Learn more about the SmartRail Agenda | The rail technology congress building the digital railways of the future

Day 1 - Monday 17th June

9:00	Deutsche Bahn site visits
	Operation site visits will depart from the hotel at 9:00 for those who have registered to attend either of the two excursions.
11:30	Registration
12:00	Networking lunch
13:30	Welcome address
	PLANNING, IMPLEMENTING AND ROLLING OUT ERTMS As urban populations increase there is increased demand for a sustainable, high capacity rail network. ERTMS is crucial to delivering this growth while maintaining high standards of safety and reliability. This session will look at the different stages of ERTMS and the some of the challenges of ERTMS implementation, from cross – border interoperability to internal processes needed for a smooth implementation process. Moderator: Armand Toubol, Vice President, New Opera
13:40	Considering the business drivers for advanced signalling systems • Developing a long term investment plan for signalling projects • Attaining ROI on ERTMS: lowering maintenance costs, improved safety for passengers, higher capacity across the network • Greenfield versus brownfield projects: comparing the different business cases Jo De Bosschere, Director Signalling, Infrabel
14:00	Requirements and challenges for the integration of ERTMS onto a legacy system • Interfacing new and legacy systems on a brownfield network • Experience and challenges of first Pilot line for ETCS2 on conventional network • ETCS project and program approach Kenny Van Heuverswijn, ETCS Program Manager, Infrabel Nicolas Ykman, Signalling Project Manager, Infrabel
14:20	OCORA - smartrail 4.0 – a program of the Swiss railway sector Rolf Muhlemann, SBB Infra Implementation and challenges of ETCS & ATO on a European scale Baseliyos Jacob, DB Cargo
14:50	Panel discussion: ERTMS post deployment: what are the capabilities? • What additional capabilities can be achieved with ERTMS wireless systems? • What are the limitations of ERTMS and how can we mitigate them? • What is the potential for future upgrades of the ERTMS system? Jo De Bosschere, Director Signalling, Infrabel Kenny Van Heuverswijn, ECTS Program Manager, Infrabel Nicolas Ykman, Signalling Project Manager, Infrabel Rolf Muhlemann, SBB Infra Norbert Kahl, DB Cargo Baseliyos Jacob, DB Cargo Moderator: Armand Toubol, Vice President, New Opera
15:25	Networking coffee break
16:00	Panel Discussion: Financing the digital revolution Rail companies want to deploy new technology and achieve efficiencies and benefits from digitalisation, but the issue of who will pay for this remains. Operators need to pursue the right business models and achieve sufficient ROI from upgrades to communications and IoT capabilities. This panel discussion will bring together finance and technology experts to discuss funding options and the monetisation of digital services. • Justifying investment in ‘nice to have’ technologies such as passenger Wi-Fi – finding a business case • What are the funding options available for large scale digitalisation projects? Government, private investors, PPPs • Who is responsible for digital upgrades? Operator vs infrastructure manager • How can operators monetise services such as passenger Wi-Fi and achieve ROI? • Freight rail: developing a business case for digitalised freight in a highly competitive market operating under tight margins Roman Kotiers, Chief Financial Officer, Rail Cargo Hungaria Sebastian Martin, Chief Financial Officer, DB Cargo France Moderator: Marcello Perricone, Editor, SmartRail World
	BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS TO ERTMS DEPLOYMENT The goal of ERTMS has always been to create seamless, safe, and reliable travel. Yet without proper standards in place, the cost of implementation can be too much for some rail operators, particularly in the highly competitive freight sector. Furthermore, countries have each deployed the technology differently and their systems and standards need to be integrated before seamless travel can be achieved. Moderator: Marcello Perricone, Editor, SmartRail World
16:35	Project managing the implementation of ERTMS • Overcoming legacy systems • Keeping costs low throughout the project • Does your network need a fallback system? Richard Thorp, Engineering Director, HS1
16:50	Case study: Achieving cross border interoperability • Cross-border collaboration between rail operators • Overcoming differences in standards of traffic management • Interoperability at trackside Carlo Borghini, Executive Director, Shift2Rail
17:10	Ensuring railways interoperability between EU and CIS (the Commonwealth of Independent States) railways COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 1305/2014 states the TAF/TAP TSI should be adopted for the interoperability of the European rail system. Latvian Railways has historically maintained train interoperability with CIS (the Commonwealth of Independent States) railways and would need it after the adoption of TAF/TAP TSI. Latvian Railways in cooperation with Estonian Railways is developing TAF/TAP TSI and CIS compliant interoperability standard what can be used by other bordering railways as well. The presentation will cover the principles of the interoperability, the work in progress and the challenges faced so far. Guntis Levins, Director Of Information Technology, Latvian Railway
17:30	Panel discussion: Debating the need for ERTMS standards • How will Brexit and increased border security affect the European Union’s goal for seamless rail travel? • How are a lack of standards costing the rail industry time and money? • Are standards even necessary or are customisation and bespoke systems more important? • What key stakeholders need to come together to achieve ERTMS standards? Who is responsible for setting them? • How can the freight industry keep up with passenger services? • In what ways can non-European regions collaborate to create standards? Carlo Borghini, Executive Director, Shift2Rail Richard Thorp, Engineering Director, HS1 Guntis Levins, Director Of Information Technology, Latvian Railway Moderator: Marcello Perricone, Editor, SmartRail World
18:00	End of Day One

