The second edition of the UIC Excellence in Railway Publications Awards took place on 25 October 2022 with over 100 people from all around the world attending, with the majority being physically present at UIC HQ in Paris. 8 award winners were announced and there were also several ‘special mentions’.

The first edition, held in 2021 online due to the pandemic, only focused on IRSs while in this edition a broader range of documents were considered, including outstanding railway technical publications such as Technical Reports, Specifications, Guidelines, and IRSs (which offer user-friendly solutions to promote efficiency in railway operations). These were judged within the Business Oriented, Innovative with Value Added, Proficiently Developed and Interfaces with External Organisations categories.

Simon Fletcher, the UIC Chief Standardisation Officer and Director for the European Region, opened the awards ceremony with an overview of the programme and a reminder of the new publications being given a prize in this edition.

In his welcome address, François Davenne, UIC Director General, highlighted how important the UIC railway technical publications activities are, and that they need to have a reach beyond just Europe. Building on the former UIC Leaflets’ legacy, the IRS and other railway technical publications, in partnership with a range of member companies as well as external stakeholders, are the basis for tomorrow’s railway technical assets. Having been on the jury, he applauded the high quality of the papers submitted, and thanked the UIC Railway Publications team, led by Simon Fletcher, for running such an inspiring event so smoothly.

Laurent Schmitt, UIC Standardisation Platform Chair, and Asako Togari, UIC Standardisation Platform Deputy Chair, had the pleasure of announcing the winning entries, introducing the working group leaders or representatives and awarding them their prizes as below:

Category: Business Oriented

• IRS 50502: Exceptional consignments - Regulations concerning the preparation and management of exceptional consignments; represented by the OSG Working Group leader Sandra Balting (DB Cargo)
• 5-22001E: SORA. Specific Operations Risk Assessment and Operational Safety Objectives; represented by the D4R (Pose) Working Group leader Salvatore Lorelli (DB Netz)

Category: Innovative with Value Added

• 91910: Functional Specification and Guideline for Interoperable Vehicle Sensors and Telematic Devices; represented by the SPG Working Group leader Marc Valette (CFL multimodal)
• 60682: Design of a high-speed railway - Energy; represented by the High-Speed Working Group leader Huo Baoshi (China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.)
• 90918-9: Digital Security Elements for Rail Passenger Ticketing; represented by the TSG Working Group leader Kurt De Vriendt (Consilium gcv) [1]

Category: Proficiently Developed

• 80845: Technical specification for the supply of elastomer flange connections for intercommunicating gangways; represented by the SET 02 Working Group leader Chen Kai (CRRC SRI) and his representatives Patrick Schiele (CRRC SRI) and Giulia Russo (UIC)
• 80864-2: Technical Specification for the supply of Steel Track Bolts; represented by the TEG Working Group leader Stefano Rossi (RFI) and his representative Marcos Conceição (UIC)

Category: Interfaces with External Organisations

• 80881: Guidelines for the implementation of RAMS analysis to mechanical components of railway vehicles; represented by the SET 06 Working Group leader Frederic Desgaches (SNCF) and by his representative Sebastien Smith (SNCF)
• 90918-9: Digital Security Elements for Rail Passenger Ticketing; represented by the TSG Working Group leader Kurt De Vriendt (Consilium gcv)

Special Mentions

After having debated at length on who should win each category, the jury also wished to give a special mention to the reports which had been prepared by the working groups listed below. The topics ranged from asset management through to the impact of wind on safe railway operations.

• The Asset Management Working Group, represented by Andy Kirwan (Network Rail) and Vesa Männistö (Väylä, Finland)
  • 5-22002E: Maximising the benefits of big data for asset management
  • 5-22003E: E2E.UIC E2Edecision tools landscape and high-level roadmap
• The Track-Train Interaction Working Group, represented by Terry Johnson (RSSB), Eliane Allain (SNCF), and José Conrado (ADIF)
  • 1-21001E: Assessment of Wind Exposure of the Line Technical Report
  • 1-21002E: Vehicle Assessment - Technical Report
  • 1-21004E: Application of Reference Characteristic Wind Curves - Technical Report

Simon Fletcher then drew the ceremony to a close by congratulating all the winners for the superb quality of their submitted publications and also the people working behind the scenes who made the IRS and this event possible: the ETF team, and Mouna Bennouna, UIC Head of Planning & Production.

The third edition of the UIC Excellence in Railway Publication Awards has already been scheduled for 25 October 2023 at UIC HQ in Paris.

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