Being transparent about what is going well and what could be better, and introducing innovations where improvement is necessary: this is what ProRail, the Dutch Rail Infrastructure Manager, will do at the rail industry fair RailTech Europe, which takes place in March 2017 at the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht. At its stand at this international fair, ProRail will talk about the railway industry, lead knowledge workshops, give conference presentations and demonstrate its latest innovations.

The rail infrastructure manager wants to present the ‘new ProRail’, explains Chief Procurement Officer Dimitri Kruik. “RailTech is happening at precisely the right time for ProRail. We now want to spread transparency and enter into discussions with the rail industry about relevant themes. We have a large central stand with representatives from our management teams and tender specialists. Moreover, we will give focused workshops to impart information about how we are looking towards the future. We will also hear from parties in the industry about the opportunities they can see.”
Communications Manager Wieneke Buurman: “One of our strategic pillars is transparency. This means that we discuss issues that could go better with the railways with experts who can add value. As a result we will look more proactively for connections with railway companies. We want to be in touch with others in the sector so we can look together at how things can be improved.”

RailTech Europe
The eleventh edition of RailTech Europe is taking place on 28, 29 and 30 March 2017. This railway industry fair, the largest of its kind in the Benelux, is being organised in conjunction with ProRail, NS, Holland Rail Industry, Railforum and KNV. Over 7,500 railway professionals from the Netherlands and aboard are expected.
Alongside the fair and the knowledge workshops, there is a special Rail Career Day, and a number of rail awards will be given out. Another part of RailTech is a three-day rail conference where the themes of ERTMS, Track Data and Track Maintenance, and the connections between them, will be examined.

Proud of the rail industry
“During the event, we will discuss with the sector about how we can work together to make further improvements to the reliability, availability and sustainability of the railway. And we encourage the rail industry to be present at the fair,” says Kruik. “As the Netherlands we should be proud of our rail industry, and we do not express this enough. I think that inwardly people are proud, but now we must combine this with the guts to say something.”
ProRail wants to hold its own suppliers’ day at RailTech Europe 2017. “During the suppliers’ days we discuss our strategy with our partners. We want this day to be structured differently, facilitated by RailTech Europe,” according to the Chief Procurement Officer.

Rail Career Day
Furthermore, ProRail wants to present itself at the Rail Career Day, says Chief Projects Officer Ans Rietstra. “At the fair, we want to show who we are and what the organisation looks like. ProRail is a great company where you can acquire all sorts of skills. We have an incredible number of possibilities for employees to develop themselves, both vertically and horizontally. For example, I know colleagues that started in the admin department and later became track inspectors.”
“ProRail has traditionally been a somewhat closed organisation. It is not usual for us to be at the forefront, but that is exactly what we are going to do at RailTech Europe. If you want to maintain the track in the right way, you have to invest. And we want to demonstrate that.”

Meeting point for the railway sector
“On the other hand, we can also learn from others. The fair is a location for meeting. At ProRail, we want to find out what other rail companies do. Therefore we are calling on other rail firms to take part and share their knowledge. The railway sector is not so enormous. It would be nice it other rail companies also attended so we could meet each other, offer a collective position on the sector and work on projects,” underlines Ms Rietstra.

Please visit the RailTech Europe website for more information.