Elisabeth Werner, the European Commission’s Director of Land Transport, and François Davenne, Director General of the International Union of Railways (UIC), were among transport leaders predicting rail’s post-COVID future in the inaugural IRS Rail Webinar on 2 June 2020.
The webinar, entitled ‘Post-COVID: What will be the new normal for rail travel?’, and organised by the International Railway Summit, took the pulse of the sector as it navigates the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
Ms Werner and Mr Davenne were joined by Wolfgang Küpper, Secretary General of the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF), and Céline Fornaro, Managing Director, Head of European Industrials Equity Research, UBS. The debate was moderated by Shift2Rail’s Executive Director, Carlo Borghini.
An international audience representing the breadth of the rail spectrum attended the session, which assessed the medium and long-term impacts of the coronavirus on safety, operations, business continuity, and pre-existing trends.Rail’s role in continuing to support communities, carry essential goods and key workers, and moving passengers to work and to school was acknowledged as more vital than ever.
The fundamental unknown driving the debate was how quickly passengers would come back to relaunched services, and in what numbers.The webinar opened with an audience poll asking ‘How long will the recovery take?’, to which the largest number replied ‘1 year’.
François Davenne was equally optimistic about the future, stating that 1 year from now full rail activity should have more or less resumed. He emphasised how close collaboration across the transport family, including with UITP and IATA through the UIC’s COVID-19 Taskforce, can spread best practice and keep mobility chains open. Looking into the long-term, Mr Davenne said that unified digitalised networks should come to define a new transport paradigm.
The importance of global collaboration was also the key message of Wolfgang Küpper’s presentation. OTIF stands ready and willing to help set up an international legal framework for emergencies, he said, and multilateral coordination was the best way to facilitate a smooth transition to new ways of working. The new normal will certainly not be the old normal, he added, but rail and OTIF are prepared for the challenge.
In her presentation, Elisabeth Werner said the Commission wish to continue “very forcefully” with the European Green Deal, and bring sustainable transport back to the top of the agenda. “There will be a vaccine for COVID but not against climate change”, she declared. Whilst acknowledging that rail has been amongst the sectors most affected by the current situation, Ms Werner noted that every crisis also offers an opportunity, and that we should keep the new emphases and processes implemented during COVID, such as those concerning digitalisation, ticket handling, and cargo.
Céline Fornaro posed the dilemma of the post-COVID traveller: by air or by high-speed train? Ms Fornaro detailed the findings of a recent UBS report into how the coronavirus, as well as pre-existing considerations around sustainability, cost, time, and comfort would influence how people travelled. She warned that if modes do not collaborate, they risk being left behind by the competition. As an example, Ms Fornaro cited how shorter haul flights face an increasing challenge from high-speed rail.
The IRS Rail webinar series builds on the network, knowledge, and trust built over 9 International Railway Summit events. Just as with the summit, the webinars will host thought-provoking debates given by leaders from the rail community and beyond and there will be interactive panel discussions with questions from the audience. The IRS Rail Webinars are designed to help the railway sector stay informed and stay connected.
The next edition of the IRS Rail Webinar series, EU’s COVID-19 relief measures for the rail sector will take place on 9 June. Speakers include leading figures from the European Commission, the EU Agency for Railways, Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), and Alstom. Registration is open on https://www.irits.org/irswebinars/eus-covid-19-relief-measures-for-the-rail-sector/.
The IRS Rail Webinar series builds on the network, knowledge, and trust established over 9 International Railway Summit events. Throughout the series influential policymakers, key operators and infrastructure owners, and pioneering suppliers and innovators will share their experience and best practice. IRS Rail Webinars are designed to help the railway sector stay informed and stay connected. At this difficult time communication is more important than ever.
The International Railway Summit is a meeting of senior executives representing the world’s key rail operators, rail infrastructure management companies, national and local governments, rolling stock manufacturers and a wide range of solution providers.
International Railway Summit provides a ‘matchmaking’ service between rail industry leaders (‘buyers’) and technical experts, based on buyer delegates’ project requirements and the proven expertise of large and small suppliers that we have carefully handpicked. Based on this matchmaking, buyer delegates attend one-to-one consultation sessions with suitable suppliers during the annual summit.
In addition to the one-to-one meetings, delegates also attend a conference programme given by key industry leaders and experts and network over lunches and dinners with their counterparts and industry colleagues from all over the world. The International Railway Summit is hosted by IRITS Events. The 10th International Railway Summit will take place on 24-26 February 2021 in Berlin, Germany.
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