The International Railway Safety Conference (IRSC) provides a platform for rail safety professionals to come together to share their knowledge and experience in a global forum. In 2011 this conference was co-chaired by Kevin Taylor of the Australian Rail Industry Safety & Standards Board (RISSB) and David Edwards of Australasian Transport Risk Solutions Pty Ltd (ATRS).
Key note speakers in the opening ceremony were Hon Terry Mulder MP, Minister for Public Transport, Victoria (Australia), Bryan Nye, Chief Executive Officer of the Australasian Railway Association (ARA) and Alan Osborne, Director of Transport Safety Victoria.
Around 230 participants from 22 countries took part in this worldwide railway safety event. They were representatives from rail undertakings, infrastructure managers, safety regulators, railway accident investigation agencies, rail unions and equipment manufactures. Peter Gerhardt, Head of UIC’s Safety Unit, represented UIC.
The banner theme for IRSC 2011 was “Rail Safety – Perception and Reality”.
Presentations and discussions were submitted to the following three core themes:
- Interface between old and new technology
- People management for rail safety
- Maximising commitment to rail safety
Anson Jack, Director of Policy Research and Risk, and Deputy CEO of RSSB (UK) announced the 22nd IRSC to be held from 7 – 12 October 2012 in London and jointly hosted by the Rail Safety and Standard Board (RSSB), Network Rail and the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR).
The UIC Safety Platform will take place in London on 11 October. The evening before, UIC will be a sponsor of a network event.
For the first time the IRSC will be combined with the Global Level Crossing Symposium for part of the programme and conference functions, so delegates at both events can look forward to networking with an even wider range of railway safety experts.
UIC is also member of the IRSC Core Group which meets every year during the conference and has joined the IRSC Organising Committee 2012.
