The largest rail event in Australasia in 2018 is set to attract rail industry leaders and key stakeholders from Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the US and Europe.
Held in Canberra from 27–28 November, AusRail 2018 Conference and Exhibition will focus on the opportunities and challenges presented by the growing investment in new rail infrastructure projects, and new rolling stock contracts in Australia and New Zealand — with more than $100 billion forecast over the next ten years.
Topics will focus on the golden era of rail, the skills and resources crisis, case studies of particular projects, the impact of technological change, safety, and the importance of future leaders.
Two significant reports will be launched on rail workforce skills shortages and technological change in rail.
The event will feature approximately 90 expert presenters, 90 exhibitors and more than 600 delegates.
Conference delegates will be addressed by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, the Hon Michael McCormack MP, and the Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development, the Hon Anthony Albanese MP.
“The rail sector transports over 1.3 billion tonnes of freight and moves over 800 million customer journeys each year. It contributes over $26 billion to GDP and employs over 140,000 workers,” Danny Broad, ARA Chief, said.
“And we are seeing a true renaissance of rail projects around Australia, with new metro and light rail projects in most of our capital cities, and the construction of the massive Inland Rail Melbourne–Brisbane freight line.”
Key speakers and panel discussions include:
- Identifying the Skills for a Better Future — presentation by Adrian Hart, Associate Director of BIS Oxford Economics on the Rail Workforce Capability Study – Skills Crisis: A Call to Action
- Future-Proofing the Rail Industry — A Customer Centric Exploration by Futurist Frances Valentine
- Canberra Metro — Peter O’Brien, Canberra Metro Operations
- Sydney Light Rail — John Casimir, Jacob and Chris McDougall, GHD
- Where is Rail Safety in 2018 — Sue McCarrey, Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator
- Smart Rail — Technology of the Future panel discussion
- The Great Debate — Would passengers get a better deal if trains were privately operated? Panel discussion
- The Young Rail Professional Pitching Competition and Future Leaders Program
- Transforming the Future: Inland Rail Update — Richard Wankmuller, Australian Rail Track Corporation
- Leveraging Major Project Procurement to Deliver benefits to Regional NSW — Guy Collinshaw and Yvette King, Transport NSW
- Urban Rail and Smart Cities — James A Moore, Advanced Planning Group, Jacobs (USA)
Visit https://www.ausrail.com/ to register.