Railway Age / Parsons Next-Gen Train Control 2023

Program subject to change. 

Thursday, October 26

8:00 AM
Registration & Badge Pickup Sponsored by Thales
Continental Breakfast

9:00 AM
Keynote Address | Session Sponsored by Piper Networks
Mario Péloquin discusses the future of VIA Rail’s passenger high-speed rail services and the signaling system selected, along with how legacy trains and services will adapt as host railroads move to PTC and/or ETCS.
Mario Péloquin, President & Chief Executive Officer, VIA Rail Canada Inc.

9:30 AM
New Train-Centric Localization Technologies and Methods, Presented by Piper Networks
Robert Hanczor, Chief Executive Officer, Piper Networks

9:40 AM
TRANSIT AGENCY CBTC PROJECT UPDATES

New York City Transit Safety Certification of CBTC
Sofia Georgiadis will relate the process and product assessment requirements related to certification of CBTC. 
Sofia Georgiadis, Vice President Vital Systems, MTA C&D NYCT

BART Train Control Modernization
Lyn Williams presents an update on BART’s modernization project. Now three years into the process, we’ll discover the progress BART has made and how the project team has countered challenges on technical issues.
Lyn Williams, Acting Assistant Chief of Core Capacity, Group Manager of Strategic Engineering, BART

10:40 AM
Coffee Break Sponsored by Vital Assurance

11:00 AM
Panel: Freight Railroad Telematics
How do freight railroads integrate telematic data in real-time to support train control systems? Can real-time data be used to prevent an accident on a freight train? These and other related topics will be explored by our expert panel. 
Moderator: William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief, Railway Age
David Shannon, General Manager, RailPulse
Brad Myers, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Amsted Digital Solutions
Jim Pang, Vice President, New Services Development & Product Innovation, Trinity Industries

12:00 PM
Networking Luncheon

1:30 PM
Panel: European Train Control System Overview
Our panelists—all special guests from Europe—will explore the deployment challenges and lessons learned from recent ERTMS-ETCS projects in Belgium, Denmark, and France and their relevance to train control projects here in North America.
Moderator: Nigel Astell, Vice President, Rail and Transit, Parsons
Pierre Advani, Vice President Europe, Parsons
Christophe Delnatte, Portfolio Manager, TUC RAIL
Adrien Lardoux, Safety Manager – Denmark, Parsons

2:30 PM
Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity – What You Need to Know, Presented by Parsons
Mike Hoover, Senior Vice President, Municipal, Utilities & Cybersecurity, IPKeys Cyber Partners

2:40 PM
Brightline West High-speed Rail: European Train Control in a U.S. Regulatory Environment
Paul Waby will deliver an information-packed session covering Brightline’s HSR train control architecture, managing risk in the High Desert Corridor and other project updates. He will also discuss the options U.S. HSR projects have for service-proven train control at high speeds.
Paul Waby, Vice President of Systems, Brightline West

3:10 PM 
Afternoon Energy Break Sponsored by TUV Rheinland

3:30 PM 
The Application of AI Vision and Sensor Systems in Rail, Presented by 4AI Systems
Derel Wust, Company Director/Co-Founder, 4AI Systems

3:40 PM
TfL Elizabeth Line Reliability Growth in Real Time
A video interview with Phil Dubery, who led CBTC reliability growth for the Elizabeth line in London. He takes us on a journey revealing how reliability data taken from revenue service and test weekend closures was used to conduct open-heart surgery on the CBTC system of a live railway. The session offers an excellent reminder that once a line opens for service, real-time data allows reliability growth to continue—resulting in the Elizabeth line approaching world-class performance in its first year of service.
Video interview with Phil Dubery, Co-Owner & Director, CPC Systems, London, CPC Project Services LLP
Interviewed by Mike Palmer, Director of Rail Operations and CBTC, Parsons

4:00 PM
Systems Approach for Transit Innovations, Presented by AECOM
Wilson Milian, P.E., Assistant Vice President, Senior Program Manager Transit & Rail System Engineering, NY Metro, AECOM

4:10 PM 
Freight Railroad PTC and Related Technologies
Chris Matthews, Assistant Vice President Network Control Systems, BNSF
Jared W. Hopewell, Assistant Vice President Communications and Signals, Norfolk Southern

5:00 PM 
Cocktail Reception Sponsored by Parsons

6:00 PM
Conference Day Ends

Friday, October 27

7:30 AM
Continental Breakfast

8:30 AM
Next-Gen CBTC: Back to the Future
Mike Palmer from Parsons interviews recently retired Dr. Alan Rumsey in an exclusive video interview. Recorded in his home city of Kingston, Ontario, Alan Rumsey reviews his previous paper on CBTC and looks to the future of signaling. Some useful takeaways for agencies, suppliers and consultancies on what to do—and what to stop—when adopting CBTC technology.
Video interview with Dr. Alan Rumsey, Rumsey Transit Systems Consulting
Interviewed by Mike Palmer, Director of Rail Operations and CBTC, Parsons

9:00 AM 
Managing Cross Acceptance of ETCS with Federal Regulators for U.S. Applications
Andrew Clapham reviews IEEE and other relevant standards for agencies and operators considering ETCS technology for high-speed rail lines. He discusses how cross-acceptance of ETCS by the FRA and other rail regulators could use existing frameworks as assurance for the introduction of this new technology to North American railroads.
Andrew Clapham, SME Train Control, Network Rail Consulting

9:30 AM
IEEE CBTC Standards Update
Yousef Kimiagar provides a quick update on new or changed IEEE standards relevant to the introduction of CBTC technology by transit agencies.
Yousef Kimiagar, Vice President Advanced Technologies and U.S. Rail Systems Lead, Hatch  

10:00AM
How AI is Transforming Modern Signalling, presented by Thales
Walter Kinio, Vice President Research and Innovation, Thales

10:10AM
Coffee Break 

10:30 AM 
Supplier & Consultant Roundtable
Our round table of suppliers and consultants, where Mike Palmer poses questions from delegates at the conference. It’s fast, furious and direct. Panelists will talk on how they see all things train control.
Moderator: Mike Palmer, Director of Rail Operations and CBTC, Parsons
Robert Hanczor, CEO, Piper Networks
Joanne Wust, CEO, 4AI Systems
Walter Kinio, Vice President Research and Innovation, Thales
Brian Freerks, Senior Transit Project Manager, Senior Vice President,  WSP

More panelists to be announced

11:30 AM 
Post Derailment Emergency Response, presented by RapidSOS
Karl Bradford, Senior Director of Strategy, RapidSOS
Conor Fucci, Director of Technical Services, RapidSOS

11:40 AM
Broken Rail Detection without Track Circuits
A look at the alternatives to reacting to a track circuit failing and showing occupied to detect broken rails. With dark territory and axle counters used for primary detection, can other technologies or best practices be adopted as part of a broader holistic approach for the management of rail condition and breaks?
Gary Fry, Ph.D., P.E., Vice President, Fry Technical Services, and Railway Age Contributing Editor

12:10 PM 
Conference Adjourns