The Fifth International Fair
of Railway Equipment and Technologies EXPO 1520

03.09.2015

EXPO 1520 Railway Fair opens in Scherbinka

The Fifth Anniversary International Fair of Railway Equipment and Technologies EXPO 1520 opened on September 2, 2015 in Scherbinka.

Russian Railways President Oleg Belozerov, Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Alexey Tsydenov, Director General of the European Rail Industry Association (UNIFE) Philippe Citroën, and Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Alexander Morozov attended the opening ceremony.

The Russian Railways President opened the ceremony by reading out an address to the Fair participants from Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. “Every two years, the EXPO 1520 brings together in Russia’s capital representatives of leading companies from countries united by the common wide gauge standard, and over ten years it has become the biggest railway exhibition in Eastern Europe and the CIS. Traditionally, the newest engineering and design solutions in the areas of rolling stock and track equipment, communications and transportation management, automation and remote control take centre stage at the exhibition. They are heralding in the future of rail transport, which plays a key role in international integration, the efficient development of regions and countries, enhancing mobility and improving living standards,” the address said.

According to Oleg Belozerov, EXPO 1520 serves not only as a showcase of achievements, but also as a venue for negotiating and signing contracts. “I would like to wish everybody nice, big, fat contracts”, the Russian Railways President added.

The business programme for the first day of the “Railway Engineering. Prospects, Technologies, Priorities” conference opened with an expanded meeting of the Working Group of the Coordination Council of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation dedicated to systematising plans for the development of urban rail transport and the manufacturing of trams in Russia. The discussion moderator, CEO of the Institute for Natural Monopolies Research Yuri Saakyan, pointed out the industry’s main challenges and noted the need for a long-term urban transport policy. The roundtable panelists discussed the state of the legal and regulatory framework and shared experiences of urban rail transport development across Russia. As he spoke about measures required to develop rail transport in Russia’s regions Kirov Ust-Katavsky Train-Car Construction Company CEO Alexander Gnatyuk said: “The nation’s largest cities create its potential and these cities need balanced transport solutions to develop further.” Alstom Transport CIS Senior Vice-President Martin Vaujour presented projects for the development of turnkey tram system solutions in cities across the globe. Rail Car Building Research Institute Chief Metrologist Yuri Klimenko also took part in the event.

A roundtable on client-oriented rail product manufacturing also took place. Participants discussed the monitoring of the behavior of rail products in operation as well as the preparedness of the rail manufacturing industry for import substitution. Speakers noted the need for the urgent retooling of Russia’s rail production facilities and assessed the current state of the industry.

The “Rail Machinery 1520: Outlines of Sustainable Growth” plenary session was the keynote event of the conference’s opening day. Participants discussed state support measures and railway engineering strategy for the immediate future amid an unstable economic environment. Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Alexey Tsydenov stressed the importance of developing innovative products with greater competitive advantages since it’s this kind of product that will help develop railway engineering going forward. Substantial attention was devoted to future projects in the industry. “The present time is a time of challenge, it is difficult but unique because only times like these create new opportunities,” said Transmashholding CEO Kirill Lipa. Siemens AG Mobility Division CEO Jochen Eickholt offered a closer look at localisation at all levels of the production chain, while Sinara Group CEO Mikhail Khodorovsky shared his experience of cooperation with Siemens and spoke about manufacturing modern types of electric powered locomotives. At the conclusion of the meeting, nine strategically important agreements were signed.

Prizes were awarded for best innovation designs. The awards ceremony took place at a general meeting of the Association of Railway Equipment Manufacturers. Forty-five companies took part in the contest this year. There were three nominations for best design. The Kolomna Plant won the “Locomotives and Motorised Rolling Stock” nomination with its “12LDG500 – A New-Generation Diesel” project. No top prize was awarded in the “Cars and Track Machines” nomination, with projects placing second and third. INFOTRANS’s self-propelling multi-functional diagnostic laboratory based on the 2TE116 SMDL-2TE 116 diesel locomotive carried the “Infrastructure Elements” nomination.

A solemn Postage Stamp Cancellation Ceremony concluded day one of the Fair. Russian Railways First Vice-President Vadim Morozov, Business Dialogue CEO Anatoly Kitsura and Deputy Head of the Federal Communications Agency Vladimir Shelikhov took part in the ceremony. The “History of Russia’s Uniforms. Uniforms of Railway Workers” postal stamp series was released into circulation. 

As part of EXPO 1520’s static and dynamic expositions, visitors are able to see the latest in railway equipment, technology, infrastructure, rolling stock and locomotive traction:
NPK United Wagon Company (NPK OVK, Holding) introduced new models of innovative freight boxcars based on the Barber bogie;
Transmashholding presented 12 pieces of its latest equipment. In particular, as part of the static exposition visitors can see the EG2Тv five-car urban electric train – the first project to be implemented as part of the new base universal platform for new-generation Russian-made electric trains;

The dynamic exposition features: the world’s most powerful (13,120 KW in hourly mode) 4ES5K AC electric freight locomotive; the EP20 electric passenger locomotive – the first Russian-made double-system locomotive capable of pulling passenger trains at speeds of up to 200 km/h; the 2TE25KM main-line diesel freight locomotive; and the TEM19 – Russia’s only liquefied natural gas powered tug locomotive.

The Moscow Metro’s outdoor exhibition area features two cars of the very first A Series that inaugurated traffic on the first Moscow Metro line. The 1934 model year cars were carefully restored in time for the 80th anniversary of the Moscow Metro that was marked this year. In addition, the outdoor area will feature two cars of the most popular Moscow Metro model – the 81-717 (“Nomernoi”).

6,880 people visited the Fair on its opening day.