Kiri

Ref.: UNECE/2022/TRANS/38 12 September 2022 Dear Mr. Kuningas, I have the pleasure to inform you that the Inland Transport Committee’s Working Party on Rail Transport will hold its seventy-sixth session 16-18 November 2022 in Geneva at the Palais des Nations. During the session a high-level workshop on “The impact of climate change on the railways: how to protect, adapt and mitigate” will be held in the Palais des Nations, Geneva from 10 a.m. on 17 November 2022. The main objective of this workshop is to discuss how recent extreme weather events have shown how vulnerable rail infrastructure and services are to climate change, the resulting disruption and danger for freight and passengers. The aim of this workshop is to discuss the impacts of these events on the railways. Participants will also be invited to share good practice in how to minimise disruption and reduce safety risks resulting from extreme weather, as well as identify technological developments and procedural innovations to mitigate the harmful effects on the railways. In order to make this important event a success, I am pleased to invite you to nominate a speaker for the Workshop. To provide the audience sufficient time for discussion but also to ensure intervention by as many countries/organizations as possible, I would like to request that the intervention of your representative to be limited to 10 minutes. I encourage you to include in the presentation thought-provoking ideas and specific recommendations to stimulate a lively exchange and to contribute to the list of key actions for the future. I would appreciate receiving your reply at your earliest convenience, but no later than 7 October 2022. Upon confirmation, the nominated speaker will be contacted by one of my colleagues to discuss the details regarding the program of the workshop. Mr. Ahti Kuningas Deputy Secretary General for Transport Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications of the Republic of Estonia Tallinn United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Telephone: +41 (0)22 917 2401 (direct) +41 (0)22 917 1234 (Palais des Nations) Email: [email protected]  Page 2 Please note that, pursuant to UNECE Rules of Procedure, each member State is requested to submit to the secretariat through its Permanent Mission a Note Verbale containing the names the country’s representative, alternate representatives, advisers and experts authorised to take decisions on behalf of their country. Registration information for the session is available at the bottom of the first page of the agenda (attached) and available at: www.unece.org/trans/main/sc2/sc2age.html. The meeting is currently planned as a hybrid session where participants will be able to participate in person or online. I hope that it will be possible for your country’s intervention to be made in-person in the Palais des Nations in Geneva. If you have any questions regarding this workshop or the wider Working Party session, do not hesitate to contact Mr. Francesco Dionori, Chief of Section and Secretary to the Working Party (tel.: +41 22 917 4709, e-mail: [email protected]). I look forward to welcoming you and your experts at our Working Party session. Yours sincerely, Yuwei Li Director Sustainable Transport Division cc: Focal points of SC.2 United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Saatja: "Carole Marilley" <[email protected]> Saaja: "Ahti Kuningas" <[email protected]>, "MKM info" <[email protected]> Teema: Invitation to the UNECE Working Party on Rail Transport and its climate change focused workshop (16-18 November 2022) Kuupäev: 2022-09-13 09:04 Dear Sir/Madam, On behalf of Mr. Li, Director of the UNECE Transport Sustainable Division, please find attached, the letter on the upcoming session of the Working Party on Rail Transport and its workshop “The impact of climate change on the railways: how to protect, adapt and mitigate”, to the attention of Mr. Kuningas, Deputy Secretary General for Transport, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications of the Republic of Estonia. Best regards, <https://itc-75th-anniversary.unece.org/index.html> Carole MARILLEY Programme Assistant, Transport Networks &amp; Logistics Section Sustainable Transport Division Email: [email protected] Phone: &#43;41 (0) 22 917 4030 ITC75 UNECE <https://twitter.com/UNECE> Twitter Facebook Instagram United Nations ECE/TRANS/SC.2/237 Economic and Social Council Distr.: General 30 August 2022 Original: English Economic Commission for Europe Inland Transport Committee Working Party on Rail Transport Seventy-sixth session Geneva, 16–18 November 2022 Item 1 of the provisional agenda Adoption of the Provisional Agenda Annotated Provisional Agenda for the Seventy-sixth session*, ** to be held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Salle XXV starting at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, 16 November 2022 I. Provisional agenda 1. Adoption of the Provisional Agenda. 2. Towards Unified Railway Law in the Pan-European Region and on Euro-Asian Transport Corridors. 3. Workshop: “The impact of climate change on the railways: how to protect, adapt and mitigate”. 4. Terms of Reference and Rules of Procedure. 