Day 2 - Tuesday 18th June

8:00	Registration
9:00	Welcome address
	STRATEGIC USE OF TECHNOLOGY FOR A MORE SUSTAINABLE, EFFICIENT AND RELIABLE RAILWAY Rail is under pressure to exploit advancing technology in cost-efficient ways in order to meet targets around safety, capacity and reliability.This requires a collaborative, integrated, and system-wide approach. This session will look at ways in which the rail sector can use technology to improve rail services and give it the upper edge over other modes of transport. Moderator: Muhammad Wasay Rashid, European Operations Analyst, Arc Advisory Group
9:10	Opening keynote presentation: Innovation: giving rail the competitive edge Rolf Härdi, Chief Technology Innovation Officer, Deutsche Bahn
9:30	Railway and sustainability and how to realize this combination during continuous evolution Claudia Cattani, President, RF Italiana
	The business case for investing in new technology: why investments in freight means more revenue • The benefits of intelligent wagons • Reducing loss of cargo through advanced CCTV analytics • Freight rail vs passenger rail: why we must level the playing field Ischtar El-Radhi, Digital Transformation Manager, SNCF
9:50	Advisory session Valentina Ion, EMEA Industry Government Director, Microsoft
10:05	How AI, robotics and autonomous driving are changing rail freight • What trends will change the future of transport • How we should respond to disruptive change • Success stories from the digitalization journey of DB Carg0 Norbert Kahl, Innovation Strategic Program, DB Cargo
10:25	Panel Discussion: Priorities for the future development of the railway • Learning from the last 20 years of increase in demand • What are the best tools for coping with the predicted surge in population? • What technologies should railways be investing in now to stay ahead of the curve? • Competing versus collaborating with other modes of transport Rolf Härdi, Chief Technology Innovation Officer, Deutsche Bahn Claudia Cattani, President, RF Italiana Norbert Kahl, Innovation Strategic Program, DB Cargo Valentina Ion, EMEA Industry Government Director, Microsoft Moderator: Muhammad Wasay Rashid, European Operations Analyst, Arc Advisory Group
10:55	Networking coffee break
11:30	Panel discussion: Addressing the skills and gender gaps in the rail sector The rail industry is seeing dramatic changes with the need to respond to growing populations and new contenders in the mobility space with smarter, more efficient, and high capacity services. Yet without the right skills, digitalisation and major infrastructure projects are impossible to implement. Young, tech-savvy engineers are needed to replace an ageing workforce, while in the 21st century the rail industry needs to work hard to address the imbalance of male-female workers. • How are the skills needed for railway professionals changing in the digital age? • The digital workforce: how can greater connectivity and technologies such as virtual reality deliver efficiencies and safety improvements? • What is the financial cost to the rail industry of an ageing, male-dominated workforce? • How does a more diverse workforce give you a competitive edge? • Does rail have an image problem? • How can railways engage younger people, especially women, to encourage them to join the rail sector? • What are the opportunities for working with schools and universities? Rhianne Montgomery, Programme Manager Of Rail Innovation, Innovate UK James Featherstone, Civil Engineer, Network Rail Karen O’Brien, Director Project Development, VIA Canada Claudia Cattani, President, RF Italiana Abigail Kiernan, Senior Project Engineer, Network Rail Moderator: Robert Nisbet, Director of Nations & Regions, Rail Delivery Group
12:15	Interactive live poll: Disruptive technology and innovation: its impact on passenger and freight rail During this session, audience members will be able to vote on pre-selected questions through our interactive Q&A system and share their views with the rest of the room. Panelists will then discuss each question and the poll results in turn. This is a unique opportunity to get a sense of what your fellow rail executives think of how technology will disrupt and revolutionise the global rail sector. • What technologies are currently the disrupting in the rail sector? How should rail operators respond? • What is holding the rail industry back from embracing innovation? • Are alternative mobility models an opportunity or a threat for long distance rail? • How will artificial intelligence and increasingly automated processes impact the way we run railways? Rolf Härdi, Chief Technology Innovation Officer, Deutsche Bahn Guntis Levins, Director Of Information Technology, Latvian Railway Prof. Dr. Corinna Salander, Chair for Railway Vehicle Technology, University Of Stuttgart Rhianne Montgomery, Programme Manager Of Rail Innovation, Innovate UK Moderator: Paolo Guglielminetti, Partner & Global railways & roads leader, PWC
