INTERNATIONAL SAFETY EVENT
Bringing the World to the West The 2019 International Railway Safety Council Conference comes to Australia in October, with the Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board proudly nominated to host.
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NNOVATION, TECHNOLOGY AND RISK management will all be on the agenda at the 2019 International Railway Safety Council conference in Perth this October. The International Railway Safety Council (IRSC) provides a forum for an in-depth exchange of experience and lessons for improving railway safety and is exclusively devoted to railway safety issues. The Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board (RISSB) is very pleased to have been nominated the host of IRSC 2019 at the committee’s meeting in Ireland last year. The conference is being co-organised by RISSB, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), and the Office of the National Safety Regulator (ONRSR) and will be held at the Hyatt Regency Perth on 13-18 October 2019. The theme of this year’s conference is Innovation and Technology: Changing the Future of Rail Safety. Presentations will focus on three conference sub-themes: • Ensuring Railway Safety in New Technology and Work Practices • Maintaining Interoperability in Innovation
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ISSUE 5 2019 | RAIL EXPRESS
• Can Risk Management and Assurance Keep Pace with Technology? Delegates from around the world will join expert speakers from Australia to share ideas and develop an understanding of the role all stakeholders can play in improving industry’s safety record. In Australia, rail safety is managed under a co-regulatory model and has one of the safest, most productive global railway networks. Each year almost one billion passenger journeys transport Australians on heavy and light rail networks in capital cities and on regional services. Around 1.3 billion tonnes of freight, primarily bulk commodities, are moved on rail each year. (Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics and the Australasian Railway Association, 2018). The Pilbara region in Western Australia accounts for over 90% of Australia’s iron ore exports. With more than 44, 000 km of track, Australia has the sixth largest rail network in the world and Melbourne has the longest tram network in the world. Hosting this conference will provide an opportunity to share Australian experiences as well as learn from our overseas counterparts who
Western Australia has a proud track record when it comes to rail safety.
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Around 1.3 billion tonnes of freight, primarily bulk commodities, are moved on rail each year.
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