02:48 PM
Sunday, January 22, 2023
Books – Muhammad Nassar:
The Lieutenant General received Engineer Kamel Al-Wazir, Minister of Transport, Director General of the International Union of Railways (UIC), Francois Davin, in the presence of the Head of the Railway Authority and leaders of the Ministry of Transport.
At the beginning of the meeting, the President of the International Federation of Railways expressed his happiness at the visit of the Ministry of Transport, especially with the great progress witnessed by the railway system in Egypt.
He pointed out that the International Federation of Railways is a non-governmental organization representing the railway industry, and the union sets and publishes the necessary standards for railway sectors, such as vehicles, railway equipment, and railway stations, as the union has developed standards for information exchange between railway companies and operators of railway equipment. called “Interoperable Technical Specifications”.
He pointed out that the union initially had 51 members from 29 countries, including Japan and China, until it reached 204 organizations (in 2020). The main task of the union is to harmonize and improve the conditions for establishing and operating railways for member states by focusing on 5 main areas. They are developed for the benefit of the worldwide railway community and are: Environment, Safety and Security, Signaling, Freight/Freight Corridors, Enhancement of Rail Transport Worldwide with the aim of effectively responding to current and future challenges related to mobility and sustainable development, and to develop and facilitate all forms of international cooperation among members Foster the exchange of best practices in this field, enhance interoperability, develop and disseminate solutions for Rail System Issues (IRSs), support members in their efforts to develop new business, and propose new ways to improve the technical and environmental performance of rail transport, increase competitiveness and reduce costs.
The two sides discussed recent global trends to reduce dependence on diesel-powered mobile units and the use of electricity or hydrogen-powered units in order to preserve the environment, especially with the great interest that countries of the world attach to this field.
For his part, the Minister of Transport affirmed that Egypt, in parallel with the implementation of a comprehensive plan to develop the railway system, which currently has a total length of 10,000 km, is expanding the establishment of a network of green, sustainable and environmentally friendly mass transportation, such as the fast electric train network and the light electric train (LRT). The monorail and the completion of the subway network.
The Minister of Transport referred to cooperation with international companies in the management, operation and maintenance of a number of modern means of transport, such as the high-speed electric train, which was contracted with the German Railways (DB) to manage and operate it, provided that the international company Siemens carries out maintenance and technical support for the network, as well as contracting with the French RATP to manage And the operation of the light electric train (LRT) and the third line of the metro.
The talks touched on the importance of cooperation in the field of railway safety, especially with regard to achieving the highest safety standards in railways, which the minister indicated is a priority for the Ministry of Transport.
The minister stressed the necessity of holding intensive meetings during the coming period between officials of the International Federation of Railways and officials of the Egyptian Railways Authority for speedy cooperation in the field of safety in the railway system and in the field of training railway workers on the latest international systems in all railway sectors.
