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25-27 Nov 2024 - GCCEC, Gold Coast

Program 2023

In 2023 – the conference program will be a three day event with over 100 speakers, 300 exhibitors, and 6 networking events.

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PRE-EVENT: Monday 13 November
10:00-19:00
Exhibitor bump in
13:00-16:00
Pre-Conference Workshops
Venue: Level 3, Sydney International Convention Centre
Free to attend but registration is required
17:00-18:30
Welcome Drinks
Venue: Sydney International Convention Centre
Register during the main registration process to attend
View more information on the Social Program

10:00 - 19:00
Exhibitor bump in

13:00 - 16:00
Pre-Conference Workshops
Venue: Level 3, Sydney International Convention Centre
Registration required to attend

17:00 - 18:30
Welcome Drinks
Venue: Sydney International Convention Centre

The conference program time zone is GMT+10, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
The conference program is subject to change. 

DAY ONE: Tuesday 14 November 2023
0630-1730
Registration and speaker support open
0715-0830
Women in Rail breakfast
Sponsored by McConnell Dowell
Cockle Bay Room, ICC

In conversation with Kat Stapleton, Chief Executive Officer, Queensland Rail
View social program
0800-1730
0845-1030
Welcome and opening plenary
Theme: Setting the scene
Sponsored by Beca

Parkside Ballroom, ICC
0845-0855
Welcome to country + MC welcome
MC: Simon Bourke, General Manager Policy and Government Relations, Australasian Railway Association
0855-0905
Opening address
Danny Broad
, Chair, Australasian Railway Association
0905-0920
Ministerial address
The Hon Jo Haylen MP
, Minister for Transport (NSW)
0920-1000
Panel: The big picture - setting the national scene
Chair: Caroline Wilkie, Chief Executive Officer, Australasian Railway Association

Panellists
Kevin Doherty, Group Director - Transport and Infrastructure, Beca
Paul Scurrah, Chief Executive Officer, Pacific National
Wendy McMillan, Senior Regional Vice President South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Wabtec Corporation
Josh Murray, Secretary, Transport for NSW
Jon Davies, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Constructors Association
1000-1030
Keynote
Chris Riddell
, Futurist
0900-1630
AusRAIL exhibition theatre presentations
Exhibition Theatre sponsored by Jacobs
1030-1115
1040-1100
First time attendees networking event
AusRAIL PLUS exhibition
1115-1230
Plenary session
Theme: NZ & East Coast Passenger rail updates
Sponsored by Arup
Parkside Ballroom, ICC
Chair: Alice Reis, Principal | Rail - Australasian Leader, Arup
1115-1130
Peter Lensink, Chief Operating Officer, Transdev Australasia
1130-1145
Dr Sean Sweeney, Chief Executive Officer, Auckland City Rail Link
1145-1200
Matt Longland, Chief Executive, Sydney Trains
1200-1215
Raymond O'Flaherty, Chief Executive Officer, Metro Trains Melbourne
1215-1230
Kat Stapleton, Chief Executive Officer, Queensland Rail
1230-1345
1240-1340
Young Rail Professionals lunch
Cockle Bay Room, ICC

Guest speaker: Mehdi Sinaceur, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Senior Vice President - Americas, Asia-Pacific, South Africa and United Kingdom, RATP Dev
View social program
1345-1500
Concurrent technical sessions
C3.6
C3.4 and C3.5
C3.3
Parkside Ballroom
C3.2
Track
RTAA technical session

Chair: Jonathan Barnes
Safety
Chair: Lauren Fraser
Sustainability
Chair: Jorge Martin Gistau
Signalling
IRSE technical session

