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Wherever the site, call up HoldFast. Complex for Some, Easy for HoldFast on time and on budget Stagecoach Supertram Nunnery Depot April 2012 The Challenge Existing timber crossings patched with concrete, tarmac and metal plating in places. S&C track and few straight lines. The Solution Existing materials replaced with new HoldFast rubber panels, individually cut to fit, to take into account check rails, points;, fishplates; track circuit bonds; and ongoing track maintenance access requirements. Contractor Level Crossings Installations (LCI) www.levelcrossinginstallations.co.uk Visit our gallery at www.HoldFastSolutions.co.uk Please contact Mark Coates Smith Mobile: +447970 656143 Fax: +441285 720748 Email: mark@holdfastsolutions.co.uk PagE 40 SEPTEMBER 2012 Rosehill Polymers Ltd manufacture the HoldFast system on behalf of HoldFast Level Crossings Ltd
International Going global The director of UIC, the international association for railway companies, speaks to Ron Smith about what the organisation is currently doing to increase rail usage around the world Jean-Pierre Loubinoux is the director general of the Union Internationale des Chemins de Fer (UIC) in Paris. UIC bills itself as ‘the worldwide association of cooperation for railway companies’. Its members are railway companies, infrastructure managers, combined transport operators, rolling stock and traction companies, and service providers such as rail caterers, night train operators, and public transport authorities. The UIC was founded in 1922, following an international railway conference in Portorosa, Slovenia (at that time Italian) in 1921. This was followed by another conference in Genoa in May 1922, which confirmed the establishment of the organisation that began life in Paris in October of that year. The UIC still has its headquarters in Paris, and has continued to grow – today there are more than 200 members spread over five continents. There are six regional assemblies carrying out more than 180 projects. In 2010, there were 85 training sessions, conferences and seminars held, and in 2011 just over 100. UIC published more than 670 technical leaflets that reflect UIC’s expertise in all areas of railway activity, including infrastructure, rolling stock, installations, safety, operations and IT systems. ‘All the railways in Europe are members of UIC,’ says Loubinoux. ‘UIC supports them in the promotion and development of their many rail projects. They all have different projects with different aims and objectives, but they also have many common projects in the region.’ UIC provides a community of railways to support technical aspects in common, so that no-one has to ‘reinvent the wheel’ – a common approach to problems produces compatible solutions for the different railways. ‘Freight is of particular importance as long distance, particularly crossborder, freight is where rail has a definite advantage,’ explains Loubinoux. ‘UIC was instrumental in encouraging the establishment of X-Rail, a production alliance for wagonload traffic that aims to make international rail transport for wagonloads more customer friendly and efficient, for example. UIC also generates common standards in the field of station design and development for example, and defining the interfaces between urban / intercity / and international rail traffic.’ What problems is UIC dealing with right now? ‘UIC has to work within the budget set by the members to develop the projects they have decided are in their interest. Some of the projects are obviously of keen interest for the development of the European region. It achieves and disseminates results via workshops and conferences, bringing members and interested parties together to discuss common themes, resolve common difficulties and produce papers, working practices and documentation for use by all members. For example, there has just been a collective workshop in Belgrade in which a number of issues like the restructuring of railways were topical, and so we served their needs and their interest in the organisation of such a workshop. ‘UIC is bringing railways together, so that we all work towards common standards, and can benchmark progress to international norms.’ There are many challenges for rail, he adds. One of these is that rail is becoming the most recognised mode for sustainable transport but, at the same time, there is a SEPTEMBER 2012 Page 41
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