10th International Railway Summit will take place online, 23- 26 Feb 2021

Thank you for your continued support of the International Railway Summit. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all of us. While travelling and gathering in large numbers are discouraged, sharing best practices and debating the future of the rail sector have become more important than ever. Governments, rail authorities and operators continue to invest in innovation, but their priorities are rapidly changing.   

As the organiser of an established networking platform for the global railway community, we believe it is our role, more than ever, to provide a safe place of debate, learning and networking. 

Over the past months, we have been preparing next February’s 10th International Railway Summit (IRS10) with both physical and online elements in mind, while closely monitoring the global situation.  

As part of the decision-making process, we have conducted a sponsor survey. Thank you to those who have responded.  

Over two thirds (68%) of respondents said they were very likely, likely or somewhat likely to sponsor or attend an online version of the summit, while 56% responded in the same way about a physical version of the summit.  

Taking into account the safety of the participants, the survey results and the unpredictable nature of the pandemic, we have decided to host the summit online. We hope this will bring much-needed certainty to the speakers, sponsors and delegates who have confirmed their places and those interested in taking part. 

The backbone of the International Railway Summit is a bespoke programme of buyer-expert matchmaking and business introduction meetings. When asked to select the most valuable activities in an online IRS10, the largest number of the survey respondents (53%) selected ‘pre-arranged and guaranteed one-to-one meetings’, followed by ‘speaking opportunity’ (50%) and ‘one-to-one meetings arranged between attendees’ (41%). 

We are happy to confirm that we will place our signature pre-arranged meeting programme at the heart of the online summit programme. With no need to travel, the online summit allows buyers and technical experts worldwide to meet without restriction. Delegates will also be able to network in a number of formal and informal digital spaces, visit virtual tech showrooms, and join live site visits broadcast from around the world. 

The theme of the summit will be ‘Reimagining rail: innovation to get society back on (sustainable) track’. A full conference programme presented by senior figures will address three key issues: the post-COVID recovery, the sustainable mobility of the future, and the latest innovation. A wide variety of plenary and breakout sessions, as well as more intimate roundtables, will debate and plot the direction that global rail community should be taking.  

The summit will start on Tuesday 23 February 2021, one day earlier than originally planned, and will have three days of conference sessions and one-to-one meetings, with an additional day on Friday 26 February for one-to-one meetings and networking. 

Sponsors who registered for IRS10 onsite during IRS9 will benefit from the same discount rate until 6 November. 

Please contact your account manager or Varun Bhardwaj at varun.bhardwaj@irits.org if you would like to discuss your participation.

After we have all faced such a difficult year, my team and I look forward to welcoming you back, and welcoming you, to your International Railway Summit in February.

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