13:00	Networking lunch
	MAKING PRACTICAL AND EFFECTIVE USE OF DIGITALISATION FOR ASSET MANAGEMENT Upgrading ageing infrastructure offers vast opportunities for improving performance and reliability, maximising network capacity, and saving on costs. Modern technologies and asset management techniques allow rail companies to predict and prepare for failures in advance, thus reducing the impact on operations. Digitalisation has now become an important part of asset management, communications networks and modern data analysis techniques are reshaping the potential of railway infrastructure. This session will look at how digitalisation is lowering maintenance costs and increasing infrastructure’s life cycle. Moderator: Valentina Ion, EMEA Industry Government Director, Microsoft
14:00	Application of BIM on asset management to improve railway safety Mr Chris HO, Senior E&M Engineer, EMSD Mr Peter Chow, E&M Engineer, EMSD
14:20	Digital twin deployment in railway for predictive maintenance Diego Galar, Professor, Lulea University of Technology
14:35	Catenary and infrastructure assessment with LIDAR solutions • How to get reliable measurements of catenary /OLE systems for electrified and non-electrified railways • Scanning and mobile mapping solution for railway: check gauges, electrical clearances, vegetation control Cesáreo González, Chief Executive Officer, TELICE
14:50	Leveraging data to predict, detect and prevent • Cross industry collaboration: the importance of sharing data • Discerning between valuable and non-valuable information: analytics for ensuring effective use of Big Data Bardo Schettini Gherardini, Manager of Technical Affairs, EIM
15:05	Obtaining a return on investment on new infrastructure safety programs • Cost- effective ways of improving infrastructure management • How long does it take before new maintenance programs see a return on investments • Upgrading versus the replacement of existing assets Ezequiel Lemos, President, Trenes Argentinos Cargas
15:20	Panel Discussion: Capitalising on digital assets • Understanding the needs of your organisation and buying intelligently • To what extent is real-time data possible across the rail network? • Combining data from different sources: how to extract the best value? Ezequiel Lemos, President, Trenes Argentinos Cargas Bardo Schettini Gherardini, Senior Advisor, EIM Mr Chris HO, Senior E&M Engineer, EMSD Mr Peter Chow, E&M Engineer, EMSD Diego Galar, Professor, Lulea University of Technology Cesáreo González, Chief Executive Officer, TELICE Moderator: Valentina Ion, EMEA Industry Government Director, Microsoft
15:50	Networking coffee break
	CYBER SECURITY
16:20	Cyber Security Session Joseph Mager, Information Security Officer, Nederlandse Spoorwegen
16:35	Cyber Security Session Steffen Wendzel, Professor Of Information Security, Worms University
16:50	Panel Discussion: Staying safe and secure in this new digital age • Are shareholders and senior leadership teams aware of the financial costs of insufficient security? • How should transport operators prepare for breaches? What incident response strategies are needed? • Can your network be too secure? To what extent does increased security impinge of efficient and effective operation? • How does increasing use of IoT create vulnerabilities in rail networks? • What operational changes need to be made in order to comply with NIST? • Is the industry doing enough to combat cyber risks? Are further standards needed? • How are cyber security threats likely to evolve in the future? Joseph Mager, Information Security Officer, Nederlandse Spoorwegen Pavel Kriz, Director General, SZDC Steffen Wendzel, Professor Of Information Security, Worms University Moderator: Valentina Ion, EMEA Industry Government Director, Microsoft
17:20	Networking drinks reception - Followed by Optional Bavarian F&B Evening

