IRS Rail Webinars
ABOUT THE WEBINAR:
Despite the unprecedented financial loss railways across the world are suffering, the sector continues to provide a vital role in transporting passengers and goods. What can the EU do at this difficult time to support this struggling sector? European rail operators, infrastructure managers and suppliers are looking for clarity, certainty, and support on both urgent regulatory issues and the long-term legislative agenda to combat the financial crisis.
Areas of urgent consideration include extending the 16 June implementation deadline of the Fourth Railway Package, reducing charges, and prolonging the validity of licences and certifications. Long-term, rail transport’s environmental credentials could put the sector in a favourable position over other modes as the European Commission considers a recovery plan and the next 7-year budget framework for 2021-27.
In this insightful debate, we heard announcements from senior policymakers at the European Commission and the EU Agency for Railways (ERA), and the voices of business leaders representing Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and Alstom.
WATCH ON-DEMANDSpeakers
Keir Fitch,
Head of Unit C4 (Rail Safety & Interoperability)
Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE), European Commission
The mission of the Unit is to establish an interoperable and safe Single European Rail area and to manage the relationships with the European Union Agency for Railways and the Shift2Rail Joint undertaking. This includes in particular: pursuing the conditions to achieve interoperability and safety in the rail systems across the EU, in particular in partnership with the European Union Agency for Railways; and ensuring the delivery of a long term R&I programme with the rail industry which supports the Commission's vision for the future of rail and broader transport, competitiveness, environmental and social policy objectives.
Keir is the former Deputy Head of Cabinet of Siim Kallas, Vice-President and Commissioner for Transport, where Mr Fitch was responsible for land transport, security and state aids, inter alia.
Josef Doppelbauer,
Executive Director
EU Agency for Railways (ERA)
Josef took up his current position as Executive Director of the European Railway Agency (ERA) in January 2015. Josef started his career at Alcatel. He joined Bombardier Transportation in December 2002, where he was Chief Technical Officer from 2008 to 2013. He has also been chairman of ERRAC and of the Joint Technology Initiative SHIFT2RAIL.
Kurt Bauer,
Head of High Speed & Long Distance Services
Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB)
After graduating from the University of Innsbruck with a degree in International Business in 2000, Kurt started his career as a consultant at Accenture. After being awarded a MSc in Transport from Imperial College in 2004 he specialised in the field of travel and transportation in the course of several consultant jobs. From 2011 to 2015 he held various managerial positions at Deutsche Bahn. In 2015, he became Head of the high speed and long distance train services division of ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG.
Nicolas Castres Saint-Martin,
Chief Technology Officer
Alstom
Nicolas is a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique & Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Techniques Avancées (ENSTA). He started his career in 1979 at GIAT (Military Industry) before joining Alstom Transport Headquarters in 1984. After undertaking numerous high-level positions at the company, Nicolas was appointed Alstom’s Chief Technology Officer in 2014. In 2016 he took on the additional role of Vice President Engineering
Moderator
Libor Lochman,
Executive Director
Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER)
Libor has been Executive Director of CER since 2012. Prior to taking up this role, he was CER's leader of technical affairs (2007-2011) and acted as director of the Railway Test Centre, a facility in Prague which tests European rolling stock, infrastructure and signalling components (2000-2005). Libor has a strong background in Control-Command and signalling systems.
Agenda
Introduction: Libor Lochman
Presentation 1: COVID-19 impact on rail - from emergency to long-term plans, Keir Fitch
Keir Fitch, interviewed by Libor Lochman
Presentation 2: Strengthening Trust & Confidence through Coordinated Action, Josef Doppelbauer
Josef Doppelbauer, interviewed by Libor Lochman
Kurt Bauer and Nicolas Castres Saint-Martin, interviewed by Libor Lochman
Panel Discussion & audience Q&As: All speakers
Closing remarks: Libor Lochman
