Organisers: 

What differentiates our conferences?

• The agenda is developed by our researchers, who track the sector round the year. It is thus relevant and topical. It is not driven by a particular organisation and does not have a particular slant.
• The speakers are professionals and experts involved in the sector, not a mix of ambassadors, ministers, celebrities and business owners.
• The conferences do not just comprise panels and speeches; they provide a good mix of expert presentations and case histories, and of course panel discussions.
• We have representation from across the country, as is the case at our physical conferences too.
• Each stakeholder group – policymakers, developers, financiers, consultants and relevant NGOs – is represented at our conferences.
• The moderators merely ask the questions. The stars are the speakers themselves.
• The sessions begin and end on time.
• There is adequate time for a Q&A session with each speaker. These are not “hit and run” speeches.
• The delegates are professionals who are vested in the sector, and are not just assembled through social media.
• The participants in each conference receive a concise report outlining the key facts, trends and issues in the sector.
• A recap of the conference is also made available to reinforce the key takeaways.

• In the past few years, Indian Railways (IR) has made great strides in improving its level of service. Station redevelopment and modernisation works are in full swing. Work on the country’s first high speed rail corridor, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR, is currently under way and several stretches of the upcoming western and eastern dedicated freight corridors (DFCs) have been commissioned. Steps are also being taken for enhancing safety, digitalising operations, improving cleanliness and reducing the railways’ carbon footprint.
• However, the Covid-19 pandemic has put a halt on IR’s operations, reportedly leading to losses of up to Rs 125 billion during the first 43 days of the lockdown – Rs 65 billion in passenger earnings and Rs 60 billion in freight revenue. Besides, factors such as a shortage of raw material and labour are delaying ongoing projects. Bids are being postponed and announced/approved projects are on hold.
• The railways has, however, spearheaded several initiatives such as the conversion of passenger coaches into isolation wards and the manufacture of personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilators for the management of the Covid-19 situation in the country.
• Another landmark initiative has been the approval of the organisational restructuring of the railways. Moreover, recognising the need for financial and managerial capital, IR is increasingly focusing on leveraging public-private partnerships (PPPs) for speeding up sector development.
• Further, IR registered its best safety record during 2019-20 with zero passenger fatalities in railway accidents from April 2019 to February 2020. Several initiatives including massive renewal of tracks, improvements in signalling systems, and switching to modern and safer Linke Hofmann Busch coaches have helped in the reduction of rail accidents.
• IR has also become a key driver of the government’s Make in India programme, enabling the country to become a manufacturing base for railway equipment. The launch of the Vande Bharat Express, which was manufactured with 80 per cent indigenous components, has been a big success story for IR. Besides, track maintenance machines such as utility vehicles and rail-bound maintenance vehicles have been fully indigenised.
• A number of other measures are planned to be taken to transform rail operations. By 2023, IR will be 100 per cent electrically run and it has plans to source about 1,200 MW of renewable energy, progressively, by 2021-22. By 2023-24, over 17,000 km of new line, doubling and gauge conversion works are targeted to be completed. The budgeted capital expenditure for 2020-21 stands at Rs 1.61 trillion.
• Going forward, key issues such as procedural delays and financial instability need to be addressed by policymakers. New strategies to fast-track project implementation and delivery need to be devised. Furthermore, challenges such as cost and time overruns, and the lack of private sector investment need to be tackled on an urgent basis.
• The mission of this conference is to discuss the trends, developments and key challenges in the railways sector, identify the potential strategies to fast-track implementation, and highlight the near and medium-term outlook and opportunities in the sector. The conference will provide a platform to showcase noteworthy projects, best practices and recent innovations in technology and equipment.

EMERGING TRENDS, DEVELOPMENTS AND OUTLOOK

• What have been the key trends and developments in the railways sector?
• What are the biggest issues and challenges? What has been the impact of Covid-19 on the sector (project delivery, revenues, future plans, etc.)?
• What is the future outlook? What are the new and emerging opportunities?

IR PERSPECTIVE: KEY ACHIEVEMENTS, IMPACT OF Covid-19 AND FUTURE GROWTH STRATEGIES

• What have been the key achievements of IR during the past year?
• What are some of the initiatives taken by IR during the Covid-19 lockdown period? What are the new areas of IR’s contribution (manufacture of PPE, ventilators, etc.)?
• What are the key issues and challenges facing the sector? What steps are being taken by the ministry to address these?
• What policy changes/initiatives can be expected in the future?

FINANCING STRATEGIES AND POTENTIAL FOR PPPs

• What are the new sources of funding being explored in the sector? What has been the experience so far?
• What are the new opportunities and areas for private sector participation in the railways sector (station redevelopment, train operations, wagon procurement, etc.)?
• What are the specific initiatives being taken by IR to promote PSP in these segments? What has been the impact of these initiatives? What is the potential going forward?

