22/12/2015
Representatives of the Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure and the country's railway companies visit Spain to receive training on railway network management
Delegación ucraniana accede en Atocha al tren con destino MálagaUkrainian delegation boards a train in Atocha headed for Malaga
The visit, kicked off on 15th December in Barcelona, is part of a twinning project financed by the European Union (EU) and led by Spain, with management by the FIIAPP, to improve the performance and competitiveness of the Ukrainian railway system. This is the fourth study visit by Ukrainians to Spain under this project with the goal of learning different formulas for sharing risks between public and private stakeholders in the development and management of railways infrastructures.
To do this, they participated in a five-day visit to the Morrot container terminal (Barcelona), the Atocha (Madrid) and María Zambrano (Malaga) train stations, and travelled to Llers (Girona) to visit the facilities of TP Ferro, a concessionaire for the high-speed railway line between Spain and France that is connecting the two countries for the first time with the same international track gauge and meeting all the technical specifications for European railway interoperability. During these visits they studied operation of high-speed train and the railway terminals, as well as passenger stations, cargo terminals and logistics centres.
They also attended conferences and presentations organized by the Spanish Administrator of Railway Infrastructures (ADIF), the Ministry of Public Works, the State Land Transport Infrastructure Company (SEITT)and the TP FERROconcessionaire.
This cooperation project was launched in 2013 with a budget of 1,800,000 euros and has a duration of two years. The Ministry of Public Works is working hand in hand with the Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructures and Railway Institute with the collaboration of the Directorate-General of Railways, ADIF, RENFE, INECOand the Spanish Railway Foundation.
