EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc to address a Railway Summit in India

New Delhi (Urban Transport News): The European Union Commissioner for Transport Ms. Violeta Bulc will deliver a keynote address at the 8^th International Railway Summit in New Delhi, India, on November 21, 2019. Reflecting on the past five years of her tenure, Commissioner Bulc will present her vision for transport planning in the keynote address ‘Rail as the backbone of an integrated multimodal transport system’ during the key meeting of urban rail transport leaders, hosted with support from the International Union of Railways (UIC). The Asian continent is experiencing rapid population growth, and so establishing robust planning strategies is vital in facilitating equally swift development. The commissioner will be joined in a panel discussing these challenges by senior government officials from India and Japan, as well as the International Union of Railways (UIC), the European Rail Supply Industry Association (UNIFE) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). In recent years the Indian Government has accelerated its transport plans, signing off on a raft of major rail projects, including the country’s first high-speed line, megacity metro systems and Dedicated Freight Corridor networks. In July 2019, plans to seek private investment to part-fund the Rs 50 trillion ($700bn) required up to 2030 were announced. In October 2019, Indian Railways was reported to be about to float global tenders for  100 160km/h trains at a cost of Rs 380bn ($5.3bn) to be produced domestically in line with the Government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. Violeta Bulc is credited for pushing through the Fourth Railway Package, a set of landmark legislations designed to make Europe’s railways more innovative and competitive. She has also built partnerships beyond the EU’s borders and has promoted European technologies and regulatory standards across the world. Ms. Bulc has prioritized the interconnectivity of national networks and transport modes, digitalization, decarbonization and the pursuit of innovation. The 8^th International Railway Summit sees this unique networking event take place in India for the first time. European companies sharing their insight during the IRS conference program include the EU Agency for Railways (ERA), French National Railways (SNCF), German Railways (DB), Keolis, Shift2Rail, UNIFE, Alstom, Siemens, Bombardier Transportation, and the EU standard body CEN-CENELEC.