Regional coordination the objective SPOORNET chief executive Siyabonga Gama has been elected president of the Union of African Railways (UAR), a railway grouping representing member states within the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Gama will hold office for two years. The Union’s objective is to seek the standardisation, expansion, coordination and improvement of railway services of the UAR members with a view to linking them to each other and to other means of transportation connecting the Africa region to the world. It also aims to establish and maintain relationships with other transport bodies related to the coordination and development of the activities of the members of the Union. The UAR is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). “The Union is a specialised agency of the AU, responsible for railway development in Africa. My focus will be on the implementation of the Brazzaville Declaration, which was adopted at the first conference of African ministers responsible for railway transport held in Brazzaville earlier this year.