On 7 July, Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) and UIC jointly organised a UIC Days webinar, coinciding with the company’s UIC membership being approved four days prior at the 108th UIC General Assembly.

In his opening speech, Benon Kajuna, Managing Director of URC, welcomed the company’s admission and highlighted Uganda’s priorities in rail modernisation, regional integration, digital transformation, and sustainability. He emphasised the importance of this milestone and the value of collaboration with the international railway community.

Kajuna then outlined key initiatives, including railway rehabilitation and modernisation, development of the standard gauge railway, integration with inland water transport and logistics hubs, and climate-smart infrastructure. He stressed the importance of regional and international cooperation on standards, technology transfer, research, and workforce development, reaffirming URC’s commitment to active participation in UIC activities. He also addressed URC’s current projects and operational challenges.

A range of UIC experts gave departmental overviews:

• Michele Gesualdi outlined the work of passenger services, including working groups on ticketing, high-speed rail, station management, tourism, and commuter services, and emphasised the importance of training and customer-oriented initiatives.
• Laura Petersen provided an overview of the UIC Security Platform’s working groups on technology, human factors, strategy, sabotage, and crisis management, and introduced tools such as the Network of Quick Responders, and the Rail Security Hub.
• Giancarlo De Marco Telese presented Operations and Safety initiatives on safety management, human organisational factors, occupational health, safety culture, peer reviews, and the use of confidential safety databases, inviting URC to participate in relevant working groups.
• Joost Overdijkink, from the Freight Department, discussed load safety standards, harmonisation of dangerous goods regulations (such as the Regulation concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail (RID) and the Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR)), wagon use contracts, and digital collaboration tools, recommending regional harmonisation with neighbouring railways for seamless operations.
• Isabelle De Keyzer introduced the UIC Sustainability Platform, its working groups (energy, land use, noise, circular economy, and gender equality), the Rail Sustainability Index, energy and CO2 databases, and advocacy initiatives, inviting URC to participate and become the first African member to report its sustainability performance.