UNIFE, the European Rail Industry, and NP-UIRE (Russian Union of Industries of Railway Equipment) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding and cooperation, in a move to ‘strengthen ties between the European and Russian railway sectors’.
“Russia is rapidly emerging as a key market for the coming years, with a highly-ambitious railway investment program” explained Henri Poupart-Lafarge.
“Both Europe and Russia have a longstanding railway tradition, although history created some barriers to seamless transport between our railway networks. It is important to strengthen cooperation between the European and Russian railway sectors to overcome these barriers and ensure that we create a favourable business environment on both sides.”
The Memorandum was signed by Henri Poupart-Lafarge (President of Alstom Transportation, UNIFE Chairman) and Valentin Gapanovich (Senior Vice-President RZD, NP-UIRE President) on the occasion of the 1520 exhibition in Sochi.
Joint cooperation will be developed in a number of areas, including standardisation, cross-acceptance, homologation procedures, and issues of other common interest such as quality management, UNIFE said.
“This Memorandum of Understanding marks an important step for the cooperation with our Russian counterparts,” said Philippe Citroën, UNIFE Director General.
“Russia is a rapidly changing country, and this is reflected by the high ambitions of the country in terms of infrastructure modernisation, introduction of new technologies and construction of high-speed lines.”
