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Board of
Directors
Honorary chairwoman:
Michčle MERGER, historian, researcher at the National Scientific
Research Center (France)
President: Henry JACOLIN, retired diplomat (France)
Vice-president: Paul VERON, Communication director at the
Union Internationale des chemins de fer (France)
Vice-president: Javier VIDAL OLIVARES Professor of
Economic History at the University of Alicante (Spain)
General Secretary: Dr. Ralf ROTH, historian, Professor at
the University of Francfort sur le Main (Germany)
Treasurer: Andrea GIUNTINI, Professor of Economic History
at the University of Modena e Reggio Emilia (Italy)
Manifest
Fundacional
2004 marks the two-hundredth anniversary of the production by
Trevithick of the first steam locomotive capable of hauling a
train. That first train carried 70 passengers and 10 tonnes of
iron over 15 kilometres. For two centuries, rail has been one of
driving forces behind modernisation and has played a major part in
shaping the world we live in today. Guided rail transport (metro,
tram, light rail systems) now represents the future for our large
cities and high speed rail is helping to integrate Europe.
And yet we are faced with the risk of losing all trace of the
history of rail transport, details of its networks and information
on the men and women who build, run and use them, as well as the
activities and lifestyles they spawned. In doing so, we would also
lose one of the cornerstones of our society.
With the advent of new players in the rail sector and the public's
ever increasing interest in rail's development, there is an urgent
need for international coordination to:
* collate, preserve and showcase information on the history of
rail transport networks and rolling stock at urban, industrial,
regional, national or international level,
* provide the resources for historical research to compare the
developments across nations, thus constituting a basis for
discussions today.
Firm in their belief that rail transport and its history have a
vital contribution to make towards sustainable development, the
signatories to this appeal invite you to help set up an
International Association for Railway History and Heritage. The
Association would be a non-profit organisation remitted primarily
to:
* network between all legal or natural persons with a professional
interest in preserving the archives and historical and cultural
legacy of the rail sector and pooling information and experiences
of general interest,
* record the history of railway companies, as well as the social
and cultural chronicles of rail workers and passengers, and
prepare and implement joint research projects on all aspects of
rail transport history, primarily though comparisons across
countries,
* disseminate research findings widely and make them available to
all interested members of the public,
* take steps to safeguard rail's historical and cultural legacy,
corporate archives first and foremost, notably by creating a
network of historical custodians and fostering the setting up of
new institutions to preserve rail's history.
The International Association for Railway History and Heritage
will seek sponsorship from the European Union, draw on the rail
sector's economic stakeholders and work in harness with
international cultural institutions.
It will bring together companies, cultural institutions and
third-level educational and research institutes irrespective of
their legal status, as well as natural persons of all
nationalities with a professional interest in rail transport
history and in protecting and enriching railway archives and the
sector's historical and cultural heritage.
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