On 17 October 2007, for the first time, the European Railway Award was presented. At a festive ceremony in the Brussels Bibliothèque Solvay with more than 150 guests, CER and UNIFE, representing Europe’s railway sector, paid tribute to the achievements of two outstanding personalities who significantly contributed to the promotion of European rail transport.

More than 150 guests attended a moving event, which was preceded by a en exclusive honorary lunch with the two laureates and CEOs of CER and UNIFE member companies.

Two awards were presented at the ceremony; one for technical achievements in European railways, the other for political vision and progress in the legal framework. The award for technical achievements was presented to Jean Dupuy – the man responsible for the development and rollout of the very first French TGV. The second award was presented to former EU Commissioner for Transport, Karel Van Miert. He is best known for laying down the foundations for the creation of an integrated European railway market.

After the opening speech by André Navarri, UNIFE Chairman and President of Bombardier Transportation, Anne-Marie Idrac, CER Vice-Chairwoman and CEO of SNCF handed over the award to Jean Dupuy. In her speech, she praised him for being the personification of the high speed train TGV: “All through the development phase and in your different positions in SNCF, you managed the high speed train project with utmost precision, persistence and will,” she said. “In the middle of the 1960s, at a moment when priority was being given to road and air transport projects, you succeeded in convincing people that there was room to develop passenger rail transport.”

Jean Dupuy accepted the award not only in his name but in the name of all the engineers, technicians, employees who worked in close cooperation with him to achieve the objectives pursued. He concluded by presenting his dream: following the airline industry, the railway undertakings and railway industry would cooperate in order to build a joint European train, the “railbus”.

European Commission Vice-President Jacques Barrot held a very personal laudation to Karel Van Miert. Vice-President Barrot underlined the importance of the recommendations for priority projects of the Van Miert group in 2003 that have helped lead to the current EU policy on sustainable transport. “Public bodies need to meet their responsibilities, and with the support of the European corridor coordinators engage in those projects which are crucial for sustainable development in Europe,” Mr Barrot said. He congratulated his predecessor for his perseverance in supporting, as EU corridor coordinator, the important European Berlin – Palermo axis, and the Brenner tunnel.

Karel Van Miert accepted the trophy by agreeing with Jean Dupuis that people should have a dream to chase. He reminded the audience that the corridor dream also had many obstacles to overcome but now is a generally accepted concept.

In summing-up, Aad Veenman, CER Chairman mentioned the role of the European Commission in putting rail high on the EU’s political and economic agenda and thanked Commission Vice-President Barrot for his attendance. Mr Veenman concluded that the awards given out today were there to highlight and draw attention to the achievements of two individuals. “The modern world, and even the railway world, is made by man,” he said, adding, “People, both good engineers, good politicians but certainly also good train drivers, conductors, maintenance staff, station service staff, and so many more, are making the railways what they are.”