5. European Agreement on Main International Railway Lines. 6. The Permanent Identification of Railway Rolling Stock. 7. International Passenger Railway Hubs. 8. Euro-Asian Rail Transport. 9. Trans-European Railway Project. * For reasons of economy, delegates are requested to bring copies of all relevant documents to the session. Documentation will not be available in the conference room. Before the session, documents may be downloaded from the website https://unece.org/info/Transport/Rail-Transport/events/369040. On an exceptional basis, documents may also be obtained by email ([email protected]). ** Delegates are requested to register online at the following address: https://uncdb.unece.org/app/ext/meeting-registration?id=eUAHoK. Participation is possible both virtually and in-person. To take part in the session in-person, delegates are kindly requested to additionally register at https://indico.un.org/event/1000543/. Upon arrival at the Palais des Nations, delegates should obtain an identification badge at the UNOG Security and Safety Section, located at the Pregny Gate (14, Avenue de la Paix). In case of difficulty, please contact the secretariat by telephone (+41 22 917 2432) or by email ([email protected]). For a map of the Palais des Nations and other useful information, see website: https://www.unece.org/meetings/practical.html. ECE/TRANS/SC.2/237 10. Railway Financing and Public-Private Partnerships 11. Rail Security. 12. Innovation in Rail Transport. 13. Productivity in Rail Transport. 14. Climate Change and Rail Transport. 15. Railway Reform and Review. 16. Facilitation of International Rail Transport in the Pan-European Region: (a) Facilitation of Rail Border Crossings; (b) Harmonization of Technical Specifications on Different Railway Systems. 17. Rail Statistics. 18. Improving Safety in Rail Transport. 19. Activities of the Inland Transport Committee and its Subsidiary Bodies. 20. Activities of the European Commission in Rail Transport. 21. Activities of International Organizations in Rail Transport. 22. Other Business. 23. Date and Venue of the Next Session. 24. Adoption of Decisions. II. Annotations 1. Adoption of the Provisional Agenda The first item to be considered is the adoption of the draft agenda. Documentation ECE/TRANS/SC.2/237 2. Towards Unified Railway Law in the Pan-European Region and on Euro-Asian Transport Corridors The Working Party may wish to recall that at its seventy-fifth session, delegates discussed the conclusion of the mandate of the Group of Experts on Unified Railway Law. At this meeting, the Working Party agreed to further consultation within the framework of SC.2 and the Chair initiated a written consultation on this in May 2022. A summary of these consultations is included in document ECE/TRANS/SC.2/2022/3. Based on this, a special session of SC.2 was held on 7 September 2022 to discuss the outcomes of these written consultations. Document ECE/TRANS/SC.2/2022/3 also provides a summary of these discussions. The Working Party may wish to discuss this document further. Documentation ECE/TRANS/SC.2/2022/3 3. Workshop: “The impact of climate change on the railways: how to protect, adapt and mitigate” The Working Party may wish to consider the workshop on “The impact of climate change on the railways: how to protect, adapt and mitigate”. Recent extreme weather events have shown 2  ECE/TRANS/SC.2/237 how vulnerable transport infrastructure is to climate change. While causing significant disruption to the functioning of this infrastructure and services, these events have also put the travelling public at danger. The aim of this workshop is to discuss the impacts that these events are having on the railways. Participants will also be invited to share good practice in how to minimise disruption and reduce safety risks resulting from extreme weather, as well as identify technological developments and procedural innovations to mitigate the harmful effects on the railways. 4. Terms of Reference and Rules of Procedure The Working Party will be informed about the endorsement of the new Terms of Reference of the Inland Transport Committee (ITC) by The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on 16 February 2022 (E/RES/2022/2) and the subsequent entry into force of the ITC Rules of Procedure as contained in ECE/TRANS/294, annex III. The ITC has asked that Working Parties consider adopting their own Rules of Procedure to be in line with those of ITC. The Working Party may wish to discuss document ECE/TRANS/SC.2/2022/1 which sets out the proposed Rules of Procedure for the Working Party on Rail Transport, based on those of ITC, and document ECE/TRANS/SC.2/2022/2 which sets out the proposed, updated, Terms of Reference for the Working Party on Rail Transport to incorporate direct reference to the proposed Rules of Procedure. The Working Party may wish to consider adopting these documents. Documentation ECE/TRANS/SC.2/2022/1, ECE/TRANS/SC.2/2022/2, E/RES/2022/2 5. European Agreement on Main International Railway Lines The Working Party may wish to be informed by the secretariat about its activities to increase the number of contracting parties to the European Agreement on Main International Railway Lines (AGC). Detailed information on