INFRARAIL REVIEW
Infrarail 2014 – a look back
It was another great year for the rail industry and RTM at Infrarail 2014, with an incredible amount to see and important updates on some of the country’s biggest projects. Adam Hewitt and David Stevenson report.
J
eremy Candfi eld, who has led the Railway Industry Association (RIA) for 16 years,
perhaps summed up the positive spirit at Infrarail 2014 when he said: “This year is a seriously good time to be in the rail industry, as all of you probably know.”
The three-day event at Earl’s Court in London attracted 241 exhibitors and more than 5,400 visitors from around the world, plus a high- profi le roster of speakers to share their insights with the audience.
The visitor tally, 13% up on the last event in 2012, made this the busiest-ever Infrarail, and it was co-located with the inaugural Civil Infrastructure & Technology Exhibition.
Confi dence to invest
Candfi eld was among the speakers on day one of the event, and highlighted the record levels of investment and passenger numbers, major rolling stock orders, the commitments to development a ‘digital railway’ from Network Rail chief executive Mark Carne, and the progress on major projects like Thameslink, Crossrail, HS2, the Northern Hub, Edinburgh- Glasgow, electrifi cation and London Underground and Overground expansion.
He said: “This level of workload and confi rmed funding encourages industry to invest – for very sound commercial reasons – in the equipment and product development needed to deliver such an extensive programme. Moreover the continued pressure to increase effi ciency and control costs, while increasing our safety and environmental qualities is attracting interest from railways from around the world.
“The extensive range and products we see at Infrarail offers real value for the future, but the delivery of tomorrow’s railway ultimately depends on the skill of our people. The industry, I am glad to say, looks busy and successful in CP5.”
Historic opportunity
Transport minister Baroness Kramer declared the show open during her keynote speech on day one, speaking of the “powerful story” the industry has to tell and how Infrarail helps tell that story.
She said: “We didn’t just inherit a fi scal defi cit. We inherited an infrastructure defi cit too. And a crowded and congested transport network that was holding back our economy. So we’ve made a very signifi cant commitment to prioritise infrastructure spending, particularly on the railway.”
She added: “One of the problems the rail industry has had in this country is stop-start investment. Big maintenance and upgrade programmes followed by periods of inactivity. That makes it very diffi cult for the supply chain
to plan ahead, and grow in a steady way. So we’re planning a pipeline of future funding that will meet the country’s long-term needs – and provide a sustained boost to the industry.”
The minister spoke to RTM after her speech, telling us that it was imperative the industry and government create opportunities for
rail technology magazine Jun/Jul 14 | 31
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