Railways Africa

I am a student graduating soon from a university in the States. Who do I talk to in order to get an invitation to this event. I would like to cover this event to include in a documentary on Africa’s railroads.

The keenly anticipated Railways and Harbours Conference and Exhibition, produced by Railways Africa will be hosted in Johannesburg from 6 – 8 April 2011, is already exceeding expectations in terms of the quality and stature of confirmed participants.

The event boasts a strong international flavour and features many top flight exhibitors in the world of railways, mining and ports, as well as an impressive list of more than 40 distinguished conference speakers.
The conference component, sponsored by Bombardier, will be officially opened by South Africa’s transport deputy minister, Jeremy Cronin, and the keynote address will be delivered by Clem Sunter. Speaking on infrastructural requirements for Africa and the role of power requirements to meet the demands, Mr Sunter will, as per usual, undoubtedly entertain, astonish and edify.

Leading international decision makers from industry, transport and politics will converge on this occasion to share their expertise and engage in constructive dialogue.

A sample of the conference speakers clearly illustrates the quality and relevance in this regard:

* David Anglin from Bombardier on ”Best practices and trends of international operators”;
* Dr Willem Sprong from Arcus Gibb: ”Innovation in Railway Maintenance Strategy”;
* Philippe Roch of Alstom on ”PPPs, focussing on the Chinese component”
* Marie Parramon of Imbewu on ”Green legislation”;
* Klaus Findt from KPMG: ”Infrastructural investment lessons learnt”;
* James Holley of Grinrod on ”Corridor management”;
* Prof Philip Black from the University of Stellenbosch on ”New PPP models”;
* Dede Bukasa of Khuthele Projects: ”Passenger rail development in Southern Africa”;
* Xavier Prevost of the Fossil Fuel Foundation: ”Impact of deteriorating infrastructure in mining” and
* Dr Allan Wijnberg of Prestedge Retief Dresner Wijnberg on ”Ports and harbour expansion, deepwater ports, planning, design and construction”.

Representatives from countries all over Africa will be attending, including Ambassador Roger Ballard-Tremeer of the South Africa – Angola Chamber of Commerce, who will also present a paper on Angola’s ports and railways. Waddingham Makonyola from the Ministry of Transport and Public Infrastructure of Malawi will speak on ”Economic growth versus rail infrastructure”.
The International Union of Railways (UIC), Transnet Rail Engineering, the RailRoad Association and the Transport Forum are the confirmed exhibition event partners.

Exhibitors for the three-day event include the likes of Gautrain, Transnet National Ports Authority, Prasa, Transnet Freight Rail, Sheltam, Arcus Gibb, Transnet Port Terminals, Namibia Ports Authority, CTE, BKS and Khuthele Projects, UIC, Kaymac, Surtees, MTU, Maritime-International (UK) and Advanced Digital Devices.

Importantly, the mining sector will be the focus of special attention at this year’s conference and exhibition – and not only because there are more kilometres of railway underground than on the surface.

”This event has been structured to service the needs of our continent, and it is important for the players in all the relevant sectors to stay abreast of unfolding developments”, says conference organiser Phillippa Dean, ”In terms of our speakers, we have achieved a healthy balance in covering aspects of ports, mines, rail and commuters”.

Local and international visitors will be attending, including public and private transport enterprises and operators, as well as government officials, administrators, miners, trade associations and institutions, manufacturers and suppliers of transport technology, engineers, scientists, the freight shipping industry and the media.

The event is accredited by the South African Institute for Civil Engineering (SAICE) and CPD points will be awarded for attendance.
The Railways & Harbours Conference and Exhibition will take place from the 6 to 8 April 2011 at the recently renovated Johannesburg Expo Centre.

For additional information call Sue Klomp at telephone +27 72 777 0092 or email her at sue@railwaysandharbours.com. Conference delegates need to register beforehand: more details and registration facilities are available on the official website: http://www.railwaysandharbours.com.

We Welcome Tanker Services and Isongo Rail as exhibitors!

We are really pleased to welcome the endorsement and participation of UIC – The International Union of Railways who will be participating at Railways and Harbours conference and Exhibition with UIC Africa.

To find out more about this event, or view our list of speakers http://www.railwaysandharbours.com