At the High Speed Congress in Philadelphia, Marcel Verslype Executive Director of the European Railway Agency and Joseph Szabo, the Administrator the US Federal Railroad Administration signed a Memorandum of Cooperation envisaging an ongoing and increasing exchange between the two organisations of their knowledge and experience of railway technical and safety management.

Marcel Verslype, Executive Director of ERA said “with the success of high speed in Europe and rail freight in America the FRA and ERA have complementary skills, knowledge and experience. Furthermore we both face the same challenge of defining specifications for the safe and interoperable operation of high speed, regional,  suburban and freight trains each managed by separate entities all sharing parts of the same network and procuring from the same suppliers. I see this as a small, but significant, first step in the development of a world rail market”