Peter Šišolák has been involved with RNE since 2009, joining the team in 2019. He currently serves as RNE’s Head of Traffic Management.

Peter began his railway career at a cross-border station in Slovakia as an operational employee and quickly worked his way up. Among his responsibilities, he ensured operational capabilities for IMs and RUs and contributed to the implementation of European legislation into national and company rules. He later advanced to the position of Director of the Strategy Department, working closely with ministries, national safety authorities, and regulatory bodies. He also represented ŽSR in international railway organisations.

RNE: Peter, which business area are you responsible for within RNE?

Peter Šišolák: Within RNE, I lead the Traffic Management team, which incorporates traffic management and train performance activities. With my team, we oversee several initiatives such as the European Traffic Management Network (ETMN) concept, Language and Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) programs, and train performance initiatives focused on data quality and performance indicators. As you can see, RNE addresses various aspects of members’ daily tasks and aims to support them by providing a platform for projects, procedure harmonisation, and best practice exchange in traffic and performance management.

RNE: How do you see the development of RNE?

Peter Šišolák: RNE has been making significant progress year by year, reaching several important milestones during its presence in the railway sector. The organisation has evolved from a small team into a company with more than 70 employees.

This growth has brought a new dimension of activities reflecting the capacity planning and operational needs of infrastructure managers. RNE’s ability to foster harmonisation in its members’ processes and roles underscores its importance.

Additionally, implementing planning and operational processes through the development of common IT tools significantly enhances cooperation among infrastructure managers and their interaction with other sector stakeholders. RNE provides continuous application support for sector activities, reflecting the latest development and strategies.

RNE: Would you like to share any anecdotes from your work with RNE?

Peter Šišolák: I like to remember a situation during the development of the language tool. I cannot forget the enthusiasm of the project team, which included representatives from RNE, UIC, RFI and ÖBB. It was a fantastic team!

Our goal in the project was to develop and test a language tool for IM-RU communication when the signaller and train driver speak different languages.

At the beginning of the project, we were expecting the trickiest issue would be the speech recognition and translation, so we focused on that aspect of the tool. After overcoming several obstacles, we reached the prototype testing phase. When we connected the tool to the GSM-R system for the first time, we realised that the signal strength was very weak. This led to testing how to amplify the signal. We tried several amplifiers, beginning with one used for electric guitars. The real test became crucial for the project. We eventually developed an amplifier that looked like an octopus with a tangle of cables. This “little animal” had countless ways to connect to the circuit, and each time we changed the configuration, we seemed to get it wrong.

However, through teamwork, we managed to set it up correctly. The tool was tested and received very positive feedback from both IM and RU operational staff, which was our greatest satisfaction.

RNE: If you could make a wish for RNE’s future, what would it be?

Peter Šišolák: I wish for RNE to maintain its consistency in all activities, continuing to support members in their daily operations and helping them to improve efficiency in achieving their strategic goals.

Additionally, I hope RNE will be successful in its possible new role as Network Coordinator, supporting the European Network of Infrastructure Managers (ENIM) and cooperating with the entire sector.

RNE: Peter, are there any topics you would like to raise?

Peter Šišolák: I would like to highlight the member’s decision to introduce the strategically important European Traffic Management Network concept, which represents a significant advancement in international train management. The concept is based on the close cooperation of existing structures of National Traffic Control Centres and synergistically encompasses several supporting initiatives, such as Railway Collaborative Decision-Making (R-CDM), train run forecasting from origin to destination, capacity utilisation exchange, and plans to introduce a common communication platform. To be successful, this concept requires “bulletproof”, robust data quality and feedback from performance management.

I believe that this set of initiatives will soon significantly enhance the smoothness and punctuality of international train runs and improve the effectiveness of all stakeholders involved in the logistics chain.