The International Rail Forum brings together 5000 professionals in Madrid

The Palacio Municipal de Congresos del Campo de las Naciones holds from today (03/11/2004) until the following Friday, the second edition of the International Rail Forum, IRF 2004. The event is organised by Foro del Ferrocarril y el Transporte with the participation of more than 5,000 professionals from the railway sector.

The maximum representation of numerous railway entities and metropolitians and transportation instituitions from more than 28 countries analyse the new projects of the sector and the technological advances. During these sessions, it will discuss subjects such High Speed lines in Spain or the new railway law that will be enforced on the 1st January 2005.

The conferences, divided in thematic blocks, allow the attendees to get to know interesting themes such the challenges of the urban and inter-urban railroads; the management system of trains or the planning of transportation in urban areas of different sizes; the automation of the carriages and the platforms or the financing of the circulating material.

With the aim to develop and deepen the sales relations and the business opportunities, the main national companies, public administrations and international representatives will be present.

The Internacional Rail Forum is a showcase where the companies of the sector can show their latest technology, products and services. The visitors can see more than 70 stands. Some of the companies present Alcatel, COMSA, Indra, Mondragón or Thyssen Krupp sharing space with, among others, Angel Trains, Tensar Internacional and Ansaldo Breda.

The rail industry is in full development in the world and in Spain, where more then 57,000 million Euros will be invested in the next ten years. In 2007, Spain will have one of the wdiest high speed network in the world, with more than 7,600km and an investment 9,613 million Euros.