The fifth in a series of UIC ASEAN online meetings was held on 25 March and was devoted to the UIC Passenger Department, with a focus on railway stations and access to UIC tools in this field.
Co-organised by UIC Asia-Pacific and the UIC Passenger Department, and in collaboration with the Rail System Department through its Panel of Structural Experts (PoSE) and their designated representatives, the meeting provided an opportunity for participants to share their expertise and present relevant tools and tips to the UIC ASEAN members.
24 participants from six member organisations (KAI and MASKA from Indonesia, KTMB from Malaysia, DOTR from the Philippines and VNR from Vietnam, as well as invited representatives from future member NRCOE Malaysia) attended this fifth session, which was moderated by Milko Papazoff, UIC ASEAN Representative.
Marc Guigon, UIC Passenger Director, gave a comprehensive presentation on the Passenger Department, assisted by his team, composed of Philippe Lorand, Clément Gautier and Vanessa Perez.
The presentation included a review of passenger services, ticketing and IT solutions, the centralised MERITS database, the Open Sales and Distribution Model (OSDM), the Electronic Ticket Control Database (ETCD), the Universal Rail Ticket (URT), the Flexible Content Barcode (FCB), the Public Key Management Website (PKMW), Air+Rail technical guidelines, Door to Door (D2D) technical guidelines, the Passengers with Reduced Mobility (PRM) assistance booking tool, and Commuter and Regional Train Services (CRTS).
An overview was also provided of the activities of the Intercity and High-Speed Committee (IHSC), including the announcement of the 11th World Congress on High-Speed Rail, to be held in Beijing in 2022. UIC ASEAN members were invited to become more involved in the various projects planned in the region. High-speed standardisation/IRSs and the HS World Atlas were also explained.
The Alliance of Universities was then presented. The Alliance currently comprises 34 universities from 17 countries, and it is hoped than some ASEAN universities will also join this working group. Finally, participants were reminded of the TopRail rail tourism platform, and it is expected that some UIC ASEAN members will also participate in its activities in the future.
There followed a dedicated presentation on railway stations and information on the Station Managers Global Group (SMGG). Once again, the UIC ASEAN members were invited to participate or delegate representatives to the four upcoming working group sessions planned in April and June 2021 on station and urban design, facility management and operation, retail and commercial affairs, and small stations, respectively.
The floor was then given to Martin Muncke, Chairman of the Panel of Structural Experts (PoSE), who provided an example of the process of development and application of an IRS dedicated to railway bridges. This topic is of particular importance to most ASEAN railway operators as their networks are composed of ageing metallic structures, and some countries still face a lack of relevant standard guidelines in this specific field. Several new IRSs were developed in 2020, and it is hoped that ASEAN operator members (KAI, KTMB, PNR, SRT and VNR) will delegate their own specialists to be part of PoSE in order to contribute to the development of further IRSs.
The meeting concluded with a final presentation on the “new normal” following the global covid-19 pandemic. As coordinator of the UIC Covid-19 Taskforce, Marc Guigon provided a very detailed set of recommendations for each segment and for the specific circumstances of RUs, IMs, stations, transport authorities and the supply chain.
These various aspects prompted numerous questions from the participants, and the possibility of creating a working group on meter gauge line operation and maintenance in coordination with the IHSC was revisited.
The next UIC ASEAN online meeting will be held on 22 April with a focus on the UIC opt-in process for 2022 and projects in and with ASEAN.
