Creating innovative and sustainable technical solutions for the railway business, aimed at increasing its competitiveness as compared to other modes of transport, while taking into account not only single domains, but the Railway System as a whole.

Organisation

The Railway System Forum (RSF) is a global working body in charge of all issues relating to the railway system, i.e. operations, control-command systems and telecoms, asset management, railway digital modelling, the infrastructure subsystem, interfaces and interaction between the infrastructure subsystem and rolling stock, rolling stock, energy, and other issues relating to railway business.

The RSF is responsible for organising appropriate measures aimed at enabling efficient international cooperation in railway system activities.

The main aims of the RSF are to:

• provide a three-year strategic vision and a multiannual work programme, including a multi-annual financial framework, for its activities,
• approve UIC’s technical documents relating to the RSF’s domain of activity, predominantly International Railway Solutions (IRSs),
• identify topics of common interest and activities to be implemented in order to provide more effective solutions and added value for UIC members.

The RSF’s strategic objectives were approved during its plenary session held on 22 October 2020 and align with UIC’s “Technical Solutions for the Operational Railway” document.

In addition to the activities of each Sector (see pages 14 to 18), the RSF is responsible for the following crossfunctional activities:

• Managing the interfaces between the eight Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSIs),
• Developing expertise in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, etc.,
• Drafting and revising around 70% of the UIC IRSs.

In addition, the Railway System Department manages two special groups for innovation and research: the Research and Innovation Coordination Group (RICG) at European level and the International Railway Research Board (IRRB) at global level.