The eighth edition of Rail-Tech Europe that took place on 29, 30 and 31 March last at the Rail Maintenance Hangar in the Netherlands has been a great success. The exhibition drew 6,100 visitors from 19 countries. Besides the exhibition, the event also included a 3-day conference programme. The conference delegates gathered to discuss Improving railways – investments & efficiency. On Wednesday March 30, an international jury rewarded the Dutch company Rail Safety Systems (RSS) with the Rail-Tech Europe Innovation Award. The winning product is a magnetic fence for safe working on the track. The jury praised the RSS’ magnetic fence as an ‘example of a ‘down-to-earth’ solution whose simplicity is a result of long thinking’.

A great number of visitors found their way to Amersfoort: to be precise 6,115 visitors from 19 countries visited the stands, the metros of Amsterdam and Rotterdam and the outdoor exhibition. The choice for the new venue, the Rail Maintenance Hangar, was praised by the exhibitors. “the exhibition acquired a clearer character of its own. At Jaarbeurs Utrecht the exhibition was held in one or two halls in a huge venue. Here in Amersfoort the entire venue including outdoors is dedicated to Rail-Tech”. Many exhibitors used the outdoor space to exhibit their large materials and rolling stock. The following companies were represented at the outdoor expo: Eurailscout, voestalpine Railpro, Bombardier, Siemens, RET, Mercedes, ETS Spoor, WaveRail, Imtech, Inspec, Protec Railadvies and SVO Rail. Besides at Rail-Tech Europe in Amersfoort, such an outdoor show can only be found in Europe at IAF München and Innotrans Berlin. The size of the exhibition was comparable to the latest edition in 2009. The exhibition and the outdoor show together covered a surface of 8,000 m². The 124 companies exhibiting their rail equipment, systems and services together formed an interactive exhibition that covered all aspects of the European rail infrastructure market. They made it an interesting place to meet for international rail professionals, resulting in an increase of 20%. Beside the rail experts from the Netherlands, specialists from amongst others Germany, Belgium, France, UK and Switzerland travelled to Amersfoort. As a side advantage the 800 hotel nights in the city of Amersfoort and beverage expenses delivered an important contribution to the local tourist industry.

Jan Bakker, CEO of Rail Safety Systems, was happy to win the Innovation Award: “We are very proud to announce that Rail Safety Systems BV has won the prestigious Rail-Tech Europe Innovation Award 2011 !”. Employees that perform engineering work on track must be able to work in total safety. A fence needs to screen the track being worked on from the track on which trains are still running. The main difference between the RSS’ fence and conventional fences is the simple and fast assembly through a magnet. Despite the magnet’s strength (tensile force up to 600 kg/N), the fence allows for easy dismantling with one arm movement. The jury praised the simple and easy assembly and dismantling and the possibility of reusing the set. Also on Wednesday a selected group visited the NS Simulator centre next to the venue of Rail-Tech Europe. They experienced what it is like to drive a train through an interactive environment.

The second edition of the Rail Carreer Days was integrated in the Rail-Tech exhibition. Various companies looking for qualified employees in the rail infra sector were present. During the exhibition opening hours, free workshops could be attended on topics such as new ways to work, the importance of networking, assessment and checking of resumees.

The conference that was held in parallel to the exhibition, was lively and interactive. The main theme was: Improving railways – investments & efficiency, how to accomplish more with less money? The most up-to-date developments were discussed as: “The Gautrain Rapid Rail Link system”, “HSL-Z, Amsterdam to Antwerp”, “LRT in Madrid Region, the case of Parla Tramway” and “Schiphol-Amsterdam-Almere-Lelystad corridor”.

During the third conference day, Naren Bhojaram and Salani Sithole of DHV/SSI presented the business opportunities in the South African railway sector. Africa is one of the continents where large investments are at stake. Over the coming years, public transport systems will be developed at a fast pace including significant investments in the rail system.

Rail-Tech Europe is a bi-annual event on rail infrastructure and rolling stock. It comprises a trade exhibition, a conference programme, the Innovation Award, a dinner outing and a technical excursion. Rail-Tech Europe is held every other year in the spring. In 2013 the 9th edition will again be organised in Amersfoort.