RWG Chairman Howard Rosen, meets EU Commission Vice President Jacques Barrot EURailFreight Conference on 30th January 2007

He thanked Mr. Barrot for the support from the Transport Directorate for the Rail Protocol.

The RWG continue to work closely with both the European Railway Agency (ERA) and DG Tren to ensure that the Rail Protocol is drafted in a practical form but also compatible with resent EU initiatives. In a separate meeting Mr. Rosen met senior officials from the ERA to ensure that the new numbering system being introduced under the latest EU Rail package will be consistent with the UNIDROIT Rail Protocol.

RWG Chairman speaks in Lomé

On November 17th, RWG Chairman, Howard Rosen, spoke to a special colloquium in Lomé (Togo) sponsored by the Governments of Togo and Luxembourg, UNIDROIT and Africarail. A key focus of the event was the proposed rail protocol to the Cape Town Convention and how it would be a vital support for development of the rail sector in Africa. Delegates passed a resolution urging African governments to participate in the diplomatic conference in Luxembourg next February and to support the development and adoption of the rail protocol.

Africarail is a four country (Togo, Benin, Niger and Burkino Faso) tasked with building key new rail infrastructure linking the four countries. The Colloquium was opened by the Togolese Minister for Mines and featured various prominent speakers from Europe and Africa, including Professor Kronke, the Secretary General of UNIDROIT and Jean-Pierre Lehmann, Legal Director of the UIC.

Detailed report in English

RWG Chairman speaks to International Transport Finance Conference at Mannheim University

The next RWG meeting takes place in London on 23rd November. If you represent a member of the RWG and have not received an invitation and agenda, please contact patricia.spring@legalease.ch