Rome, 22nd May 2016
What will the train of the future be like? Will it run on electricity or salt batteries? Will it be satellite-controlled? Will it travel inside steel tubes? Will big data change the way we travel? Will the internet of things come aboard trains?
These and others are the questions which the World Congress on Railway Research 2016 will seek to answer. The event, organised by Italian State Railways and the train operator Trenitalia, will transform Milan into the world capital of innovation from 29th May to 2nd June, with some 1000 participants including researchers, engineers and specialists from all over the world.
Indeed, the theme of this year’s edition is “Research and Innovation from today towards 2050”, seeking to envisage not only the train of the future but also the mobility scenarios made possible by new technologies. The conference will also look at the present; indeed, the “Today’s Research” sessions will present soon-to-be-implemented projects with the potential to instantly improve rail travel.
The press conference presenting the WCRR will be held on Monday 30th, featuring interviews with Chairwoman of FS Italiane Gioia Ghezzi, CEO of FS Renato Mazzoncini, Director General for Mobility and Transport – DG MOVE Henrik Hololei, Director General of UIC Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, Technical Director of Trenitalia and Chairman of the WCRR2016 Italian Organizing Committee Marco Caposciutti, and CEO of Trenitalia Barbara Morgante. Graziano Delrio, Italian Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, will also speak on 30th May.
And, on Monday 30th May at 7pm, there will be a space dedicated to Hyperloop technology, with CEO of Mermec Andrea Certo, Deputy Chairman of Strategies at Hyperloop Technologies Knut Sauer, Founder and CEO of Transport Sebastien Gendron, CEO of FS Renato Mazzoncini, and Minister for Education, Universities and Research Stefania Giannini.
A further press event is planned for Tuesday 31st May at 10.30am with CEO of the Italian Railway Network (RFI) Maurizio Gentile, CEO of Italian State Railways engineering firm Italferr Matteo Triglia, Chairman and CEO of Alstom Pierre Louis Bertina, and CEO of Hitachi Rail Maurizio Manfellotto, together with other European Railways representatives on the WCRR 2016 Organizing Committee.
Finally, on 2nd June, participants will have the chance to admire rail innovation in the field, at five locations: RFI’s central site at Milano Greco Pirelli railway station, Italcertifer’s rolling stock test centre in Osmannoro, Florence, Trenord’s maintenance facility in Fiorenza, Milan, the company Lucchini RS’ site in Rovere, and Alstom’s centre in Sesto San Giovanni (the latter on 1st June).