Brussels, 01/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - The railways and airports have told the European transport commissioner, Siim Kallas, that they are prepared to work together in the event of any major disturbances. In a joint letter dated 31 January, the Community of European Railways (CER) and the Airports Council International (ACI Europe) filled the commissioner in on the practices recommended to establish effective cooperation between railway stations and airports, in the event of a sudden crisis in the transport sector.
The two associations state that airports and railway operators should exchange the contact details of officers responsible for crisis management, so that they can be in touch if needed. If it is possible to predict a disturbance to traffic, the rail control unit, which has decision-making powers, should be alerted at least one day ahead of time, or as soon as possible. The airports should be as specific as possible in the information they give the railways in the event of crisis: the number of passengers and their destinations. The airports should also make as much information as possible available to the passengers regarding their railway transport alternatives: the closest railway station, how to reach it, as well as train timetables and information service contact details. As for the railway services, they should notify the point of contact with responsibility for crisis management at airport level of possibilities in terms of numbers of trains, buses and available seats. It would also be the duty of the railways to alert passengers in railway stations close to airports in the event of any disturbances, and to suggest checking that their flights have not been cancelled, in order to prevent large numbers of passengers turning up at the airports needlessly. Lastly, the two associations take the view that crisis simulations should be held locally to test cooperation between the two modes of transport. These recommendations make excellent sense, as Kallas pointed out on his Twitter feed. (MD/transl.fl)