administrations having no less than 1000 km of railway lines, as well as international rail NGOs. At the moment, the Union includes 201 companies.

The governing bodies of the UIC are the General Assembly, the Steering Committee (Paris), the Bureau of the Steering Committee, and the General Secretariat under the Steering Committee.

The General Assembly (the supreme body of the UIC) has a session once every two years. Extraordinary sessions are convened at the request of no less than six administrations–members of the UIC. The General Assembly appoints to the presidency of the Management Committee the president of the UIC. In addition, the Assembly determines 6-year railway administrations, from which members of the Steering Committee (Chairman, Deputy 4 and 16 members) are elected; in the intervals between sessions, the General Assembly is the authorized representative of the UIC.