Chair: Steve Boshier
Diversity
Chair: Charlotte Robinson
1345-1410
Mechanics of polymer railway sleepers
Aran Van Belkom, Technical Director, Lankhorst, Netherlands
ONRSR operational update
Peter Doggett, Chief Operating Officer, ONRSR
A balanced approach to using biofuels to decarbonize freight rail
Chris Miller, Senior Director, Services Product Management, Wabtec, United States
CBTC using 5G-powered FRMCS (Future Mobile Radio Communications System)
Obaid Khan, Technical Director - Rail, Mott MacDonald, Australia
Bahador Nayebifar, Principal Rail Systems Engineer, Mott MacDonald, Australia
What got us here won’t get us there
Adam Winder, Industry Capability and Inclusion Manager, John Holland, Australia
Regina Wootton, General Manager - Next Rail, John Holland, Australia
1410-1435
PORR Slab Track installation case study Metro Tunnel project Melbourne
Jefferson Fern, Head VFS Australia, Vossloh, Australia
Integrating adaptive technologies to prevent train obstruction and intruder collisions and minimise biowashing
Stephen Howe, Director Engineering Solutions & Innovation, Level Crossing Removal Project, Australia
The Sustainable Infrastructure Program at Transport for NSW
Mark Smith, Executive Director Advanced Technical Services, Transport For NSW, Australia
Using safety PLCs for rail signalling applications
Peter McGregor, Principal Standards & Systems Assurance Manager, JMD Railtech, Australia
Breaking the glass ceiling in rail: Strategies for attracting and retaining female talent
Carina O'Brien, Communications Lead, Siemens Mobility, Australia
1435-1500
Streamlining railway design standards. Are we serious?
Jason Williams, Principal, Track and Civil, Aurecon, Australia
Refreshing a just culture framework - from design to implementation
Amy Chung, Senior Manager Safety Culture Delivery, Sydney Trains, Australia
Anthony Nicholson, Senior Manager SEQR Service Delivery, Sydney Trains, Australia
Enabling a circular economy for the rail industry
Rebecca Hendy, Sustainability Manager, McConnell Dowell, Australia
The struggle applying standard solutions to unique railways
Richard Flaherty, Digital Train Control Lead, GHD, United Kingdom
Unlocking our rail sector
Heather Walker, Principal Engineer, AECOM, Australia
Nicole Wateman, Project Technical Leader, Laing O'Rourke, Australia
1500-1545
1545-1700
Concurrent technical sessions
C3.3
C3.6
C3.2
C3.4 and C3.5
Parkside Ballroom
Workforce and skills
Chair: Ben Cribb
Innovation
Chair: Sebastian Smith
Rolling stock
Chair: Niha Sathasivam
Asset management
Chair: Jorge Martin Gistau
Passenger rail
Chair: Kelly Douglas
1545-1610
ARA Workforce Development Brief
Fiona Love, General Manager, Workforce Development, Australasian Railway Association
Rowan Gawne, Senior Workforce Development Manager, Australasian Railway Association
Low footprint innovations to increase rail networks capacity for passenger and freight: a review of successful cases implemented in the last 30 years
Julien Morizet, Senior Principal Rail Operations and Planning Consultant, WSP Australia Pty Ltd, Australia
Image recognition based train stopping location analysis
Fanglue Hou, ICT and Ingegration Engineer, Downer, Australia
Tony Chin, Integration Engineer, Downer, Australia
How drone LiDAR is being used in the asset management workflow for vegetation encroachment and drainage mapping
Zack Wasson, Chief Executive Officer, Diospatial, Australia
Interface problems in delivering an accessible railway
Rob Lambert, Senior Business Manager, Monash Institute of Railway Technology, Australia
Wynita Griggs, Lecturer Civil Engineering, Monash University
1610-1635
Using virtual reality technology to combat the rail skills crisis — success factors in creating and implementing immersive learning strategies
Schalk Pienaar, Chief Executive Officer, Nexefy, Australia
Digital Rail Germany: Modernizing rail infrastructure with data management and industry 4.0 technologies
Jeniffer Hamon, Senior BIM Consultant, DB Engineering & Consulting, Colombia
This presentation is pre-recorded - the presenter will not be in the room
Building the next generation of trains and trams for Victoria
Ian Shore, Acting Commercial Director, ANZ, Alstom, Australia
Modernising asset management
Liam Nicholls, Asset Manager, Keolis Downer Adelaide
Developing an integrated multi modal transport model for trackwork and event planning
Shaun Hudson, Director of Network Access, Sydney Trains, Australia
1635-1700
Case study of undergraduate engineers and the long term success various programs have had
Stephen Chambers, Electrical Networks Delivery Manager, Metro Trains Melbourne, Australia
Nathan Loriente, Head of Infrastructure Delivery, Metro Trains Melbourne, Australia
Change of behaviour about innovative technologies for controlling / operating railway signalling systems
Montserrat Elbas Yague, Solution Architect, Siemens Mobility Pty Ltd, Australia
Our greatest journey: How Downer and ABB are decarbonising freight
Mark Baxter, Downer Rail & Transit Systems EGM Engineering and Technology
Roger Affolter, ABB Global Product Line Manager Traction Retrofit, Traction Division
Safe and efficient rail corridor mapping – LiDAR and the rail industry
Eleanor Chandler-Temple, Lidar Support Engineer, Riegl Australia, Australia
Disruption management: Obstacles, process and opportunities
Luke Billingham, Head of Disruptions Planning, Metro Trains, Australia
1830-2230
Yellow Dinner
Sponsored by
Alstom
Grand Ballroom, ICC