RAILWAY  ELECTRIFICATION PLANS

• What are IR’s electrification targets? What has been the progress so far?
• What are the recent initiatives taken by IR to expedite electrification work? What are the key outcomes achieved under Mission Electrification?
• What are the new targets and timelines pertaining to rail electrification? What are the investment requirements?

TRACK CONSTRUCTION: NETWORK EXPANSION AND DECONGESTION TARGETS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

• What are the 2020-21 targets for railway track construction (new lines, doubling, gauge conversion, etc.)?
• What have been the key achievements in 2019-20 in terms of length of new lines, doubling and gauge conversion works completed?
• What are the investment requirements? What are the upcoming projects and opportunities?
• What are the biggest issues and challenges? What has been the impact of Covid-19 on project delivery and implementation?

MEGA PROJECTS: PROGRESS SO FAR AND UPCOMING PROJECTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

There will be a dedicated session on each of the following mega projects/programmes:

• Station Infrastructure Redevelopment
• Dedicated Freight Corridor
• Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail
• Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System
• Mumbai Urban Transport Project
• Bengaluru Suburban System

• What is the current status of the project? What are the key milestones and targets?
• What has been the impact of Covid-19 on the progress and timelines of the project? What steps are being taken to fast-track implementation?
• What are some of the new and advanced technologies being used for construction?
• What are the upcoming contracts/tenders and opportunities?

MODERN SIGNALLING AND TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

• What are the new technologies available in the S&T segment (automatic block signalling, European Train Control System Level 2, etc.)?
• What has been the experience so far in the adoption of these technologies? What have been the implementation issues and challenges?
• What are the emerging requirements and opportunities in the next one to two years?

MAKE IN INDIA: EMERGING NEEDS, NEW INITIATIVES AND POST COVID-19 OPPORTUNITIES

• What are the recent initiatives under the Make in India programme (related to high HP locomotives, trainsets, spares and components of rolling stock, light weight coaches, signalling and telecommunication equipment, etc.)?
• What are the emerging opportunities in light of the Covid-19 pandemic? What are the investment requirements?
• What are the key issues and future plans?

SPOTLIGHT ON RAILWAY BRIDGES AND TUNNELS

• What have been the key developments in railway bridges and tunnels? What are some of the noteworthy projects?
• What are the new innovations in design and fabrication?
• What has been the experience with the development of complex structures?
• What are the upcoming projects and opportunities? What are the key issues and challenges?

ROLLING STOCK: CURRENT PRODUCTION, INNOVATIONS AND FUTURE REQUIREMENTS

• What have been the key trends in the production and acquisition of rolling stock in 2019-20?
• What are the recent advancements and innovations in design? What are the new types of trains being manufactured (Train 18, 9,000 HP locomotives, etc.)?
• What are the production targets and plans for the next couple of years?
• What are the plans for production capacity expansion? What steps are being taken to promote indigenous production?

NEW AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS

• What are the emerging trends and developments in the technology segment?
• What are the new and emerging remote surveillance and monitoring requirements at railway stations in the current scenario?
• What are the innovative and advanced technologies being offered by vendors?
• What are the new and emerging opportunities for technology providers?

FOCUS ON METRO RAIL SYSTEMS: CURRENT STATE, UPCOMING PROJECTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

• What is the current status of metro rail development in India?
• What have been the learnings and experience so far?
• What are the new and emerging challenges pre- and post-Covid? How are they being addressed?
• What are the upcoming projects and opportunities in the segment? What is the short-term outlook for the sector?

PROMISE OF TECHNOLOGY: FOCUS ON SMART PAYMENT AND TICKETING SYSTEMS

• What are the new and emerging smart ticketing and payment requirements for the metro rail segment?
• What are the existing systems and technologies deployed for fare collection and ticketing? What are the potential challenges in the deployment of such systems?
• What are the new and advanced technologies and tailor-made solutions offered by vendors in light of the Covid-19 pandemic?
• What are the new and emerging opportunities for technology providers?

For speaking opportunities, please contact:
Neha Mathur
Conference Programming
Email: neha.mathur@indiainfrastructure.com
M: +91 9972 040 672

The conference is targeted at officials and managers from

• Indian Railways
• IR-related organisations
• Private operators
• Contractors
• Consultants
• Financial institutions
• Logistics firms
• Equipment manufacturers
• Technology providers
• Legal firms
• Industry analysts
• Road organisations
• Port operators
• Service organisations
• Suburban railway organisations
• Major consumers
• Development institutions
• Potential developers/investors, etc

Delegate benefits (Virtual Conference)

• Direct interaction with senior speakers (Q&A facility)
• Easy connectivity to geographically dispersed delegates (click of a mouse)
• Concise report offered as a backgrounder
• Cost effective (lower ticket price as compared to a physical conference)
• Offers flexibility and convenience
• Access to conference recording
• Recap of conference sessions
• Contributes to sustainability and lower carbon footprint

• GST @18 per cent is applicable on the registration fee.
• Registration will be confirmed on receipt of the payment.