UNIFE SIGNS MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH SWISS FEDERAL RAILWAYS ON IRIS

On Friday, 8 April 2016, at Swiss Federal Railways headquarters in Bern, Switzerland, UNIFE, the European Rail Industry Association, represented by UNIFE Director-General Philippe Citroën, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Cooperation with Swiss Federal Railways, represented by Mr Dietmar Gessner, Director of Strategy Sourcing (CFF-SBB-FFS Operating) and Mr Patrick Hadorn, Director of Quality, Safety & Environment (CFF-SBB-FFS Operating) on the advancement of IRIS.

The objective of this MoU is to promote mutually beneficial cooperation between the signatories on quality standards in the rail sector. This cooperation is expected to focus on increasing the exchange of knowledge and experience in a bilateral context on a number of relevant topics such as quality methods, operational and integration maturity levels, and risk transparency, among others specified in the MoU.

The activities outlined in the MoU seek to create a favourable context for the development of a strong culture of quality in the rail sector and especially in Switzerland.

UNIFE looks forward to productive collaboration between IRIS and Swiss Federal Railways on quality improvements. UNIFE has already signed several MoUs on IRIS with operators, including Deutsche Bahn, Russian Railways (RZD), and Belgian Railways (SNCB). UNIFE and IRIS leadership are expected to sign additional MoUs on IRIS with other major railway undertakings throughout Europe and the world throughout 2016.

For further information, please contact Bernard Kaufmann, IRIS General Manager, at bernard.kaufmann@unife.org.