Report on Global Railway Review 2020 International Rail Summit

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus

Aug 02

Transport Action Ontario board member Ken Westcar subscribed to this on-line event on July 29 and 30, 2020 and here are some of his takeaways:

Attendees

  • Of about 150 attendees only 2 were from Canada – myself and a senior analyst new hire at Transport Canada.
  • A few Amtrak people attended but did not actively participate.

Projects

  • India and Israel are moving ahead with HSR. Israel would fit into southwestern Ontario and has only 7m people.
  • Slovenia is working with other European partners to build a flat freight route between the Adriatic and eastern Europe as part of a Beijing to western Europe non-highway mode. They are also developing the concept of local intermodal facilities to make rail more appealing than trucking.
  • Business case for HS2 project in Britain has diminished

Technology and Operations Improvements

  • Discussion on driverless trains resulted in a conclusion that Level 5 automation could not be adopted due to safety issues and that Level 4 semi- automatic operation with an in-cab driver at all times would be as far as main-line services would go in the foreseeable future.
  • Discussion on “intelligent” rail car couplers to boost efficiency.
  • European rail freight operators striving for 750m freight train length and 22tonnes/axle loading.
  • Lots of discussion on seamless, end to end ticketing using smart phones and apps.
  • Retired HS125 diesel passenger trains in the UK may be reconfigured for intercity parcels service by GB Railfreight as trucking is having major problems with capacity and delays. This is being driven by the move to on-line shopping.

Service

  • Covid 19 is a big issue due to industry uncertainty with about 95% or more drop in passengers.
  • Big push by European passenger train operators to restore long-distance night trains led by OBB in Austria. Anticipate that people who normally fly will either not be able to afford it after Covid or routes will be unprofitable for airlines. Flight shaming (flygskam) is a growing issue in Europe.
  • Customer experience excellence also a hot topic.

Environment

  • Lots of “preaching to the converted” on relative emissions of various modes and major advantage for rail. Europeans taking it seriously whereas only lip-service in N. America.
  • Britain to ban rail diesel power except where no other option exists by 2040.
  • Of about 150 attendees only 2 were from Canada – myself and a senior analyst new hire at Transport Canada.
  • A few Amtrak people attended but did not actively participate.

Projects

  • India and Israel are moving ahead with HSR. Israel would fit into southwestern Ontario and has only 7m people.
  • Slovenia is working with other European partners to build a flat freight route between the Adriatic and eastern Europe as part of a Beijing to western Europe non-highway mode. They are also developing the concept of local intermodal facilities to make rail more appealing than trucking.
  • Business case for HS2 project in Britain has diminished

Technology and Operations Improvements

  • Discussion on driverless trains resulted in a conclusion that Level 5 automation could not be adopted due to safety issues and that Level 4 semi- automatic operation with an in-cab driver at all times would be as far as main-line services would go in the foreseeable future.
  • Discussion on “intelligent” rail car couplers to boost efficiency.
  • European rail freight operators striving for 750m freight train length and 22tonnes/axle loading.
  • Lots of discussion on seamless, end to end ticketing using smart phones and apps.
  • Retired HS125 diesel passenger trains in the UK may be reconfigured for intercity parcels service by GB Railfreight as trucking is having major problems with capacity and delays. This is being driven by the move to on-line shopping.

Service

  • Covid 19 is a big issue due to industry uncertainty with about 95% or more drop in passengers.
  • Big push by European passenger train operators to restore long-distance night trains led by OBB in Austria. Anticipate that people who normally fly will either not be able to afford it after Covid or routes will be unprofitable for airlines. Flight shaming (flygskam) is a growing issue in Europe.
  • Customer experience excellence also a hot topic.

Environment

  • Lots of “preaching to the converted” on relative emissions of various modes and major advantage for rail. Europeans taking it seriously whereas only lip-service in N. America.
  • Britain to ban rail diesel power except where no other option exists by 2040.
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