UIC organised its first-ever Passenger Week from 13 to 16 April 2026, bringing together over 200 participants from 35 countries and 93 companies. This inaugural edition confirmed both the strong collective commitment to improving the passenger journey across modes and borders, and, crucially, revealed Passenger Week as a new space for dialogue and sharing between the different actors of the mobility ecosystem: railways, public transport stakeholders, technology and distribution partners, stations, public authorities, and passenger representatives. With the support of four sponsors and four media partners, the week demonstrated how UIC members and partners are turning shared discussions into practical, interoperable solutions, with a particular emphasis on multimodality ticketing.
The week opened with dedicated sessions for UIC working group experts, offering a collaborative setting to progress technical work and advance ongoing projects within the UIC Passenger ecosystem.
This expert-focused start ensured that discussions across the rest of the week could build on concrete deliverables, shared methods and operational realities.
The highlight of the week was the Open Day, designed to be accessible to a broad range of stakeholders. The morning focused on multimodality ticketing, blending forward-looking insights with hands-on examples. Participants explored key market trends and lessons learned, and UIC presented the Open MultiModal Toolkit (OMMT) as a practical enabler for integrated mobility services. A series of real-world use cases illustrated how interoperability is being implemented in practice, including both national approaches to distribution and regional solutions, such as interoperable barcodes, as well as concrete pathways taken by organisations in Belgium and Germany. The discussion also covered cross-sector integration, focusing on Air+Rail cooperation and providing an airline perspective on how rail can be embedded into wider travel chains.
In the afternoon, the Open Day continued with a high-level conference that brought rail and public transport leaders together around a shared ambition: Together for global excellence, shaping passenger mobility services. Keynotes and roundtables helped frame current needs and expectations, including contributions from UITP and passenger representatives. Several sessions then focused on the voice of passengers and how customer experience is influencing choices in service design, information, comfort and reliability. Quality of service and standardisation were also discussed through concrete examples, including innovation initiatives at major stations and widely adopted smart ticketing solutions, complemented by perspectives from European and international stakeholders. Further exchanges highlighted the respective roles of operators, station actors and public bodies in delivering sustainable mobility, before a final, forward-looking session, dedicated to innovative passenger solutions developed through UIC collaboration, featured contributions from rail companies, technology partners and industry experts. The day closed with networking opportunities during the gala cocktail, extending discussions beyond the sessions and supporting new project connections.
The final two days were reserved for the Passenger Services Group (PSG) and the Global Passenger Forum (GPF), two key strategic and governance meetings for UIC passenger activities, ensuring continuity between the technical advances showcased earlier in the week and the longer-term direction of UIC’s passenger agenda.
Across the week, customer experience and accessibility remained central priorities. The work of the PASSAGE group highlighted progress on accessibility, staff skills and more inclusive services in a multimodal environment, including its International Railway Solution on assistance services for passengers with reduced mobility, reflecting a shared ambition across UIC and UITP to ensure public transport is inclusive and designed around passenger needs.
Knowledge exchange for everyday mobility was also strengthened through the Commuter and Regional Train Services (CRTS) initiative. Following the success of the previous edition in Paris (2025), UIC announced that the 9th CRTS Training would take place in Barcelona in October 2026, and that the first regional edition would be held in Johannesburg (UIC Africa region) in May 2026.
Passenger Week also showcased how rail can deliver inspiring travel experiences through Rail Tourism, notably via the TopRail initiative and the Tourism-Friendly Awards, which recognise innovative projects across rolling stock, onboard services, scenic lines, stations and rail tourism initiatives, highlighting sustainability and high-quality passenger experiences.
Railway stations were presented as increasingly strategic interfaces for sustainable urban mobility, through the work of the Stations Managers Global Group (SMGG). UIC also shared the results of the Brunel Awards 2025, celebrating outstanding achievements in railway architecture, engineering and design.
Finally, high-speed rail remained a major focus, with discussions addressing global developments, research and standards, cooperation platforms such as the UIC World Congress on High-Speed Rail, and the need to expand skills and training to support growth. Participants also explored how to scale high-speed systems responsibly, including through new markets and evolving financing approaches in support of the mobility transition.
A dedicated exhibition showcased the passenger mobility achievements delivered by UIC in 2025 and 2026. The exhibition placed a particularly strong emphasis on the work of the Stations Managers Global Group (SMGG), which presented the results of the prestigious Brunel Awards 2025, recognising outstanding achievements in railway architecture, engineering and design. This year’s edition received 117 submissions from 23 companies across 12 countries and three continents, reflecting a global commitment to advancing rail design. The competition featured four main categories: Stations; Rolling stock (passenger and freight); Industrial product & graphic design; and Technical infrastructure & environment.
Alongside this flagship focus, the exhibition also highlighted UIC projects across customer experience and accessibility, rail tourism, CRTS, intercity and high-speed rail, as well as ticketing and passenger services, with particular attention paid to key deliverables such as OSDM, OMMT and MERITS.
UIC would like to warmly thank the 300 experts from its 28 active working groups for their outstanding cooperative work, which continues to demonstrate the strength of international collaboration in addressing global mobility challenges.
UIC also extends sincere thanks to the event sponsors EY, Hit Rail, Wiremind and Distribusion, as well as to the media partners IRJ, Railway Pro, Ferpress and Via Libre, for their support and contribution to the success and
