25 February 2016, Johannesburg: Rotating around the central theme of “Witnessing the Rail Renaissance”, 4th Annual African Railway Summit commenced today at the Birchwood Hotel & OR Tambo Conference Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. The summit gathered the leading experts in the African railway sector to discuss the upcoming major rail projects in African countries and strategies to improve the efficiency of the sector. The summit is being supported by Transnet, Universal Freight Organisation (UFO), The RailRoad Association of South Africa, The Rail Working Group (RWG) and RailAdvisor.

The summit started off with a keynote address on “Africa‘s Freight Rail Industry: Rail Renaissance” by Brian Monakali, Executive Manager- Strategy and Long Term Planning at Transnet Freight Rail Office of Chief Executive. This was followed by an intriguing session on ROI in African railway by Andrew Marsey, Transport Economist.

The morning sessions featured an interactive panel discussion on project delivery timelines. This panel was joined by Jack Van Der Merwe, CEO at Gautrain; Brian Monakali; Gorman Zimba, CEO at Rail Road Association and Siobhan Fox, BDM at Walvis Bay Corridor Group. Jack Van Der Merwe also presented a session on “Gautrain Expansion Plan and Government‘s ITMP25”, which highlighted the new proposed Gautrain routes and challenges faced in implementing the plan.

Post lunch, the discussions will be centered around Railway Technology, Signalling and Communication Systems. Tony Crosby, GM – Services at 4Tel Pty Ltd; Howard Rosen, Chairman at Rail Working Group and Alan Swaby, BDM at voestalpine SIGNALING Fareham Limited will be sharing insights on the topic. The day will end with a networking and coffee session, where the participants will interact with each other.

Tomorrow, the discussions on'Rail Renaissance' will continue with insightful presentations and interactive panel discussions & round table discussions by experts from Railway Safety Regulator, Walvis Bay Corridor Group, Development Bank Of South Africa and CCFB.

Gorman Zimba, CEO at Rail Road Association will engage the audience with a presentation on “Africa‘s Passenger Rail Industry : What lies Ahead ?”, while Steven Sangweni, President at South African Commuter Organisation will elaborate “Renewal And Rehabilitation Of Old Networks”.

The summit has been sponsored by 4Tel Pty Ltd as Associate Partner & voestalpine VAE SA and GHH-BONATRANS as Networking Partners.