The Rolling Stock Africa Task Force officially launched on 27 November 2025, bringing together key railway stakeholders from across Africa, representing standard, narrow and Cape track gauges.

Adriano Scapati, UIC Rail System Director, opened the session with an overview of UIC and its Rail System Department, highlighting:

• 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
• Strengthening partnerships with core standardisation bodies
• Activities within the Rolling Stock sector, as well as the Infrastructure, Energy and Train-Track Interaction (TTI) sectors
• The ambitious plan for the full migration and modernisation of UIC’s standardisation system by 2029, through IRSs (International Railway Solutions), supported by systematic surveys and global member engagement

Following this, Mohamed Es-Sahbi, Director of Engineering & Projects Platform within ONCF’s Equipment Division (Morocco), presented ONCF’s Rolling Stock sector initiatives.

The webinar also featured presentations on UIC Africa activities (Maria Lafont), UIC Rolling Stock & Energy activities (Laurent Frechede), and Labelling (Henri Tsukahara), setting the stage for future collaboration.

2026-2028 Rolling Stock Task Force Work Programme highlights

Following discussion with Africa experts, UIC Rolling Stock experts identified the following key areas of interest for the Task Force:

1. Operational challenges and safety issues related to rolling stock
2. Interoperability between countries – exploring the legal framework
3. Rolling stock refurbishment and new procurement strategies

The Task Force will convene twice a year, with a major milestone being the launch of a project focused on rolling stock refurbishment and new procurement.