European Federation of Railway Trackworks Contractors (EFRTC) includes a series of associations and federations comprising the companies and specialists which deal with the railway infrastructure sector. Thus, the European Federation sustains the promotion of European market liberalisation and harmonisation for the purpose of facilitating the construction, the modernisation and the maintenance of the railway infrastructure by the efficient and competitive private sector contractors to the satisfaction of their customers.
EFRTC represents and supports the interests of its members in their relationship with the European Commission, governments and public institutions, the infrastructure managers, railway operators and their representative associations such as the UIC, the EIM and the CER. An important aspect consists in the participation of the European Federation in the elaboration of standards applicable to its specialisation, infrastructure, at the same time complying with criteria for interoperability. The promotion of the technical innovation and the improvements in terms of safety, quality, competency and environment, represent other interests of EFRTC.
The President of the European Federation of Railway Trackworks Contractors, Joseph Urlings, participant in the discussions held during the Railway Days Summit 2011 presented the opinion of the Federation and its members regarding the utility of planning execution works, financing and long-term works contracting.
Therefore, the three points of view would allow contractors to size their capacity and resources on the basis of long-term, output-oriented contracts with clearly formulated targets, definition of responsibilities, identification and fair attribution of risks and provision of incentives for innovation.
Contractors could avoid over-resourcing the fleet of heavy and costly machi-nery due to peak demands and significant variation in track possessions.
Moreover, contractors could thus optimise planning and work processes (track possessions, worksite logistics, supply of materials, utilisation of machinery and skilled workforce) through improvements in the interfaces with infrastructure managers.
Among the most important targets of the European Federation of Contractors, we can mention the mutual acknowledgment of track machines, staff and works because they still are a key obstacle in terms of carrying on market liberalisation continuation.
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