Výzkumný Ústav Železniční (VUZ)
This article first appeared in the Railway-News Magazine Issue 1, 2022.
Výzkumný Ústav Železniční (VUZ), one of the most renowned accredited railway testing institutions in Europe, will now expand its services to include inspections and evaluations of railway construction projects throughout Europe.
The company’s recent achievement of CDP environmental certification and its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint is further proof of VUZ’s determination to become a leading partner of the most reputable European rail companies. The expansion to European markets is part of the extension of VUZ’s services, and its first branch has been opened in Slovakia.
Evaluating Railway Infrastructure Construction Projects
VUZ is a European notified body for evaluating and inspecting railway infrastructure construction projects, and it is one of the most in-demand institutions for the certification and inspection of railway construction in the European Union. VUZ is one of the three largest issuers of certificates in the EU with a massive portfolio of projects evaluated, from the design phase to the final inspection of a completed project and its conformity with technical standards. VUZ most often evaluates projects in the Czech Republic, but also in Slovakia, Bulgaria and the Baltic States, and now VUZ has offered its service to notified entities in other countries. VUZ’s major advantage is its massive technical foundation in the Cech Republic and the overall lower costs of the entire evaluation process while providing the highest level of safety, accessibility, technical compatibility, and other fundamental points that every modern rail project must fulfil. VUZ always offers its partners specialists that can evaluate and certify railway infrastructure, energy and the management and safety of operations anywhere in the EU, and specifically they can oversee the implementation of the ETCS.
VUZ’s Corporate Responsibility and Its CDP Score Report
VUZ is also a partner on the path to a greener Europe. It is one of only five Czech companies to undergo non-profit group CDP’s rigorous environmental impact evaluation. VUZ received an excellent C rating, and it’s the only railway or heavy industry company in the CEE to achieve such a result.
VUZ is not only actively reducing its environmental impact and its carbon footprint, but it’s also taking specific steps to make its operations carbon neutral. VUZ’s customers already use solely green energy, and the company also holds ISO 50001:2018 energy management certification. Furthermore, VUZ is preparing several sustainability projects, including its own photovoltaic production at all its facilities, leveraging the maximum of recuperated energy from the tests of rail vehicles, and its own energy self-sufficiency projects.
