PRIME meeting in Warsaw 03-06-2015

Platform for Rail Infrastructure Managers in Europe (PRIME) sets agenda for 2015-16 work, welcomes new members, and re-elects Paul Plummer, Network Rail (UK) as industry co-chair.

At a meeting in Warsaw, Poland, on 3 June, PRIME members welcomed the addition of RFI (IT) and DB Netz AG (DE) to the platform for Rail Infrastructure Managers and Commission cooperation. Paul Plummer, Group Strategy Director and board member at Network Rail (UK) was reappointed PRIME industry co-chair, to carry forward the work of PRIME for the next year in cooperation with the European Commission, represented by DG MOVE European Mobility Network Director, Olivier Onidi. PRIME members confirmed working groups to lead the focus of activity for the next year as Safety Culture, Infrastructure Financing, Implementing Acts, Benchmarking KPIs, and Digitalisation. The platform also intends to cooperate closer with national rail regulators.

Olivier Onidi congratulated Paul Plummer on his re-election and underlined the high expectations of the Commission as regards the role of PRIME : "Rail sector needs a boost for development and to achieve this, the Commission needs input from the industry. But we need to look for new ways of making progress, including new approaches to infrastructure financing and safety management as well as digital technologies. The role of PRIME is to accompany these changes by proposing areas for collaboration and new ideas for making progress at EU level".

Paul Plummer thanked the European Infrastructure Managers for their continued support of the platform, saying : "The continued growth of PRIME, both in terms of numbers, and also the range of issues covered, shows the perceived value of a forum that allows the industry to work together and with the Commission. We have made positive efforts in the past year on the areas of safety culture in railways, KPI benchmarking, and received good cooperation from DG MOVE in the development of its implementing acts. These, together with a new focus on ERTMS and growing digital agenda, as well as financing of infrastructure will give us a substantial programme of work for the year ahead".