NETHERLANDS: Supported by NS, ProRail and Railforum, the 10th Rail-Tech exhibition takes place at the Jaarbeurs centre in Utrecht on March 17-19.
Organised by Europoint, the biennial show is returning to its former venue after two outings to the former NS maintenance workshops at Amersfoort.
Up to 6 000 visitors are expected to attend the show, which has drawn exhibitors from across the Benelux region. As well as Alstom, Thales and Lloyd’s Register Rail, event sponsors include Alom Rail Engineering & Supply BV, a local specialist in track and rail fastenings. Other Dutch exhibitors include engineering group Arcadis, consultancy Movares and certification agency RailCert.
Track manufacturers exhibiting in Utrecht include Arcelor-Mittal, Vossloh Cogifer Kloos, Elektro-Thermit, Volker Rail, Balfour Beatty Rail and Getzner. There is also a strong signalling presence, including Computer Products Professional, Dutch Rail Controls and Pilz, as well as level crossing specialist VRS. Monitoring, measurement and testing services are being shown by Amberg Technologies and Signal Concept of Germany, while Bombardier and Voith are among the rolling stock suppliers participating in the exhibition.
In parallel with this year’s exhibition, a one-day conference on Ertms, ETCS and GSM-R will take place on March 18. Chaired by Railway Gazette International’s Managing Editor Nick Kingsley, the opening session will look at the current state of deployment in the Netherlands and future prospects, with Wim Fabries, Ertms Programme Director at the Ministry of Infrastructure & Environment, Michel Ruesen of the Ertms Users Group and Pio Guido, Head of Unit at the European Railway Agency. A second session will consider emerging technologies, while parallel sessions will consider issues around migration, maintenance, safety, availability and capacity management.
A half-day seminar on March 19 will debate Rail Safety & Compliance in an era of growing European regulation, as well as the requirements of different member states.
As in previous years, Rail-Tech will be presenting an Innovation Award to the most innovative development or product on display; this year there will also be a ‘young innovation’ award for entrants under 35. Led by Prof Rolf Dollevoet from Delft Technical University, the judging panel includes Chris Verstegen of ProRail and David Kramer from the Jonge Veranderaars association.
- Meet the Railway Gazette team at Rail-Tech on stand C029
