As a crucial meeting place for the stakeholders of Indian railway
industry, the fifth edition of Rail India Conference is all set to spark
discussions on plans for expansion and modernisation of Indian
railways in the “new normal”
The impact of pandemic was disruptive for domestic and international transportation segments across the globe. Railways were one of the major affected segments which took a severe blow as the pandemic arrived in India. With local railways now largely back on track, it is vital to discuss solutions to make “the lifeline of the nation” safer & secure as well as more strongly equipped to meet the needs of India’s growing population.
Set to open from 11 – 12 March at Sovereign 1, Le Meridien – New Delhi, the fifth edition of Rail India Conference organised by Messe Frankfurt India will address the challenges for Indian railways in the postCOVID world and spur discussions on new strategies and innovations to enhance the railway system.
Major industry stakeholders and officials from the sector will unite at this conference with an aim to network and collectively discuss “the need-ofthe-hour” for the industry, including:
• Shri Satish K. Kashyup, General Manager, Chittraranjan
Locomotive Works (CLW)
• Shri Puneet Chawla, Chairman and Managing Director, RailTel
Corporation of India Ltd.
• Shri S. K. Lohia, Managing Director & Chief Executive officer,
Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Ltd.(IRSDC)
• Shri Rajesh Prasad, Director (Operations), Rail Vikas Nigam
Limited (RVNL)
• Shri Nanduri Srinivas, Director (Operations & BD), DFCCIL
• Shri Akhil Agrawal, Principal Advisor (S&T), RVNL & Former
Director General/S&T/Railway Board
• Shri Parag Verma, Chief General Manager /Business
Development, Ircon International Limited
• Shri Pradeep Kumar, Former (Member Infrastructure) Railway
Board, Ministry of Railways
• Shri Ved Parkash Dudeja, Vice Chairman, Rail Land
Development Authority (RLDA)
• Shri Gautam Arora, CSTE/P/East, Northern Railway
• Mr. Rakesh Gaur, President – Railway Division, Kalpataru power
Transmission Ltd.
• Shri Anurag Sachan, Former MD, DFCCIL
• Shri Rajesh Agarwal, Advisor; Former Member (Rolling Stock),
Railway Board
• Mr. Anant Kumar Tewari, Project Director – Systems &
Infrastructure, Alstom Transport India Limited
The conference will address key agendas for the evolution and expansion of Indian railways, including: Key trends and developments in the railway segment, innovative funding models & need for PublicPrivate Partnerships (PPP), discussion on station infrastructure development projects across the country, recent advancements and design innovations in Rolling Stock, as well as innovative solutions to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. The role of IT in railway modernisation i.e. Railway 4.0 and updates on dedicated freight corridor projects will be among the active topics in the agenda of this year’s conference.
In the past, the Ministry of Railways has launched various initiatives to improve Indian railways on operational and service front. The focus of Indian railways for the financial year 2021-22 will be largely based on infrastructure development, improvement of passenger amenities, development of terminal facilities, signaling systems, safety works of ROBs & RUBs, high speed train projects, etc. The Indian Railways has also come up with a Draft National Rail Plan after a two year-long exercise – which will enable the sector to achieve a 45% freight transportation modal share by 2026.
The new edition of Rail India conference will emerge as a “crucial meeting point” for rail industry stakeholders along with technology solution providers and funding agencies to share their outlook and devise strategies for the advancement of railway sector in the new normal.
