The Fifth International Fair
of Railway Equipment and Technologies EXPO 1520

The EXPO 1520 Railway Fair continues at Scherbinka

The Fifth Anniversary International Fair of Railway Equipment and Technologies EXPO 1520 business programme opened with a round table dedicated to the environment and energy efficiency.

Participants shared their experiences of carrying out major energy efficiency improvement projects and discussed the outlook for Russian energy-saving technologies. UIC Senior Advisor on Energy & CO2 Gabriel Castañares Hernández presented a climate protection strategy designed by the International Union of Railways, which has more than 200 industry members from all over the world. The project aims at a more than 50% cut in carbon emissions. “Reducing energy use is important for efficient operation of railways. This is our message for the international community”, the speaker said.

A science and history conference dedicated to the 170^th anniversary of Russia’s transport engineering industry was held. Participants recalled major milestones in national transport engineering and discussed its current state and the outlook for developing the freight railway wagon building industry. Representatives of leading domestic machine engineering companies spoke about their main projects, many of which have already been presented to Russian President Vladimir Putin and will be revealed to the general public very soon. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Alexander Morozov pointed out the importance of such meetings: “EXPO 1520 is a forum that allows us to join efforts to deliver common positive results.”

At a round table dedicated to import substitution, CEO of VNIIZhT Boris Lapidus noted that Russia’s machine engineering is ripe not only for import substitution but also for learning how to do one better: “The import substitution objective should be transformed into one for improving on imports. Or else we are doomed to just sit and watch the West and the East.”

The “Boosting Partnership between Russia and EU: Joint Projects Free from Politics” business forum was one of the central discussions. In his opening remarks, Russian Railways Senior Vice-President and President of the Association of Railway Equipment Manufacturers Valentin Gapanovich spoke about Russian Railways’ joint projects with Siemens, Vossloh, and Bombardier and set out the main areas for his company’s strategic development up to 2025. Many speakers pointed out that, despite the difficulties of the past few years, not a single European company had quit Russia, while many, on the contrary, were ready for even closer cooperation: “We will strengthen our localisation in Russia because that’s what we need for efficient operations”, said Senior Vice-President of Alstom Transport Signaling Pascal Cléré. Director General of the Association of the European Rail Industry (UNIFE) Philippe Citroën thanked Russian Railways for fruitful cooperation and added: “Constant implementation of innovations is extremely important. A transition to rail transport is an EU goal today”.

A workshop entitled “Outlook for 3D Printing in Rail Machinery” was held as part of the EXPO 1520 Fair. Chief Engineer of the Siemens AG Department for Client Service Support Sergey Eman demonstrated the capabilities of a 3D printer and spoke in detail about the outlook for its use in machine engineering. He expounded on ways to manufacture spare parts for railway transport using a 3D printer: “3D printing is a technology heralding the future”, he said.

The Railway Trading Company (ZhTK) and Agrotorg (the national retail chain Pyatyorochka) signed a memorandum of cooperation. Their joint retail venture envisages establishment of passenger service centres complete with grocery stores under the joint ZhTK-Pyatyorochka brand and is aimed at making the Railway Trading Company’s retail outlets more competitive.

Day two of the conference concluded with two round table discussions: “Economics of Locomotive-Engine Construction in Sluggish Market Conditions: What Manufacturers Should Bank On” and “Railway Infrastructure and Rolling Stock: Vectors of Cooperation”. The round table on locomotive building involved discussions about ways to optimise life-cycle costs of innovative rolling stock. President of Siemens Russia, Vice-President of Siemens AG Dietrich Möller said, in particular: “Investments are shrinking but we still have to achieve our transportation objectives.”

The Russian-French round table “Railway Infrastructure and Rolling Stock: Vectors of Cooperation” saw participants share their knowledge of rail transport high technology and discuss high-speed rail innovations.