Jointly chaired by Robert Ampomah, Network Rail, and Adriano Scapati, UIC Rail System Director, on 23 April 2026, the bi-annual Rail System Forum (RSF) Plenary session brought together UIC members to discuss:
- The development of technical and operational standards to foster interoperability and international cooperation, including technical leaflets, specifications, labels ,and guidelines widely adopted by UIC members.
- Activities within the sectors of: Operations and safety; Telecoms and signalling; Asset management; Railway digital modelling; Infrastructure subsystem; Interfaces and interaction between infrastructure subsystem and rolling stock; Rolling stock; Energy; and Research and innovation.
- The ambitious plan for the full migration and modernisation of UIC’s standardisation system by 2029, through International Railway Solutions (IRSs), supported by systematic surveys and global member engagement.
The main items of the agenda of the Plenary included:
- Announcement of Domenico Scida, Trenitalia, being nominated as Chair and Thierry Fort, SNCF Voyageurs, as Co-Chair of the Rolling Stock Sector
- Introduction of a multi-annual business plan for the Rolling Stock Sector to ensure long-term operational and financial sustainability and greater strategic impact
- Launch of the Rolling Stock Maintenance Working Group (SET 13)
- Presentation of the labelling initiative within IRS 50541-00 to set out and detail the former certification (now labelling) scheme
- Call for experts for the Operations Sector, to support the implementation of the UIC Strategy through operations-related activities
- A presentation by the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) and an update of the European Technical Agenda
- Sector Multi-Annual Work Programme presentations, including their status, the opt-ins for 2026-2027 and sector reports
- Overview of the existing partnerships and cooperation with other standardisation and regulatory bodies in the European Union (e.g. European Union Agency for Railways (ERA), the European Committee for Standardisation/ European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation (CEN/CENLEC), etc.) and outside the EU.
The next RSF Plenary session will be held on 22 October 2026.
