Participants of the Summit of the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER), which took place in Vienna on July 8 and 9, signed a declaration in support of Ukraine, affirming European railways’ readiness to provide as much equipment and spare parts as possible for the reconstruction of the Ukrainian railways.
A functioning railway system is vital for the further reconstruction of all Ukraine, which is why the signatories of the declaration have pledged to provide not only the necessary technical materials for the railways’ needs, but also intellectual contribution by sharing their know-how and experience wherever possible and necessary. The declaration signed at the summit also calls on the European Union’s institutions to ensure that the "RebuildUkraine" fund provide support also for the reconstruction of Ukraine’s infrastructure, and especially the railway infrastructure. During the summit, the declaration was presented to Ukrainian Railways chief Oleksandr Kamishin.
Māris Kleinbergs, Chairman of the Board of SJSC "Latvijas dzelzceļš", was among the heads of European railways who signed the declaration.
A meeting of the CER Management Committee during the summit addressed other topics as well, including activities of the coalition of CER chiefs over the past year. The topics discussed included a revision of the TEN-T Regulation, European traffic management system, EU Rail Freight Regulation and the introduction of ERTMS, among other matters. A revision of the EU’s emissions trading system was mentioned as one of priorities in order to ensure fair competition conditions for all means of transport by setting a carbon price. The committee also discussed Europe’s data strategy, a topic regularly featuring in EU institutions’ political discussions.
On the second day of the summit, July 9, the heads of European railways signed a declaration on digitalization in the railway sector. In this declaration, the signatories committed to introducing smart technology and smart technical operations in the areas of railway infrastructure, freight and passenger transportation, human resources and ticketing.
Photo: M.Knopp.