Opening address

I very much appreciate the opportunity to address you. As I am sure we are all only too well aware, railways are coming under increasing pressure to produce more for less, and do it better, in the face of constantly growing competition from other modes. This is true in the EC, where the coming of Europe 1993 and the recent European Commission order on railway organization and competition will combine to bring about a real revolution in freight competition in an expanding Europe. It is also true in the economies in transition in Central and Eastern Europe where the railway's traffic has traditionally been enshrined within the 'plan7 and not really available to competitors. It holds equally for all of the developing world where governments are looking to a market-based economy for economic growth — and the foundation of a market economy is stiff, unrelenting competition in all sectors. While it is customary in the USA, at least, to begin speeches with a point of levity, I am not going to do that here: I want to underscore the seriousness of the challenge and the need for an effective and timely response from the railway community.