Why Attend?

Travel is changing. Rail passengers and freight forwarders are no longer prepared to be the poor relation in terms of their transport mode of choice. Advances in digital technology mean that rail customers now expect a complete door-to-door solution, designed specifically for their needs. With ease of booking, ease of payment, real-time information and seamless transition between transport modes, rail customers now expect transport solutions which genuinely make it cheaper and easier to travel than with car ownership or via aviation options.

But whereas non-rail transport costs are falling, the rail sector continues to be further burdened by operational cost increases. The governments of the Scandinavian Region have long recognised that in order to make their Railways efficient, cost effective and fit-for-purpose for this century and beyond, significant investments must be made.

The governments and transport authorities of the region all recognise the correlation between modern railways and economic growth. As a result, they have now taken decisions to make their most significant rail investments of all time to ensure that the region’s Railways provide integrated and inclusive, environmentally sound mobility by investing in the latest digital technologies. The investments planned are simply jaw-dropping: The Swedish government is making its largest infrastructure investment ever of €82.6 billion from 2022 until 2027 to modernise and develop country’s infrastructure. In Norway, over the next 10 years, €33.5 billion will be invested to develop new infrastructure, improve maintenance, and to enhance the digitalisation of the railway sector. Denmark also has ambitious plans by investing €21.5 billion in rail infrastructure, whilst DSB (Denmark’s leading operator) not so long ago finalised a 25-year lending agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB), worth €500 million, for the acquisition of new trainsets. Over the next 9 years, the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency will invest €1469 million on 15 major rail projects, whilst Rail Baltica are investing a respectable €824 million which will enable necessary activities for further high-speed infrastructure development to connect the Baltic region with the rest of Europe.

This will enable technology providers to meet face-to-face with Railways from the Scandinavia region, whose purpose of attending the event is to seek solutions to achieve their operational objectives as they embrace the digital transformation.