ProMedia Group opened registration for RailTech Europe 2021 Thursday morning and launched the new website. The first speakers are also public, including Elisabeth Werner, Director Land Transport of DG Move, and ERTMS coordinator Matthias Ruete of the European Commission. The digital edition of RailTech Europe will be broadcast on March 30 and 31 and April 1 from the ProMedia Studios in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Dutch infrastructure manager ProRail is hosting the event.

The various parts of the European railway trade fair can be found on the website, which has a brand new design. The network platform on which the event will be broadcast offers the possibility to network with other participants in a targeted way, both during and after the event.

First speakers announced

In addition to the launch of the new website, the organisation also revealed the first speakers: European Commissioner Elisabeth Werner from DG Move, ERTMS coordinator Matthias Ruete from the European Commission, Kaspars Briškens from Rail Baltica, Professor Diego Galar from Lulea University of Technology, Mark Topal from ÖBB, Pavel Popov from Russian Railways and Delphine Grandsart from the European Passenger Federation are confirmed to speak on the event.

Covid-19 makes it all the more important for the rail sector to be able to meet each other online. That is why during the three-day online event, just like at the physical fair and the conference, gathering knowledge and networking are central.

Targeted networking

To this end, visitors can make use of an advanced network platform that makes it possible to make new contacts or make known contacts before, during and after the event. In addition to participating in joint workshops and break-out sessions, the platform also offers the possibility to schedule appointments with other rail professionals and to exchange one-on-one or with a group of knowledge in separate rooms.

“We have already gained extensive experience with this during the European Silk Road Summit that we organized last year from the trade journal RailFreight and other events of ProMedia Group. The possibility to network in a targeted way was very much appreciated by the participants”, explains project manager Events Kim de Vos.

Main themes

The European Year of Rail, Digital Railway and Smart Infrastructure will be the main themes of RailTech Europe 2021. Within these themes, important topics such as the Green Deal, international rail transport, ERTMS, ATO, Artificial Intelligence, BIM and preventive rail maintenance are discussed. Participants will soon have the opportunity to participate in more than 150 different sessions, spread out across three days.

According to Arie van Dijk, publisher at organiser ProMedia, it is important to meet each other in this time. “Governments want to honour the commitments they made in the Paris Agreement, and the European Green Deal will also mean a lot for the railways. There are many opportunities for the industry, but not many options are left to discuss this. RailTech Europe does offer the opportunity to meet each other.”

Physical event in 2022

In addition to the digital edition, the railway trade fair will be physically organized again in 2022, as visitors to RailTech Europe are used to. But ProMedia wants to offer the rail sector the opportunity to virtually meet each other in March because of the challenges the sector is facing.

For three days, presentations, interviews and reports will be broadcast from the two studios in Rotterdam, but also from locations on the track or from parties working in the sector. Where a regular RailTech, as in 2019, attracts around 8,500 visitors, the organisation is counting on a much larger influx from all over Europe and beyond for this digital edition. Tickets are available free of charge until January 22 and are valid for the entire programme. Every visitor can compile their own programme from the wide range of presentations, workshops, interviews, Q&A sessions and reportages from different locations.

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