Full steam ahead

Railway projects are transforming the region and its transport options. Jost Sigrist and Wael Attari discuss the key areas for growth and identify some of the biggest challenges facing the rail installation industry.

“Functioning, highly efficient rail transport is based mainly on carefully coordinated technologies, well-trained and dedicated personnel and a close focus on customer support and expectations”
-Wael Attari

The rail industry offers some of the most exciting business opportunities in the Middle East region; from the North-South line in Saudi Arabia, to Qatar's proposed integrated rail network to the Abu Dhabi Metro. What role is technology playing in improving rail infrastructure across the region?

Jost Sigrist. Rail technology has been developed significantly over the last few years through worldwide efforts. The Middle East region will be able to take advantage of these improvements and implement the latest technology in a fast manner. With the introduction of high speed train technology has become an important factor in building railroads. At the same time safety requirements are also steadily increasing worldwide. New standards set by governments and railroad companies force suppliers to develop new technologies and to improve all their applications. All technical standards and new developments are under very close supervision from international and local committees to ensure that all involved suppliers and partners work at the highest available technical standards and continuously develop new, better solutions.

Wael Attari. Functioning, highly efficient rail transport is based mainly on carefully coordinated technologies, well-trained and dedicated personnel and a close focus on customer support and expectations. The technological infrastructure components, rolling stock and communications technology are not simply interchangeable. High-speed transport calls for infrastructure components different from those used in heavy-haul or local transport. Suppliers of infrastructure technologies have accordingly responded and offer operators of networks and rail construction companies tailored systems with high safety standards, optimised lifecycle costs, and a lot more besides.

Governments in the region have already committed over US$100 billion to rail projects in order to reduce road congestion and improve the quality of life. Where are the key areas for growth in this sector in your opinion?

JS. The Middle East region only started a few years ago to invest heavily into rail projects and therefore we expect the whole industry to benefit from these huge projects. A large part of these funds will probably be spent directly on new infrastructure, but there will also be a lot of investment into building rail tracks as well as the trains and all necessary systems. So overall this initiative will give a positive signal to many industrial companies and service providers, even outside the traditional rail business. It is also a unique opportunity to acquire new skills and develop new business opportunities for the region - with a large involvement from local companies and experts there will be an entirely new industry, which will develop over time. The initial investment into rail projects will generate many new businesses and provide a lot of jobs in all these countries.

WA. In my opinion the key areas for growth are genuine need, best-fit solution, funding availability and committed political leadership. The key rail technology growth driver is the political will for economical and ecological transport and for a region's economic development. Playing a role in the growth of rail-bound haulage will then be high-speed lines, cargo haulage services and local public transport. For rail technology suppliers with close customer proximity such as Vossloh, product competence and technical expertise, customer support before, during and after the construction phase all play a major role in making the best-fit solution viable and a reality.

What are the biggest challenges facing the rail installation industry in the Middle East? How are you tackling these challenges?

JS. There is not too much experience and know-how available in the local market, especially not for the large projects. Technically we believe that there is good experience and know-how available worldwide to install a state-of-the-art infrastructure. Even though railroad companies are traditionally in a local set up or even under control of governments, all the necessary providers are acting globally. In addition there are many technical standards now rolled out and applied worldwide so there is no need to develop specific requirements and new technical standards in order to realise new infrastructure. It is clear that some adaptations will be necessary, but a lot of experience and know how is already available in the region and therefore we expect the Middle East to tie up in cooperation's with experienced companies or countries for consulting and project management.

WA. The challenges facing the rail industry are both technical and cultural by nature. The prevailing climatic conditions with extreme temperature fluctuations and geological conditions pose stiff challenges for rail infrastructure. Accordingly, it is important to select the right components as early as at the planning stage. Through detailed customer consultancy, on the one hand, and ongoing systems development with the aim of offering customers the finest products in terms of quality, lifecycle costs and safety, on the other, Vossloh is proactively facing up to these challenges. Customer support is based on close local cooperation including where expedient, local partnership and/or joint ventures.

What new developments can we expect to see from you over the next six to 12 months?

JS. Schlatter is continuously improving its product portfolio through intense market observations and dedicated product and service developments. Based on that, we will also introduce new equipment for the rail industry. We spend a lot of resources not just improving our products technically but also in terms of user friendliness and serviceability. Our products are often used under critical and very challenging conditions. So we must make sure that our products work perfectly in all environments - in the Middle East for example we had to upgrade our welding machines and all involved systems as the local climate and the high temperatures required us to adapt our product.

WA. Vossloh is continuously developing products and services tailored to meet the customer's requirements and expectations. In acquiring Vossloh Rail Services (VRS), the Vossloh Group has expanded its services lineup. VRS offers customers a services package accompanying the entire lifecycle of the rails. For newly installed heavy-haul and high-speed lines, life-cycle costs can be dramatically lowered if preventive maintenance with our high-speed grinding technique is carried out during normal services and applied soon after the line comes on stream. And even during the construction phase, VRS is in a position to supply a complete logistics package, ranging from rail storage via stationary and semi-mobile welding to the on-site shipment of the rails to the contractors.

Jost Sigrist holds a degree in Engineering and after several years with the Rieter Group in Switzerland, where he was responsible for several business units in manufacturing he acted as Vice president of Rieter Automotive in Detroit 2005- 2007. Since 2007 he has been CEO of the Schlatter Group.

Wael Attari has been Vossloh's Executive Regional Director for the Middle East since December 15, 2008. A graduate in electrical engineering he holds an MBA from Capella University, US. Before joining Vossloh he held different senior positions with General Electric and OTIS Elevators.