the AGC, including the up-to-date and consolidated text of the agreement (ECE/TRANS/63/Rev.4),1 a map of the AGC network, an inventory of compliance with AGC standards, information on the background, benefits and accession requirements for AGC (ECE/TRANS/SC.2/2020/2) and the relevant Depositary Notifications are available on the website of the Working Party. The Working Party may also wish to be informed about the notification of changes to the AGC agreed at previous session of the Working Party (ECE/TRANS/SC.2/2021/2) and notified to the depository in New York as well as potential new amendments. The Working Party will be updated on efforts being undertaken to update the joint AGC-AGTC online tool on technical parameters for operation on the E-Rail network. Documentation ECE/TRANS/63/Rev.4, C.N.61.2022.TREATIES-XI.C.3 6. The Permanent Identification of Railway Rolling Stock The Working Party may wish to be updated about the work of Group of Experts on the Permanent Identification of Railway Rolling Stock that concluded its mandate in 2022. In concluding its mandate, the Group produced document ECE/TRANS/SC.2/2022/4 that set out a summary of its activities, ECE/TRANS/SC.2/2022/5 containing the proposed Model Rules for the Permanent Identification of Railway Rolling Stock, ECE/TRANS/SC.2/2022/6 containing the Terms of Reference for the proposed Revisions Committee of the Model Rules, and ECE/TRANS/SC.2/2022/7 containing an initial, non-binding, Guidance Note for the implementation of the Model Rules. 1 www.unece.org/trans/main/sc2/sc2_AGC_text.html. 3 ECE/TRANS/SC.2/237 The Working Party may wish to review these documents and consider whether to adopt them as a key pillar in the implementation of the ITC Strategy to 2030. Documentation ECE/TRANS/SC.2/2022/4, ECE/TRANS/SC.2/2022/5, ECE/TRANS/SC.2/2022/6, ECE/TRANS/SC.2/2022/7, ECE/TRANS/SC.2/PIRRS/2022/7 7. International Passenger Railway Hubs The Working Party may wish to be updated on developments in 2022 related to the activities of the Group of Experts on International Passenger Railway Hubs as set out in document ECE/TRANS/SC.2/2022/8. Documentation ECE/TRANS/SC.2/2022/8 8. Euro-Asian Rail Transport The Working Party may wish to recall that at its seventy-third session a workshop was held on: “Making rail freight more competitive and the coordinated development of the rail network with a focus on how to work together at the government and sectoral levels on EATL”. Following the seventy-third session, a summary publication was prepared by the secretariat and is available on the Working Party’s webpage. The Working Party may wish to be informed about and discuss new developments on Euro- Asian rail transport corridors, its involvement in developing the Euro-Asian Transport Links (EATL) project, including the results of the recent meetings on EATL and the completion of the “Sustainable Inland Transport Connectivity Indicators”. Following the decision of the Working Party at its seventy-second session, the Working Party may wish to be informed about developments in the Eurasian Rail Alliance Index (ERAI). Documentation Publication: “Making rail freight more competitive: The coordinated development of the rail network with a focus on how to work together at the government and sectoral levels on EATL” 9. Trans-European Railway Project The Working Party will be informed by the project manager of the Trans-European Railway (TER) project about the activities of 2022: the concrete results, the plan for subsequent years and the efforts to increase the number of participating countries. The Working Party may wish to review the results and consider how to further support and contribute to the TER project. Documentation ECE/TRANS/WP.5/2022/9 10. Railway Financing and Public-Private Partnerships The Working Party may wish to be informed about developments in the ECE Guiding Principles for People-First Public-Private Partnerships for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as well as the role of public-private partnership projects being undertaken in the rail sector. The Working Party may also wish to be informed about the development of public-private partnerships in railways that are financed by international financing institutions. 4  ECE/TRANS/SC.2/237 11. Rail Security The Working Party may wish to be informed about developments in rail security, including updates on the Rail Security Observatory and the ongoing collaboration with the International Union of Railways (UIC) on security matters. 12. Innovation in Rail Transport In line with the ECE road map for promoting the use of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) that contains 20 global actions for 2012–2020 (“Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) for sustainable mobility”, 2012). The Working Party continues work in this area. The Working Party may wish to recall that it agreed to the creation of a rail innovation observatory aimed at sharing with member States best practice innovations that could further help develop the competitiveness of the railways. The aim would also be to assist in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and work towards the achievement of the technology pillar of the ITC strategy. The Working Party may wish to be updated on the creation of the observatory. 