A study tour to rail sites in London and Paris has provided Australian rail organisations with the opportunity to gain valuable insights from global industry leaders on key topics, including interoperability, high-speed rail, sustainability, infrastructure development and operations. 

The ARA’s CEO Caroline Wilkie said the study tour also provided the opportunity for Australian rail suppliers and their counterparts in the UK to explore export opportunities in Europe. 

“With Australia undergoing an unprecedented $155 billion of rail infrastructure investment, this is a very valuable opportunity for local rail organisations to share experiences and hear first-hand from European counterparts about the successes and challenges in building and modernising major rail networks,” Ms Wilkie said. 

The study tour included visits to significant rail sites such as HS1 and HS2 and the Elizabeth line in London as well as RATP Dev’s driverless metro line Paris, and a briefing on lessons learned during the recent Olympics and Paralympics. 

In London, the group was briefed by Siemens on ETCS and CBTC and complete station tours of Kings Cross and St Pancras Stations. The tour also included briefings from key government and agency representatives, including from the Railway Industry Association (RIA), Department for Business & Trade, Department for Transport, Rail Partners (Operators Association) and RSSB. The program also included talks on UK rail research and innovation from representatives at 

Network Rail, the Institute of Railway Research at the University of Huddersfield, University of Southhampton and UniPart Rail. 

While in Paris, the study tour received a joint presentation from RATP Dev and SNCF on lessons learned from the Paris Olympics and Paralympics as well as visit the Rail Express Regional (RER) and received a briefing on the 2012-2025 major modernisation (new rollingstock, scheduling, Automatic Trains Operations) and tour the operating control room. The group also visited the Paris Metro Line 14 (driverless metro) for a briefing on its extension and modernisation, followed by a Captrain rail freight and logistics briefing and a trip to Grand Metro Paris Express hosted by Transdev.

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