The world watches India’s rail renaissance

Formerly one was obliged to travel in India by the old cumbrous method of going on foot or on horseback, in palanquins or unwieldy coaches; now fast steamboats ply on the Indus and the Ganges, and a great railway, with branch lines joining the main line at many points on its route, traverses the peninsula from Bombay to Calcutta in three days. (Around the World in Eighty Days, Jules Verne (1873))

Merely 23 years after George Stephenson’s steam locomotives started commercial operations between Manchester and Liverpool in 1830, Asia’s first rail operation began in 1853 between Bombay and Thane covering 34 km.

Some 165 years on, India’s rail transport has grown to a route length of 68,442km, the fourth biggest network in the world, and transports 8.3 billion passengers and 1.2 billion tonnes of
freight annually¹.

India’s love and fascination for these vital arteries and capillaries of the economy has created a unique culture where access to affordable rail transport is protected as a fundamental right.

In this rapidly growing economy, and with a sharply rising population, maintaining existing infrastructure will not be sufficient to keep up with demand.

Infrastructure megaprojects

The country’s first high-speed rail line between Mumbai and Ahmedabad is now under construction, with eight other HSR corridors approved. Urban rail is also high on the government’s agenda: 11 cities have inaugurated metro systems in the last six years, with new metros under construction or being planned in 13 further cities.

The government’s vast Dedicated Freight Corridor project is well underway, with six corridors totalling 9,958km, aiming to shift cargo traffic from road to rail: ‘one DFC train will be able to take as many as 1,300 trucks off the road².’

Rail electrification will also help India meet its UN climate change pledge. Between 2014 and March 2019, 13,700 km of the network was electrified so 52% of the network now runs on electricity. The government plans to electrify the rest of the broad-gauge network by 2022, meaning 28,000 km will be electrified in the next three years, which will reduce CO2 emissions by 3.4 million tonnes per annum³.

Make in India

New generations of trains are emerging too. Hailed as a game changer, Vande Bharat Express ‘Train 18’ entered into service in February 2019, and it now runs on two routes from
New Delhi. India’s first semi-high-speed intercity EMUs, which travel at a top operational speed of 160 km/h, were designed and built domestically by Indian Railways’ subsidiary
Integral Coach Factory (ICF), making it a flagship project under the government’s Make in India campaign.

It was reported in October 2019 that an international tender for 60 new 160km/h EMUs was about to be announced. The media report stated that the trains would be delivered by 2022 at an estimated cost of Rs 380 billion (USD 5.3 billion). Seven trains would be imported, with the remainder to be manufactured in India⁴.

In July 2019, plans to seek private investment to part fund the Rs 50 trillion ($700bn) required up to 2030 were announced. Part-privatisation of rail operations in India has also been widely discussed to inject much needed cash into the infrastructure.

Window to the world

The global railway sector is making a transition from a domestic-oriented, inward-looking culture to an international network of operations, a global supply chain, multimodal partnerships and cooperation with international peers who face similar challenges.

International Railway Summit advocates free exchange of people, goods and ideas. By hosting these meetings, we help rail operators learn about the latest trends and best practices, we introduce innovative solutions to those who are looking for them through online matchmaking and one-to-one meetings and we facilitate networking between peers and potential partners.

As India enters a new era of rail globalisation, international governments, rail operators and
manufacturers have shown much interest in forging partnerships. I hope that this summit will help deepen international ties between the participants.

The 8th International Railway Summit in New Delhi, India, is a unique networking event featuring a two-day conference programme delivered by sector leaders, bespoke one-to-one meetings, site visits, and a variety of formal and informal functions. The summit takes place from 20-22 November 2019.

Our thanks go to all speakers and sponsors contributing to the event. We are grateful for the kind support we have received from the Ministry of Railways of India in planning this summit and organising the technical visits to New Delhi railway station and the train control centre.

We are honoured to welcome the EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc, and Chairman of the Railway Board, Ministry of Railways, India, Vinod Kumar Yadav, as keynote speakers at IRS8, amongst a particularly impressive line-up of Indian and international dignitaries.

