OREANDA-NEWS. July 05, 2013. Vladimir Yakunin, President of Russian Railways and Chairman of the International Union of Railways (UIC), and Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, Director General, International Union of Railways, have signed an agreement to organise and hold the "Next Station" UIC International Conference on railway stations. The agreement was signed at the UIC's 82nd session of its General Assembly in the French capital Paris.

The main theme of the conference "Next Station" in 2013 will be "Linking Railways and Society".

Participants will discuss the most important strategic issues affecting the global outlook for the functioning of railway station complexes in the post-crisis economy, environmentally friendly construction, the formation of the cultural environment and attracting investment to develop railway station complexes.

Having a single platform for communications on managing stations and developing transport and transfer complexes is especially important in the current era when high-speed services are already under development, thus significantly reducing passenger travel time while simultaneously increasing the level of transport accessibility for passengers in different countries.

Modern railway stations must also meet passenger requirements in terms of comfort and functionality. Also becoming important at the moment is the standardisation of railway station services around the world.

The "Next Station" conference will be held in the building of Kazan railway station in Moscow on 17-18 October 2013.

Additional information about the conference can be found at www.nextstation2013.com.