RZD and UNIFE sign MoU on the International Railway Industry Standard (IRIS)

At the occasion of the 2015 EXPO 1520, held in Moscow, UNIFE, the European Rail Industry Association, represented by UNIFE Director-General Philippe Citroën, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with RZD (Russian Railways), represented by Valentin Gapanovich, Senior Vice-President, RZD, for cooperation in the areas of technical documentation exchange, best practices, and the promotion of a strong culture of quality in the rail sector through the International Railway Industry Standard (IRIS).
The main activities foreseen for UNIFE and RZD in this MoU include: the establishment of a regular dialogue within the existing UNIFE/IRIS committees and the development and dissemination of the IRIS scheme in Russia and CIS. The overall goal of the activities outlined in the MoU signed today is to reinforce a favourable context for the development of the rail sector worldwide and especially in Russia and the CIS.
At present, there are over 90 Russian companies that are IRIS certified, making it one of the largest IRIS certified markets in the world, which is largely a result of the past close cooperation between IRIS and RZD/NP-UIRE.
“UNIFE is pleased to once again renew our commitment to cooperation with RZD and NP-UIRE for the betterment of the rail sector in Russia and CIS as well as throughout the world. We have seen many significant accomplishments, especially on IRIS, that have come out of this relationship over the past eight years and we look forward to further productive collaboration in the years to come”, Philippe Citroën, Director-General of UNIFE said.
„At present Russian Railways launched a pilot project for certification on the IRIS standard requirements of its structural units in the maintenance of high-speed motor-wagon rolling stock and repair of freight cars. With the announcement of the new scope of certification “Infrastructure” we expect further development of our enterprises and a significant improvement in product quality”, Valentin Gapanovich, Senior Vice-President of RZD said.