International Integration: the example of Eurostar

1. International Integration: the example of Eurostar Presented by:Henri DELEMME Date:14-09-2004

2. Why is International Railway Operations (and particularly Eurostar ) so complex ? • For : • technical reasons ( different signalling systems, power supply, speed control…) • Cultural reasons ( UK has an « insular » culture ) • Political reasons ( private - public sector ) • Regulation reasons ( 7 different sets of rules for Eurostar ) • Security constraints ( immigration, terrorism ) • Fire fighting obligations ( specific to Channel Tunnel )

3. Security Fire in Tunnel Historical knowledge Special « security » zones in Terminals  specific organisation for any new relation A Eurostar can be banned from Tunnel ( passengers detrained ) but can run 300 kmh back to Paris SNCF and SNCB have run international trains for 150 years For Eurostar, it is even more complex

4. Questions to be solved • training ( new technique, new rules ) • Validation of documents • Certification and refresher training • Language abilities • Share of workload between partner companies • Technical documentation ( safety advice, time table, specificities of the line ) • Dealing with operationnal safety incidents ( SPAD…) • Dealing with staff accidents abroad • Safety management • Decision making organisation • Distribution, marketing, sales harmonisation

5. Eurostar’s answers to these problems • make the rules as simple as possible • Avoid too much knowledge ( languages, sets of rules ) • Cascade training and certification • Create international structures ( CPO, Maintenance, OWG…) • Put in place a unique Control Centre • Share the safety information ( audits, feed-back…) • Create common documents ( fiches-trains, FLASH…) • Limited ambition in language ( forms…) • Monitor the work repartition and robustness • Centralise commercial decisions ( Eurostar only ) • WORK TOGETHER : ONE TEAM, ONE GOAL

6. An Example of Cooperation :dealing with operationnal incidents • a unique Control Centre ( CO Eurostar in Lille ) • Safety messages remain between crews and Infrastructure controllers • Technical assistance provided everywhere • COE manage the incidents through the companies’control centres • 3 levels of decision everywhere • One final decision maker ( Eurostar ) • But 3 actors ( EUKL, SNCF, SNCB )

7. Dealing with Incidents ( flow chart )Example of an incident on Paris route

8. Eurostar : more and more integration • 1994 : cooperation is enough ( but protocoles progressively make the system slower and inefficient ) • 1999 : creation of EGL for • - commercial harmonisation • - operationnal coordination ( COE ) • 2004 : further step towards real integration • - EUKL and EGL merge • - creation of one unique Board • - integration of Operations and RS Departments

9. There is still progress to make • National interpretations of European directives are too different • Historical companies ( SNCF, SNCB, DBAG…) interests are often different from those of International Activities • TOCs work together in a world of independant and non cooperating Infrastructure Owners • Eurostar has now full power in the UK, but there is no real incentive on the continent : contracts are missing with SNCF and SNCB

10. International Railways need Integration • No-one can be sure to be the best, everyone has his own good reasons, his own culture • Good will, mutual understanding and cooperation is a good start • But to beat competitors ( airlines, road transport companies…) we need to provide ourselves with organisations which are as integrated as theirs