In accordance with the Work Plan of the OSJD Commission on Passenger Traffic for 2022, the OSJD/UIC Workshop “Prospects for the development and interaction of electronic reservation systems” was held in the OSJD Committee (Warsaw) on 28 February 2022 with the use of a videoconferencing mode.

The Workshop was attended by the representatives of 11 OSJD railways, one OSJD observer – DB JSC (Deutsche Bahn); international organisations – International Union of Railways, Eurasian Economic Commission, the Central Council for Railway Transport of the Commonwealth Member States; China Academy of Railway Sciences LLC and other transport companies, as well as the OSJD Committee.

The seminar was moderated and chaired by Aleksandr Sergienko, Chairman of the OSJD Commission on Passenger Traffic.

Welcoming addresses were delivered by Chairman of the OSJD Committee Mirosław Antonowicz, UIC Director General François Davenne, Head of the Railway Transport Section of the Department for Transport and Infrastructure of the Eurasian Economic Commission Sergey Negrey and Deputy Chairman of the Directorate of the Council for Railway Transport of the Commonwealth Member States Oleg Nikitin.

Chairman of the OSJD Committee Mirosław Antonowicz welcomed the Workshop participants noting that it was not possible to increase the mobility of the population without the accelerated development and application of innovative ticketing technologies, interaction and compatibility of information systems related to the reservation and sale of tickets, as well as the use of new electronic services that combine all operations for travelling. He also expressed his confidence that this Workshop would serve as a kind of a platform for an open dialogue between the railway specialists and IT companies regarding the development and interaction of electronic reservation systems used both in the 1520-mm gauge and in the 1435-mm gauge areas.

In his welcoming address, François Davenne focused on the lack of integration of railways into a single ecosystem of passenger transportation, noting the importance of standardisation and data exchange, as well as their interconnection with the city systems. François Davenne drew the participants’ attention to the recent UIC developments, which make the distribution of tariffs for international railway transport between various railway companies and ticket sellers more advanced and flexible through the use of the new OSDM platform. The UIC OSDM platform will be one of the first steps towards achieving the goal of seamless train ticketing and post-sales processes, supporting the growing role of railway transport in the 21st century.

In his address Sergey Negrey focused on the fact that a significant reserve for increasing the efficiency of passenger traffic can be observed in the accelerated introduction of electronic technologies. The subject of the Workshop only emphasises the relevance of this issue and the interest in the implementation of advanced technologies in the technological process of railway transport.

In his welcoming speech, Oleg Nikitin dwelled on the work being carried out within the framework of the CSZT to resume the railway passenger traffic, emphasising the importance of the issues discussed within the framework of the Workshop.

The following presentations were made available for the Workshop participants:

- representative of the RZD OJSC – Deputy Director of the “Express” National Centre of the VNIIZhT JSC Elena Martynova on the subject “New generation backup systems and their international integration”;

- Senior Advisor, UIC Passenger Department David Sarfatti;

- KORAIL Passenger Transport Department Manager Wu Henjonan on the subject “Best practices for harmonising the booking systems between KORAIL and other platforms”;

- Architect of information systems for the sale of tickets of the Department of Information and Technical Services of the MAV Co. Service Centre Balázs Desi on the subject “Electronic ticketing system of the Hungarian State Railways”;

- Leading researcher of China Academy of Railway Sciences LLC Shan Xinghua on the subject “Development of ticketing systems on Chinese Railways and prospects for international railway traffic”;

- Chief Expert of the Department of Sales Management of FPC JSC Tatyana Vasilievna Sidorova on the subject “Sale of railway products and related transportation services at FPC JSC’s points of sale in the context of the development of new technologies”.

On behalf of all Workshop participants Aleksandr Sergienko thanked all speakers for their presentations. Summing up the outcomes of the Workshop, he expressed his confidence that the OSJD Commission on Passenger Traffic would continue further cooperation with the relevant departments of the UIC in the interests of the members of both organisations.