World Congress on Railway Research 2022

World Congress on Railway Research 2022

 

We are delighted to had been a major supporter of the World Congress on Railway Research, taking place in Birmingham on 6 – 10 June 2022.

It was an occasion to discuss how we can reshape European railways post-pandemic. With the Covid-19 crisis having huge and long-lasting impact on the rail sector, the new knowledge and novel solutions generated by research are even more important than before and they will be essential in the recovery.

We were delighted to meet delegates at Stand 324, and discuss the bright future of rail research and innovation.

 

Event Highlights

Opening ceremony of Europe’s Rail Stand

Europe’s Rail stand, presenting a selection of innovations from its predecessor programme Shift2Rail and showcasing how the current Europe’s Rail programme will bring these innovations to the market, was officially opened on Monday 6 June at 16:00-18:00 BST.

We welcomed high-level representatives from the European Commission, our, Scientific Committee, representatives from the Birmingham local authorities and our Members and partners.

 

Session on Europe’s Rail Call for Proposals

All delegates had a unique opportunity to learn about the forthcoming Europe’s Rail Calls for Proposals and pitch their research ideas on 6 and 7 June.

Interested participants were invited to give short pitch presentations on their rail research/project ideas, followed by voting on Sli.do and informal networking based on the results of the voting.

The introduction of the Master Plan took place on 6 June at 17:00 BST on Europe’s Rail stand, followed by the first pitch session. The second pitch session took place on Europe’s Rail stand on 7 June at 17:45 BST.

 

Wrap up session on Europe’s Rail Stand

All delegates were invited to our closing session at Stand 324, on 9 June at 14:00 BST. Our Executive Director, Carlo Borghini, provided conclusions for the Call for Proposals Session.

High-level representatives from the European Commission, Delegation of the European Union to the United Kingdom, our States Representative Group, and our Members and partners joined the session.

 

Masterclasses led by Europe’s Rail

Europe’s Rail hosted two masterclasses showcasing cutting edge research from in collaboration with the world’s leading railway undertakings and research bodies:

• System Pillar – Towards a Harmonised and Interoperable European Rail System on 7 June at 14:15 BST
• Digital Automatic Coupling – Transforming Europe’s Rail Freight on 9 June at 9:00 BST

 

Participation to Plenary Session

Our Executive Director Carlo Borghini participated to a plenary discussion titled ‘The journey to rapid benefit realisation’ on 9 June at 10:30 BST. It was an opportunity to discuss what research and development needs to focus on the next years.

 

Professional Growth Sessions

Our Chair of the Scientific Committee, Angela Di Febbraro, presented the STAFFER project and how the EU-Rail model encourages collaboration that drives change on 7 June at 11:15, 14:15, and 16:15 BST.