Day two of Railtex was filled with another packed seminar programme and offered up the opportunity to network with even more of the 450 exhibitors.
After finally getting the chance to reach all four corners of the hall, here are five things Rail Media learned on day two.
The UK has the safest railway in Europe
That’s according to Network Rail’s managing director of infrastructure projects Dr Francis Paonessa. Opening up day two with a key note lecture, he revealed that the number of fatal train accidents in the UK had been on the decline for decades. The EU average for fatalities per billion train km is 23.7 (passenger and workforce fatalities), the UK’s figure is 0.7. The next highest is the Netherlands at 2.9, followed by Denmark at 5.1.
Network Rail operating costs have dropped by 46 per cent since 2003
Technology – such as that through the ORBIS initiative – have brought about the dramatic reduction.
Alstom has launched its new CLever cantilever
CLever is an innovative cantilever for main line railways which offers adjustability, easy installation and maintenance. CLever cantilever is designed for 25 kV railway electrification and delivers reliable performance for speeds up to 300 km/h. It is compatible with Network Rail’s Series 2 and Master Series range of electrification equipment, and its launch in the UK follows full product acceptance by Network Rail for use on UK infrastructure.
Concept brought to life of @HitachiRailEU‘s AT400, the ‘British Bullet Train’ #Railtex2017 pic.twitter.com/7guVG686WA
— Rail Media (@rail_media) May 10, 2017
Hitachi want to build a legacy in the UK
Despite only arriving in the UK market in 1998, the technology giant wants to build a legacy centred around its Newton Aycliffe facility and Ashford maintenance depot. The former currently employs 900 and the latter more than 100. Overall Hitachi currently employs 1,500, by the end of 2017 it wants to employ 2,000. Its sales director Nick Hughes estimates that HS2 will be worth £55 billion to the UK and he said that Hitachi want to build the first British Bullet Train for it at Newton Aycliffe.