Special guest: Larry Emdur
View social program
DAY TWO: Wednesday 15 November 2023
0730-1900
Registration and speaker support open
0800-1900
0830-1025
Plenary session
Parkside Ballroom, ICC
0830-0835
Welcome day 2
MC: Georgia Nicholls, General Manager Rail Freight and Heavy Haul, Australasian Railway Association
0835-0850
Now is the time for Australia to make high speed rail a reality
Masafumi Shukuri, Chairman, International High-Speed Rail Association
0850-0905
High Speed Rail – Planning for Australia’s Future
Andrew Hyles, Acting Chief Executive Officer, High Speed Rail Authority
0905-0945
Operational readiness and project integration - 7 deadly sins
Nigel Holness, Former Managing Director, MTR Elizabeth Line
0945-1025
Panel: Interoperability
Chair: Tony Braxton-Smith, Managing Director, ADBRAX Services

Panellists
Carolyn Walsh, Chair and Commissioner, National Transport Commission
Simon Ormsby, Group Executive Interstate Network, ARTC
Paul Williams, Chief Information Officer and Head of Technology, Pacific National
Raphaelle Guerineau, Country CEO Australia and New Zealand, Siemens Mobility
0900-1730
AusRAIL exhibition theatre presentations
Exhibition Theatre sponsored by Jacobs
1025-1110
1110-1230
Plenary session
Theme: Building for the future
Parkside Ballroom, ICC
1110-1140
Panel: Contractors
Chair: Natalie Currey, General Manager Supply Chain, Australasian Railway Association

Panellists
Treaven Martinus, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Martinus Rail
David Robotham, General Manager – Rail, Laing O'Rourke
Steve Butcher, Executive General Manager Rail, John Holland Group
Camilla Drover, Deputy Secretary, Transport for NSW
1140-1240
Major project briefs
1140-1155
Sydney Metro
Peter Regan, Chief Executive Officer
1155-1210
Cross River Rail
Graeme Newton, Chief Executive Officer
1210-1225
Rail Projects Victoria
Nicole Stoddart, Chief Executive Officer
1230-1345
1345-1500
Concurrent technical sessions
C3.6
Parkside Ballroom
C3.4 and C3.5
C3.3
C3.2
Track
RTAA technical session

Chair: Dennis Lo
Safety
Chair: Charlotte Robinson
Sustainability
Chair: Sebastian Smith
Technical
RTSA technical session

Chair: Oliver Lake
TrackSAFE
Chair: Hope Steele
1345-1410
Optimising sustaining capital for formation renewals
Francois Heyns, Principal Rail Engineer, Jacobs, Australia
MTM's Infrastructure Division Industry leading safety performance
Jasper Milligan, General Manager - Infrastructure, Metro Trains Melbourne, Australia
Decarbonisation of concrete – alternative strategies
Harish Srivastava, Director Civil Engineering, Transport for NSW, Australia
Passenger rolling stock – from diesel to net zero
Shaun Robertson, Technical Director / NSW Rolling Stock Lead, Mott MacDonald, Australia
Bhevene Govender, Technical Director, Rail, Mott MacDonald, Australia
Supporting the well-being of the rail workforce and best practice trauma management
Heather Neil, Executive Director, TrackSAFE Foundation
1410-1435
Transforming competition into synergy – rail grinding and milling
Richard Stock, Global Head of Rail Solutions, Plasser Canada / Plasser American, Canada
ARTC delivers an innovative approach to managing contractor safety
James Kennedy, Head of Safety and Environment MCP and E&S, ARTC, Australia
Low-carbon rail – the role of green hydrogen
Richard Hickman, Principal – Project Management, Beca, New Zealand
Simon Meiers, Director Network Planning and Optimisation, SYSTRA ANZ
Advances in artificial intelligence and its application to rail
Mark Kraeling, Solutions Architect, Wabtec Corporation, USA
Understanding and managing psychosocial risks in the workplace
Lachlan O'Neill, Principal Inspector | Specialist Operations - Psychological Health and Safety, Health & Safe Design, SafeWork NSW
1435-1500
Effect of shoulder ballast cleaning on drainage restoration
Franco Fanucci, Product Manager, Loram Maintenance Of Way, United States
Review of level crossing collisions involving trains and heavy road vehicles in Australia
Angus Mitchell, Chief Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer, Australian Transport Safety Bureau, Australia
What’s the carbon delta? A case study on Pacific National’s carbon forecasting model
Anitra Hobby, ESG Principal, Pacific National, Australia
The Future of Rail, Transport Australia's discussion paper
Chris Baker, Senior Business Manager, Frazer-Nash Consultancy Ltd
Creating a mentally safe working culture
Leon Ruri, Mental Well-being Consultant and Suicide Prevention Advocate
1500-1545
1545-1700
Concurrent technical sessions
Parkside Ballroom
C3.3
C3.4 and C3.5
C3.2
C3.6
Workforce and skills
Chair: Niha Sathasivam
Technology
Chair: Lauren Fraser
Passenger rail
Chair: Kelly Douglas
Track / electrical
PWI technical session