Finally, we would like to thank our long-standing supporting partner, International Union of Railways (UIC) and their Director General François Davenne and Director of Rail System Christian Chavanel for valuable counsel and backing of our cause.

¹ Indian Railways Year Book 2017-18.
² Indian Railways Year Book 2017-18.
³ Ghanshyam Singh and Bhupender Singh Bodh, ‘Towards a greener future’, Railway Gazette, May 2019.
⁴ Srinand Jha, ‘Indian Railways to procure 60 new trains’, International Railway Journal, 7 October 2019.

The Next Rail Revolution is Here – and the Future is Digital

Jean-Francois spoke about where the rail sector sees itself in a few decades time, and what the endgame of digitalisation could and should be, at the 7th International Railway Summit in Frankfurt

“Digital Railways” doesn’t have quite the romantic ring of the great train services of the past – the Orient Express, the Canadian Pacific or the Trans-Siberian but Digital is the next big wave in the railway sector and train users and operators can look forward to higher service standards ultimately improving efficiency and reliability of railway systems.

A new golden age of rail travel

Railway networks in many countries have become extremely dense, especially on commuter lines in major cities, making it difficult and costly to implement major upgrading projects. Instead, the kind of improvements in efficiency that digital technology excels at can have massive operational impacts.

In fact, digital technologies hold out the promise of true transport integration, linking main-line rail services with other urban transportation modes, enhancing efficiency and passenger convenience. The introduction of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), Intelligent Transport Systems and open-data/ open-source transport applications are transforming urban transportation, optimising the efficiency of existing and new urban transport systems, at a cost much lower than building new infrastructure from the ground up.

New transport data collection technologies are also being deployed to provide information about delays, downtime and predictive maintenance which could lead to huge improvements in service standards, safety, and unlocking the potential of railways. Passengers will also be able to make real-time decisions about their journeys based on the features that matter most to them such as reliability, safety, travel time and cost. What’s more, railways today offer a connected service all along the passenger journey with on-board wifi for internet and entertainment options.

Other positive aspects of railway digitalization highlighted in a European Railway Review interview include the opportunities digital technology offers for cleaner air as well as the tangible benefits to travelers of increased flexibility and convenience. Enhanced safety, predictive maintenance and automated driverless operation are all part of rail’s future.

Mastria: Alstom’s multimodal traffic orchestrator. ©Alstom

How do we get there?

The path to digitalisation will not, of course, be entirely smooth. The “Connected trains” survey by management and technology consultancy BearingPoint found that a digitalised and integrated rail system with connected trains is the future, but it will require collaboration and coordination to get there.

Digital technology in the railway sector will see a shift from the traditional emphasis on heavy engineering, to software and data handling skills. There will always be a place for traditional rail engineers, but demand will grow for data management talent, as digital signalling technology unlocks capacity on complex mainline networks.
With new ways of working and new technologies, industry collaboration and effective business change will be more important than ever. Rail operators should take this digitalisation opportunity to integrate different mobility options into their existing offering and consequently focus on value creation through innovation. Without a doubt, it is the quiet efficiency of digital technology that will take rail systems and their passengers into a new age of rail travel that is safer, more convenient and comfortable, more economical, and more climate-friendly.

Mastria: Alstom’s multimodal traffic orchestrator. ©Alstom

Making the most of the digital revolution

Jean-Pierre spoke about how rail systems could meet the mobility challenges of the future, about the economic implications of high speed rail, and about whether HSR was delivering on its promise of improving society, at the 4th, 5th, and 6th International Railway Summits respectively.

Jean-Pierre will speak at the 7th International Railway Summit about how digital technologies can enable smooth cross-border travel and trade.

The first thing to note is that rail appears as a key factor in the 21^st century world.

Rail is essential but in complementarity, not competition, with other modes, as the backbone of a new mobility chain.