13. Productivity in Rail Transport The Working Party may wish to recall that, at its last session, it discussed the results of the data gathering process as set out in document ECE/TRANS/SC.2/2021/4. The Working Party may wish to discuss the data gathering process for 2023 based on desktop information available at UIC and ECE. Documentation ECE/TRANS/SC.2/2021/4 14. Climate Change and Rail Transport The Working Party will be updated on the work of the Group of Experts on Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation for Transport Networks and Nodes, on climate change mitigation and the For Future Inland Transport Systems tool and on green logistics, eco-scoring and related matters. 15. Railway Reform and Review The Working Party may wish to be informed about the developments on railway reform and developments in the sector, building on the workshop held at the seventy-first session of the Working Party. 16. Facilitation of International Rail Transport in the Pan-European Region (a) Facilitation of Rail Border Crossings The Working Party may wish to be informed about developments in annex 9 to the “Harmonization Convention” on facilitating rail border crossings in the pan-European region. The Working Party may also wish to discuss the results of the survey developed by the secretariats of SC.2 and of the Working Party on Customs Questions affecting Transport (WP.30) on annex 9 (ECE/TRANS/SC.2/2022/10). Member States may also wish to share best practices in implementing the Harmonization Convention at the session. 5 ECE/TRANS/SC.2/237 (b) Harmonization of Technical Specifications on Different Railway Systems The Working Party may wish to be informed by the Organization for Cooperation between Railways (OSJD) and/or the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) about improvements in the 1,435 mm and the 1,520 mm broad gauge railway systems, and about the results of the work of the OSJD/ERA Working Group on Interoperability. Documentation ECE/TRANS/SC.2/2022/10 17. Rail Statistics The Working Party may wish to be informed about the ongoing work in rail statistics and its relevance to the Working Party, in particular, about the work of the Working Party on Transport Statistics (WP.6). 18. Improving Safety in Rail Transport The Working Party may wish to recall that at its seventy-second session, it had decided to widen the scope to safety at level crossings to cover all relevant areas of rail safety. The Working Party may wish to be informed about developments in this area. In line with discussions at the seventy-third session of SC.2, the Working Party may also wish to discuss developments related to the Code of Practice on the Packing of Cargo Transport Units administered by the Working Party on Intermodal Transport and Logistics. 19. Activities of the Inland Transport Committee and its Subsidiary Bodies The Working Party will be informed about activities of ITC, its Bureau, subsidiary bodies and other United Nations organizations on matters of interest to the Working Party. In particular, the Working Party will be informed about the request of the Chair of ITC to Working Parties on: the Adoption of the Terms of Reference of ITC (discussed in agenda item 4), the implementation of the ITC strategy, inputs into the Road Safety Action Plan, aspects related to intelligent transport systems (discussed under agenda item 12), and accelerating climate change mitigation efforts (discussed under agenda item 14). Document ECE/TRANS/SC.2/2022/11 sets out the suggested contribution from SC.2 on these points for adoption by the Working Party. The Working Party will also be informed about the new Inland Transport and Trade Connectivity eLearning Platform – LearnITC. Documentation ECE/TRANS/SC.2/2022/11 20. Activities of the European Commission in Rail Transport In line with standard practice, the Working Party may wish to be informed about recent activities and plans for the future work of the European Commission (DG Move) in rail transport. 21. Activities of International Organizations in Rail Transport The Working Party may wish to be informed about recent activities and plans for the future work of other international organizations and stakeholders in the field of rail transport. 6  ECE/TRANS/SC.2/237 22. Other Business The Working Party may wish to discuss other business. 23. Date and Venue of the Next Session The next session of the Working Party is tentatively scheduled to be held from 15 to 17 November 2023 in Geneva. 24. Adoption of Decisions In accordance with the decision of the Working Party (ECE/TRANS/SC.2/190, paragraph 6) and established practice, the Chair will briefly summarize the decisions at the end of the session. Following the session, the secretary, in cooperation with the Chair and Vice-Chair, will draft a report on the outcome of the session for transmission to ITC. III. Tentative Timetable Wednesday, 16 November 3-6 p.m. Items 1 and 2 Thursday, 17 November 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Items 3 3-6 p.m. Items 4-9 Friday, 18 November 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Items 10-18 3-6 p.m. Items 19-24 7