Chair: Neil Hobden
Innovation
Chair: Ben Cribb
1545-1610
Rail Industry Workforce Plan
Paul Walsh, Chief Executive Officer, Industry Skills Australia, Australia
Lessons learned and proactive strategies for railway cyber security incident prevention and response
Martin Kunz Technical Sales Rail Cybersecurity, Siemens Mobility, Germany
Lester Lim, Head, Digital Service Asia Pacific, Siemens Mobility, Asia Pacific
Holding the line: Dealing with anti-social behaviour on public transport
James McMillan, Chief Safety Officer, Keolis Downer Yarra Trams, Australia
Optimising routine maintenance at Sydney Trains through the application of LiDAR data in infrastructure measurement and reporting
David Presley, Director, Agonics, Australia
Vin Palihakkara, Project Manager, Sydney Trains
Development of automation innovation to transition Downer’s maintenance capability to maintenance 4.0
Jason Zhou, Technology Strategy Engineer, Downer, Australia
Zoran Nadjovski, Deakin University, Australia
1610-1635
An Alstom case study: Recruitment and retention challenges in rail
Pascal Dupond, Managing Director, Alstom Australia & New Zealand
Weather monitoring – risk mitigation and customer engagement through integrated early warning and active system management
Luke O'Neill, Regional Asset Manager North, Queensland Rail, Australia
Planning railway and metro stations to effectively serve major events
Pietro Crovato, Transport Planning Technical Director, GHD, Australia
A journey of using high power vacuum excavation in UK – achieving minimal possession time and high productivity
Jonas Lindholm, Director, KingHill, Australia
David Ratledge, Track Maintenance, Network Rail, United Kingdom
How the 1st driverless metro line in Paris maintained outstanding performance whilst undertaking several extensions and upgrades
Mathilde Mahaut, Technical Director, RATP Dev
1635-1700
Creating a better tomorrow through tomorrows leaders
Aman Mangat, People Manager, John Holland, Australia
Esma Bragg, Site Engineer, John Holland, Australia
Enhancing railway track monitoring and passenger comfort with in-service trains: A continuous and cost-effective approach
Clive Roberts, Director of Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
A community of passengers: 4 metros, 4 cities
Keith Allen, Principal, Hassell, Australia
Kevin Lloyd, Principal, Hassell, Australia
Rail integrity and squat defects
John McLeod, Transport for NSW, Australia
Phuoc Nguyen, Senior Manager Track Engineering, Sydney Trains
Shaping the future of Australian railway
Ravi Ravitharan, Director, Monash Institute of Railway Technology, Australia
1700-1900
Exhibition networking drinks
AusRAIL PLUS exhibition
View social program
DAY THREE: Thursday 16 November 2023
0730-1530
Registration and speaker support open
0800-1600
0830-1030
Plenary session
Theme: Manufacturing and supply chain

