14th Edition RAILWAYSRAILWAYS ININ INDIAINDIA A VIRTUAL CONFERENCE Trends, IR Initiatives, New Opportunities & Strategies for the Future September 15-116, 2020 Organisers: Co-sponsor so far*: www.globalmasstransit.net *Sponsorship opportunities are available. Railways in India Mission z 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. z 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. z 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. z 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. z 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. z 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. z 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. z 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. z The mission of this conference is to discuss the trends, developments and key challenges in the railways sector, identify the potential strategies to fast-ttrack implementation, and highlight the near and medium-tterm 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. Target Audience The event is expected to draw participation from executives, managers and decision-mmakers from: - Indian Railways - Logistics firms - Port operators - IR-related organisations - Equipment manufacturers - Service organisations - Private operators - Technology providers - Suburban railway organisations - Contractors - Legal firms - Major consumers - Consultants - Industry analysts - Development institutions - Financial institutions - Road organisations - Potential developers/investors, etc. The last edition had a stellar cast of speakers which included: Manju Gupta, Additional Member, Electrical, Railway Board; Anurag Sachan, MD, Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India; Achal Khare, MD, National High Speed Rail Corporation; S.K. Lohia, MD and CEO, Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation; Sudhir Saxena, CEO, Rail Energy Management Company; R.S. Khurana, CMD, Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation; Vijay Nathawat, Director (Projects), Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation; Anil Kumar Shrangarya, Director, Project, National Capital Region Transport Corporation; Sushil Kumar, Director (Operation), Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation; Sudhanshu Shekhar Joshi, Director, Rolling Stock, DMRC; A.K. Tewari, Principal ED, Railway Board; Alok Kansal, Principal ED, Bridges, Railway Board; Naresh Chand Goyal, Principal ED, Safety, Railway Board; B.P. Awasthi, ED (Track/P), Railway Board; Vipul Kumar, ED, Track (MOD), Railway Board; Shailesh Kumar Mishra, ED, Infrastructure (Civil), Ministry of Railways; Ajay Verma, ED, Signal, Research Designs and Standards Organisation; Dr Anirudh Gautam, ED, Research Design & Standards Organisation; etc. To register: Call +91-99953452964, email: [email protected], or visit us at www.indiainfrastructure.com September 15-116, 2020 AGENDA/STRUCTURE EMERGING TRENDS, DEVELOPMENTS AND OUTLOOK MEGA PROJECTS: PROGRESS SO FAR AND UPCOMING PROJECTS AND What have been the key trends and developments in the railways sector? OPPORTUNITIES What are the biggest issues and challenges? What has been the impact of There will be a dedicated session on each of the following mega Covid-19 on the sector (project delivery, revenues, future plans, etc.)? projects/programmes: What is the future outlook? What are the new and emerging -SStation Infrastructure Redevelopment opportunities? -DDedicated Freight Corridor -MMumbai-AAhmedabad High Speed Rail IR PERSPECTIVE: KEY ACHIEVEMENTS, IMPACT OF COVID-119 AND FUTURE -DDelhi-MMeerut Regional Rapid Transit System GROWTH STRATEGIES -MMumbai Urban Transport Project What have been the key achievements of IR during the past year? -BBengaluru Suburban System What are some of the initiatives taken by IR during the Covid-19 lockdown period? What are the new areas of IR’s contribution What is the current status of the project? What are the key milestones and (manufacture of PPE, ventilators, etc.)? targets? What are the key issues and challenges facing the sector? What steps are What has been the impact of Covid-19 on the progress and timelines of being taken by the ministry to address these? the project? What steps are being taken to fast-track implementation? What policy changes/initiatives can be expected in the future? What are some of the new and advanced technologies being used for construction? FINANCING STRATEGIES AND POTENTIAL FOR PPPs What are the upcoming contracts/tenders and opportunities? What are the new sources of funding being explored in the sector? What has been the experience so far? MODERN SIGNALLING AND TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEMS What are the new opportunities and areas for private sector participation What are the new technologies available in the S&T segment (automatic in the railways sector (station redevelopment, train operations, wagon block signalling, European Train Control System Level 2, etc.)? procurement, etc.)? What has been the experience so far in the adoption of these technologies? What are the specific initiatives being taken by IR to promote PSP in these What have been the implementation issues and challenges? segments? What has been the impact of these initiatives? What is the What are the emerging requirements and opportunities in the next one to potential going forward? two years? RAILWAY ELECTRIFICATION PLANS MAKE IN INDIA: EMERGING NEEDS, NEW INITIATIVES AND POST COVID-119 What are IR's electrification targets? What has been the progress so far? OPPORTUNITIES What are the recent initiatives taken by IR to expedite electrification work? What are the recent initiatives under the Make in India programme (related What are the key outcomes achieved under Mission Electrification? to high HP locomotives, trainsets, spares and components of rolling stock, What are the new targets and timelines pertaining to rail electrification? light weight coaches, signalling and telecommunication equipment, etc.)? What are the investment requirements? What are the emerging opportunities in light of the Covid-19 pandemic? What are the investment requirements? TRACK CONSTRUCTION: NETWORK EXPANSION AND DECONGESTION What are the key issues and future plans? TARGETS AND ACHIEVEMENTS What are the 2020-21 targets for railway track construction (new lines, SPOTLIGHT ON RAILWAY BRIDGES AND TUNNELS doubling, gauge conversion, etc.)? What have been the key developments in railway bridges and tunnels? What have been the key achievements in 2019-20 in terms of length of What are some of the noteworthy projects? new lines, doubling and gauge conversion works completed? What are the new innovations in design and fabrication? What are the investment requirements? What are the upcoming projects What has been the experience with the development of complex and opportunities? structures? What are the biggest issues and challenges? What has been the impact of What are the upcoming projects and opportunities?