Both Organising and Scientific Committees met in Ankara on 13 and 15 November 2016. The number of participants demonstrated the large interest of UIC Member representatives in the preparation of this 10th World High Speed Congress, which will be held in Ankara from 11 – 14 July 2017.
The theme is “Sharing knowledge for sustainable and competitive operations”.
The Scientific Committee meeting was opened by Mr Isa Apaydin, Chairman of the Board and General Director of TCDD. He highlighted the importance of the development of the high speed system in Turkey and underlined his own strong personal commitment as well as that of his teams in the preparation and success of the Congress. The high patronage of Prime Minister of Republic of Turkey, and the support of Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications of the country underline the interest of the hosting country in the event.
The Congress will be organised around the opening ceremony, three round tables, 25 parallel sessions, and the closing ceremony.
For parallel sessions, the call for papers is being launched this week, through the dedicated website www.uic-highspeed2017.com. Submissions are expected by the end of January 2017 at the latest. Five main themes will be proposed to potential speakers: infrastructure, railway system, stations, trains and commercial operations. Within each of these five themes, five different streams will be proposed to explore a maximum range of subjects.
The topics of the three round tables will allow high ranking speakers, not just from the railway sector, to debate future competition, then about innovation and high speed, and to end on the future, development and innovation. These round tables will be interactive, with questions from the audience.
The Organising Committee meeting mainly focused on logistical aspects, such as the general timing of the three-day Congress, the professional exhibition, the technical and social visits.
The final details, complete programmed, venue, accommodation, etc., will be published very soon on the website and then in the second flyer available in January 2017.
The professional exhibition will feature stands of UIC members and the supply industry. Some countries, such as Spain and China, intend to be present on large stands welcoming different representatives of each country.
