Conferences
Two separate half-a-day high-level conferences on 7 June dived deep into the local challenges, but also the opportunities and chances of Belgium: Belgian rail in 2040 & Accelerating the shift to rail in Belgian ports.
The attendees of both conferences met each other during the networking lunch between the conferences to connect with each other.
Morning conference: Belgian rail in 2040
When it comes to rail, Belgium is a frontrunner in several areas, such as signalling, electrification and the rollout of ERTMS. However, the modal split for rail in Belgium has remained lower than the European average.
What can we learn from the Belgian rail sector? And what bottlenecks still remain in Belgium in increasing the share of rail, such as getting ETCS on board of railway vehicles, having enough capacity for maintenance of rolling stock and opening up the railway market?
Afternoon conference: Accelerating the shift to rail in Belgian ports
The various Belgian ports serve as cornerstones of the country’s economy. Many projects and studies are ongoing in improving the infrastructure and capacity of these ports.
Are the current investments sufficient for relieving the rail infrastructure, and what is the impact of rising energy costs and shortages of materials on these projects? And what role can monitoring play in facilitating extra capacity?