Day 3 - Wednesday 19th June

9:00

Welcome address

9:10

COMFORT, CAPACITY AND CONVENIENCE: CREATING THE OPTIMAL PASSENGER EXPERIENCE
The way passengers travel has changed drastically over the last 20 years. In order to compete with alternative mobility modes it is crucial that railways adapt to these changes in usage. Passengers want a journey which is comfortable, convenient and efficient. This session will look at ways to keep the modern passenger happy by creating a faster service, integrating seamless Wi-Fi and incorporating new and flexible ways to pay for travel.
Speaker/Moderator: Ian Wright, Head of Innovation, Transport Focus

9:25

Flexible ticketing: changing the way passengers pay for travel
• Adapting to modern day work cultures
• Bluetooth, apps, mobile, and smart card: evaluating the variety of ticketing options available
• Simplifying tariffs so customers get the best deal
Robert Nisbet, Director, Nations & Regions, Rail Delivery Group

9:45

The business case for Wi-Fi across the fleet
• Competitive advantage: how Wi-Fi can differentiate rail
• Delivering ROI: ancillary revenues through monetisation and advertising
• Challenges in delivering seamless connectivity: why bad Wi-Fi is worse than no Wi-Fi

Daniel Adamka, Chief Executive Officer, Arriva CZ

10:00

Multimodal door-to-door services will disrupt the market again ... Get ready for the next revolution
Yoav Volloch, Co-Founder & VP Product Management, AiGENT TECH

10:15

From car to carriage: convincing commuters to opt into public transport
• Benefits of Passenger Punctuality as a KPI in comparison to train punctuality and cancellations
• Methodology and underlying data of Passenger Punctuality
• Performance management based on Passenger Punctuality
Mischa Van Der Haar, Business Analyst, Nederlandse Spoorwegen

10:30

Give power back to the passenger
• Using technology to handle the rail passengers rights
• Enabling smart ticketing for smart passengers
• Giving passengers with reduced mobility (PRM) more independence
Chris Derham, Solution Manager Transportation, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise

10:45

Panel discussion:
• What are the barriers to customers effectively using rail networks?
• What are the most cost-efficient ways of increasing capacity?
• Which customer experience factors do passengers prioritise?
• How can rail compete with other modes of transport?

