23 February, 2000

On Tuesday 22 of February 2000 the Presiding Board of the Union of European Railway Industries (UNIFE) had a meeting with Ms Loyola de Palacio, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for transport, energy and relations with the European Parliament.

The UNIFE Presiding Board, consisting of the CEO’s of the leading suppliers of railway equipment (rolling stock, signalling and infrastructure), discussed with Ms de Palacio the current developments in the railway supply industry and the need for European initiatives.

The situation for transport has reached a critical level for both people and goods, with levels of congestion on the roads at and all time high. The next few years are crucial for railways and the railway supply industry in order to develop into a modern and profitable industry.

UNIFE strongly encourages the European Commission to publish an EU Communication on the railway supply industry in order to promote:

• investments in rail transport systems by the Member States
• further liberalisation of the railways in Europe
• harmonisation and modernisation of safety specifications
• technical and operational integration of the railway systems
• investments in railway innovation

In her discussion with these top level representatives of the industry, Ms de Palacio gave a clear indication to the industry saying that her objective was the creation of a real single European market for railway equipment, in order to obtain economies of scale and allowing European industries to compete effectively in the world markets. Ms de Palacio asked the industry to support the European Commission’s initiative on the integration (interoperability) of conventional rail. The UNIFE Presiding Board welcomed these initiatives and promised full support.

UNIFE and the railway operators organisations, UIC - Union Internationale des Chemins de fer - and CER - Community of European Railways - will discuss with the European Commission the organisational structure for the development of a European conventional rail system in the near future and present their recommendations to Mrs de Palacio.

The UNIFE Presiding Board, chaired by Mr. Rolf Eckrodt - CEO of Daimler Chrysler Rail Systems, ADTRANZ - also welcomed the initiative of the DB and SNCF to develop joint specifications for the next generation of European High-Speed trains and confirmed that UNIFE was ready to work together in this project.

The UNIFE Presiding Board is made up of the CEO’s of Adtranz (Daimler Chrysler Rail Systems), Alstom, Bombardier, AnsaldoBreda, Siemens, Knorr-Bremse, Faiveley and Invesys Rail representing the worlds largest system integrators, sub-suppliers and infrastructure companies.

UNIFE represents 60% of the world-wide production of rail equipment and generates Euro 20 billion in revenue each year.