The 2nd edition of the “Commuter and Regional Train Services” International Training organised by the Strategic Planning Department and the Regional Transport Division, together with UIC, was held from 21 – 23 November at the Villa Patrizi (Sala Auditorium) in Rome. The aim of this training was to provide insights into the main aspects of regional transport, devoted not only to European railway companies but also to local authorities, for a total of about 40 participants.
Among the speakers, in addition to experts in European and international regional transport, representatives of international associations (UIC, CIT, UITP), professors of the University of Florence there were representatives of the industry such as Alstom, Indra, ASSTRA, as well as Italian Regional Authorities.
The main topics dealt with over the three days were, among others, the integration of services and offers, financing and trust in services, security, technological innovations and initiatives on sustainability. The last day was devoted to a technical visit to the station of Roma Termini.
In particular, the first day was devoted to providing the international panorama of the commuter sector, interoperability with other means of transport, technical design and customer-driven train design, business activities in stations and assistance to PRMs.
The second day covered the regulatory aspects of PSO, tenders, passenger rights in rail and multimodal transport, as well as public transport funding under the double national and European perspective. Another key issue was security, dealt with in several aspects: anti-fraud measures, communication policies and customer information through the use of social networks.
Finally, on the third day, we analysed the experience of Trenitalia in UK, the opportunities for rail tourism and IT developments on the e-ticketing front. The theme of environmental sustainability and BiTiBi ("Bike-train-bike") project was also given as a model for door-to-door sustainable transport.
The training is part of the UIC Commuter and Regional Train Services (CRTS) working group which aim is to enhance international cooperation and exchange of best practices on this concrete subject.
The next CRTS meeting will be held in Paris in February.
