In the last five years, electronic commerce between the rail enterprises and the clients has known a major evolution, as much as it is about the promotion of their image, and marketing strategies.
Practically, most of the rail enterprises around the world hold today a site on Internet where there are offered to their clients and, generally, to everyone that "navigates" on Internet a wide range of services, among which we can mention travel tickets reservation and their secured payment on line. Some of them use successfully this new distribution channel in order to extend their market by offering to the clients a number of services associated to the train travel, among which renting a car, hotel reservation, tourism and so on. In freight transport sector, the services offered include various information, starting with the type of freight that can be transported, up to the place on net in real time of a wagon or a container, so that the client can be informed in every moment about the place and the state of his freight.
In the last two-three years, major sectors of the economy have already experienced, in many situations, new type of relations between the buyers and suppliers due to the last technologies offered by Internet.
Through these technologies there occur more and more possibilities for the extension of the rail transport market and for the development, in this field, of the cooperation between the enterprises and railway administrations on world plan, especially through UIC.
International Railway Union created its own Internet Club starting with October 1997. The objective of this club, managed presently by Pierrre Monneret (SNCF- France) and Mohamed Bhanji (VIA Rail- Canada), is to create a place where its members to share their experiences related to the Internet and, with other I-NET associated technologies Intranet, mail box, GroupWare, electronic commerce and so on.
A forum is organized annually under the aegis of UIC Internet Club offering an additional occasion to enhance various collaborations. Thus, this year the forum will be organized in collaboration with UNIFE (European Railway Industry Union), whose members achieve 60% from the world production of railway equipment. This new way of cooperation between the rail enterprises and industry is stipulated to be very profitable.
The previous four editions of the annual forum were a big success. For example, the conference from 2000 reunited more than 160 participants, representing 58 companies (among which 44 are rail enterprises) from 27 countries, also from five continents. For the first time, this forum has been hosted by partner companies of the rail enterprises, namely Sabre, TLC, Innovata, Szsrail, which could present their technologies and products to the entire group of the delegates attending the meeting.
The fifth edition of the forum will take place between 11-12 October, current year. Developed on two days, the reunion will include four types of actions. The first day will be dedicated to the plenary conferences held by the guests who are UIC members, and will present the existing situation in Europe and world wide regarding the key-elements of data technology architecture, types of generalized and vertical markets, American experience within the rail markets on Internet, adopted strategies at European level (also including a synthesis of the studies already achieved by the working group UNIFE Electronic Commerce) and many others.
The second day will be reserved to the conferences that will enhance experiece exchange between therepresentatives of the rail enterprises from all the fields (passengers, freight, sells or infrastructure administrators).
UIC responsible representative will also present the last results of the data technology international projects with respect to the utilization of Internet (Electronic Commerce Project, XML Utilization Strategy, etc.) and the activity reports of the working group within Internet Club.
Internet Club forum from this year will also include a new show room, which will allow to the administrations, UIC members, to present a selection of its own Interner/Intranet applications, as well as an exhibition where the companies that will lead the action will expose their own products.
On behalf of CFR-SA representatives from the Data Technology Center attended the forum every year and, as we have already found it out, and this year a Romanian specialist will be presented in October at the UIC Internet Club, fact that certifies CFR interest to become an active member to all actions organized by International Railway Union.

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