Parkside Ballroom, ICC
0830-0835
Welcome day 3
MC: Caroline Wilkie, Chief Executive Officer, Australasian Railway Association
0835-0855
The ARTC agenda
Wayne Johnson, Acting Chief Executive Officer, ARTC
0855-0910
The UK/AUS Free Trade Agreement and the impacts on rail exports and imports
Lord Malcolm Offord, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Exports) and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, United Kingdom
0910-0915
Senator the Hon. Tim Ayres - Assistant Minister for Trade and Assistant Minister for Manufacturing Address
0915-0930
Keynote
Jacqui Walters, National Rail Manufacturing Advocate
0930-0950
Revolutionising railways: Innovative solutions for smarter and sustainable rail in ANZ
Pascal Dupond, Managing Director, Alstom Australia & New Zealand, and the Alstom APAC Innovation Station team
0950-1030
Head & Heart: The art of modern leadership
Dr Kirstin Ferguson AM, Leadership expert, best-selling author, columnist, and company director
0900-1530
AusRAIL exhibition theatre presentations
Exhibition Theatre sponsored by Jacobs
1030-1115
1115-1245
Plenary session
Theme: Sustainability

Parkside Ballroom, ICC
1115-1135
ONRSR update
Natalie Pelham, ONRSR Chief Executive Officer
1135-1555
The Australian Government's Transport and Infrastructure Net Zero Roadmap
Ian Porter, Strategic Advisor, Net Zero, Commonwealth Department of Infrastructure
1155-1235
Panel: Net zero
Chair: Mark Lusis, Global Decarbonisation & Sustainability Skills Lead, Arup

Kylie Hargreaves, Chief Sustainability Officer, National Intermodal
Julia Hinwood, Director, Infrastructure, Clean Energy Finance Corporation
Anitra Hobby, ESG Principal, Pacific National
Mike Kilburn, Director Infrastructure Net Zero, Infrastructure Sustainability Council
1235-1245
Rail Industry worker program update
Emma Woods, Chief Operating Officer, Australasian Railway Association
1245-1345
1345-1530
Plenary session
Parkside Ballroom, ICC
MC: Jesse Baker, General Manager Passenger Rail and Safety, Australasian Railway Association
1345-1400
National Rail Action Plan: The national goal of interoperability
Michael Hopkins, Chief Executive Officer and Commissioner, National Transport Commission
1400-1415
In conversation with: Talking about social responsibility...
Chair: Joeley Pettit, Director Corporate Affairs, Passenger Rail and Sustainability, Australasian Railway Association

Sue Robinson, Technical Director - Sustainability and Climate, GHD
Sharon Gray, Group Manager, Diversity, Indigenous and Social Inclusion, CPB Contractors
1415-1455
Panel: Light rail
Chair: Yvette Mihelic, Direct Customer Experience, John Holland Group

Panellists
Brian Brennan, Chief Executive Officer, Transdev Australasia
Duncan Edghill, Chief Executive Officer, ALTRAC Light Rail
Carla Purcell, Chief Executive Officer, Keolis Downer Yarra Trams
1455-1525
THE GREAT DEBATE
High Speed Rail - Now or never?

Debate moderator: Michael Kilgariff, Principal, Kilgariff Advisory

For | NOW
Andrew Lezala, Chair, Inver Engineering
Julian Sharp, Project Director, CPB Contractors
Jesse Baker, General Manager Passenger Rail and Safety, Australasian Railway Association

Against | NEVER
Amy Lezala Zahr, Chief Engineer - Rail, Department of Transport and Planning, Victoria
Tony Braxton-Smith, Managing Director, ADBRAX Services
Simon Bourke, General Manager Policy and Government Relations, Australasian Railway Association
1525-1530
Closing remarks
Caroline Wilkie, Chief Executive Officer, Australasian Railway Association
1530
AusRAIL PLUS 2023 conference concludes
1830-2230
AusRAIL PLUS Gala Dinner
Sponsored by Siemens Mobility
Sydney Town Hall

Special guest: Cameron Daddo
View social program

Build your network

AusRAIL PLUS attracts key industry leaders and decision makers from across Australia, New Zealand and beyond. Join us to meet with representatives of leading rail organisations and build your network.

Connect with people from across the rail industry. Attendees will include representatives from the following sectors:

  • Passenger rail operators
  • Freight rail operators
  • Heavy haul operators
  • Rollingstock manufacturers
  • Contractors
  • Rail industry suppliers
  • Consultants
  • Government and industry representatives
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LEFT UNTIL AUSRAIL PLUS 2023

Exhibition Visitor Pass registration now open

We are pleased to welcome visitors from the rail industry to the AusRAIL PLUS 2023 exhibition. Receive free access to the AusRAIL 2023 Exhibition, and the AusRAIL PLUS app.