Rail from its origin has survived various revolutions:

• The industrial revolution at the very beginning
• An energy revolution in the 70s
• An information technology revolution in the 80s – 90s

Today, we are now facing the so called 4^th revolution: A digital revolution.

This revolution is generating very strong impacts on all decision-making processes, all production and maintenance processes and obviously on the whole information chain itself.

Rail must obviously profit from this technical revolution in order to rapidly and efficiently improve productivity, security and services thanks to connectivity.

One key word is “speed”, since we currently face very strong demands from the markets.

These markets can be intra-urban markets, inter-urban, inter-regional or even inter-continental markets if we consider the emergence of large inter-continental corridors.

Nowadays decision-making cycles are faster and faster. This can be seen as being in contradiction with the operating modes of rail, since investments are really important considering the size of their deployment, and the long cycles of ROI.

These rapid developments obviously demand new approaches and new competencies directly linked to the information domain.

But these have to remain fully compliant with rail technologies and the complexity of its system.

We must admit that, today, the rail sector, whatever the economic context might be, is running out of the resources that would allow the development and the implementation of these new emerging technologies.

Considering this statement, we definitely have to adopt new modes of cooperation.

• Intermodal partnerships have to be enhanced in order to mutualize potential impacts on interfaces, and on shared customers.
• Incubators allow us to work in a different way: Focus on research; Anticipation with the development of Proof of Concepts, demonstrators etc. Innovative funding modes have to be considered as well.
• Links with universities since it is in their hearts and minds, their talents, that the needs of the market, of their market, will be expressed tomorrow. They are the ones who will answer these demands with the emergence of new expertise.

That is the reason why UIC works in close partnership with major actors such as UITP, UNFCC or IATA, why we have developed a Digital platform and an Alliance program with Universities.

Such collaborations enable a better design of our interfaces and the provision of seamless information to our customers, whether Freight or Passenger.

We wish to, and must, open this 19^th century pyramid focused on closed working methods and create new circuits open to the outside world, with new partners and relays.

Exclusive rail sector blog launched

London, 29 June 2017: International Railway Summit is proud to announce the launch of a new blog featuring articles from a variety of eminent rail industry leaders. The blog will discuss the role of technological advances and organisational vision in providing social and economic sustainability for rail transport today and in the decades to come.

The blog is hosted on the International Railway Summit website at https://www.irits.org/category/blog/ and will feature up to 2 new articles every month. The purpose of the blog is to bring the content of some of the annual summit’s most popular and stimulating presentations to a wider, global audience.

In the first article, the Secretary General of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP), Mr Alain Flausch, discusses how new mobility solutions such as autonomous vehicles and ride-selling can be integrated with a strong public transport network to give citizens the best possible passenger experience and reduce congestion in urban areas.

Upcoming articles will broach the following subjects:

• Erich Forster, WESTbahn explores the vital importance of competition and striving for excellence in regional rail
• Carlo Borghini, Shift2Rail explains how Shift2Rail will be at the heart of the innovation process in the decades to come
• Stefanie Brickwede, Deutsche Bahn AG looks at the boom in 3d printing technology
• Francis Bedel, UIC, talks about the challenges posed by the digital revolution
• Gareth Powell, Transport for London shares his insights on Disruptive Technology and Urban Rail in the capital of the United Kingdom

About International Railway Summit

International Railway Summit is an exclusive meeting of the world’s key rail operators, national and local governments, and leading technical experts. Rail sector leaders receive free bespoke consultation from innovative experts, relevant to their future projects. The summit also offers a full conference programme, technical visits, and evening dinners, designed to forge lasting relationships between participants.

After four successful events in Europe, the summit makes its Asia Pacific debut in 2017 when it hosts its 5th edition in Kuala Lumpur on 15-17 November. The 6th edition will take place in Prague on 21-23 February 2018. The International Railway Summit is hosted by IRITS Events Ltd. To find out more visit www.irits.org.

Contact

Anuja Raut
Marketing Director
IRITS Events Ltd
+44 20 7112 5398
anuja.raut@irits.org