Daniel Adamka, Chief Executive Officer, Arriva CZ
Robert Nisbet, Director of Nations & Regions, Rail Delivery Group
Mischa Van Der Haar, Business Analyst, Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Moderator: Ian Wright, Head of Innovation, Transport Focus

11:15

Networking coffee break

WORKSHOPS
The workshop sessions offer a perfect platform for interaction, debate, and sharing of best practice. Following the moderators' introductory presentation, delegates will sit on tables of no more than 10 led by specialist facilitators and will discuss the challenges presented on their tables. Each table will then feed their conclusions back to the whole group, so you can take practical information back to the office to improve your business!

11:45

Smarter timetabling systems for rail: automating the management of the network
• Modernising systems for better timetabling processes
• Flexible timetables: real-time traffic management to reduce or increase trains in service
• Coping with incidents and fluctuating passenger demand

How to provide safe, reliable service that consistently meets customers’ expectations.
• How to improve network reliability and efficiency and ensure worker health and safety in this challenging environment?
• How to do that on a Highly-scalable platform and modular design to ensure that the system can grow with your future
• Usage of modern human machine interface (HMI) enhances operator situational awareness for improved decision support to shorten response time •and with open architecture for interoperability and integration with other IT and OT systems
Mike Görtz, Sales Specialist, ABB Enterprise Solutions

12:30

Networking lunch

13:30

Decarbonising the railway: what are the challenges?
• Working towards the 2044 / 2030 deadline
• Alternative propulsion systems: transitioning away from dirty diesel
• Sustainable recycling and decommissioning of obsolete rolling stock
Alessandra Berto, Innovation Program Manager, Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane

13:45

Case Study: Lowering Carbon Emissions
Jacob Teter, Energy Analyst, IEA

BUILDING INTEGRATED MOBILITY PLATFORMS: A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH
Passengers want to have seamless journeys with integrated, intermodal ticketing models. Mobility-as-a-Service schemes can help spread passengers across the network, alleviating capacity and enabling better journeys. This session will look at ways to keep the modern passenger happy, including alternative modes of transportation, improving ticketing solutions, and the role of smart cities.
Encouraging a modal shift to public transportation

• Growing urban populations and the expected future transport needs of cities
• Reducing the attractiveness of cars and supporting the development of all modes of public transport
• Improving reliability and connectivity of public transport
• Environmental benefits of the uptake of public transit
Moderator: Muhammad Wasay Rashid, European Operations Analyst, Arc Advisory Group

14:00

Encouraging a modal shift to public transportation
• Growing urban populations and the expected future transport needs of cities
• Reducing the attractiveness of cars and supporting the development of all modes of public transport
• Improving reliability and connectivity of public transport
• Environmental benefits of the uptake of public transit

14:30

Technology as the enabler of a MaaS model
• Identifying the service ecosystem
• Data sharing and standardization
• Adapting service-provider business models to accommodate MaaS
Liam Henderson, Founder & Chair, Rail Innovation Group

14:45

Case study: Migrating from the old world to the new: introducing account based ticketing
• Integrating new ticketing systems with legacy systems
• Challenges in implementing and deploying new ticketing methods
• Combining the offerings of various mobility providers in a single app
• Buying tickets or booking transportation through the same portal
Peter Van Dijk, Chief Operating Officer, Translink

15:00

Panel Discussion: Making mobility easier for passengers
• How should rail operators respond to mobility disruptors?
• How can passengers be encouraged to use transportation networks more efficiently?
• What will the future mobility players look like?
Alessandra Berto, Innovation Program Manager, Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane
Jacob Teter, Energy Analyst, IEA
Liam Henderson, Founder & Chair, Rail Innovation Group
Peter Van Dijk, Chief Operating Officer, Translink
Moderator: Muhammad Wasay Rashid, European Operations Analyst, Arc Advisory Group

15:30

End of SmartRail

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