3rd UITP India Urban Rail Seminar- A glimpse of new developments in the sector

Recently UITP India organised its annual Urban Rail Seminar on 18-19 December 2019, hosted by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. The seminar not only saw delegates from many metros from India such as Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore to name a few but also had participation from international counterparts such as East Japan Railways Company , Prasarana Malaysia Berhad,  Shenzhen Metro. It also saw participation from delegates from 8 different countries.

The Seminar on 18 December with a diverse line of speakers representing authorities, manufacturers, technology providers, start-ups focused on the burning topics in the urban rail sector such as metrolite, metro automation, innovation, digitalisation, artificial intelligence and last mile connectivity.

The inaugural session of the Seminar was addressed by Mr Jaideep- OSD Urban Transport and Ex officio Joint Secretary – Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Dr Mangu Singh – Managing Director DMRC, Jerome Pourbaix- Senior Director Global Growth UITP and K K Saberwal- Director Finance – DMRC.

Mr Jaideep highlighted how the urban areas in the country are growing exponentially and how public transport needs to keep a pace with the growth, Urban Rail Systems are hence essential for such urban areas. Dr Mangu Singh highlighted the importance of sustainability in public transport systems and said Railway systems are the most efficient means of public transportation in terms of carrying capacity, space utilisation and energy consumption, he also highlighted the importance of integration of various modes of transport.

A technical visit ON 19^thDecember was also carried out that covered visit to operations and control centre of Delhi Metro, Mandi House interchange, Kashmere Gate interchange, Shastri Park Depot and maintenance facilities, Training facility at Delhi Metro Rail Academy.