Unife

Who we are

Unife and its 23 staff represent the interests of 80 leading large and medium-sized companies in the rail sector. A further 1,000 suppliers of railway equipment partake in Unife’s activities through 17 national rail industry associations. Unife members have an 80% market share in Europe and supply almost 50% of the worldwide production of rail equipment and services.

All segments of the rail supply industry are represented in the Unife membership: system integrators, railway infrastructure supply companies, rolling stock as well as subsystem and signalling suppliers join under the umbrella of Unife to collaborate on common challenges and issues facing the rail supply industry. Our members are committed to providing the best technology to meet the challenges of growing transport volumes and the demand for sustainable and environmentally friendly transport.

Unife works on interoperability standards and coordinates EU funded research projects that drive towards the technical harmonisation of railway systems. To this end, Unife is one of the supporting bodies of the European Railway Agency. Furthermore, Unife has established itself as a trusted partner of the European Institutions in all matters related to rail and transport.

Mission & Objectives

Unife’s purpose is to represent its members’ interests at international and EU level. The mission of the association is to proactively foster an environment where its members can provide competitive railway systems for the growing demand for rail transport.

History

Unife, The Association of the European Rail Industry, was formerly comprised of three different associations: AICMR (Association Internationale des Constructeurs de Matérial Roulant), AFEDEF (Association des Fabricants Européens d’Equipements Ferroviaires), CELTE (Constructeurs Européens des Locomotives Thermiques et Electriques), all of which were based in France.

With the creation of the single market in 1993, the urgent need to focus on European transport matters arose. Hence, in 1991, the three associations were merged to form Unife.

In 1992, Unife moved to Brussels. Today it directly represents European companies responsible for the design, manufacture, maintenance and refurbishment of rail transport systems, subsystems and related equipment. Membership is extended to associated members, which are primarily national railway industry associations in EU Member States.

• 29/04 European rail sector applauds full adoption of Fourth Railway Package Technical Pillar
• 18/06 Unife general assembly 2015 held in Bucharest, Romania