BETWEEN 6TH AND 8TH MARCH, MAFEX ORGANISED A TECHNOLOGICAL MISSION TO THE NETHERLANDS. THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THE MISSION WAS TO FIND OUT ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGICAL INVESTMENTS AND PRIORITIES, AS WELL AS THE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES EXISTING IN THE NEIGHBOURING COUNTRY.
With the participation of 12 Spanish companies, Mafex prepared an agenda with different agents that could contribute their vision on the railway ecosystem.
On the one hand, the delegation met with Prorail and Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), administrator and main infrastructure operator in the country. Prorail provided information on infrastructure, on the network organisation, and on the investments and priorities of the country. We had the opportunity to visit Railcenter, a place for testing and analysis, innovation, and knowledge exchange where all the agents of the railway industry in the country meet.
In addition, we visited the modernisation plant in Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS). This factory allows to adapt trains purchased 20 years ago to the regulatory requirements and the demands of today’s passengers. A modern factory that also has its own “lean academy”.
On the other hand, the delegation met with TUDelft University at the Delft University of Technology, where it provided us with the academic vision of the sector.
The presentation of its current studies and projects, as well as the visit to its laboratory gave us the opportunity to know the areas of innovation in which they are currently working.
Finally, the visit to STRUKTON, the country’s leading maintenance company, helped us to learn about their work as members of Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking. Several teams presented the innovation projects developed in-house, as well as their projects related to the ambitious decarbonisation strategy that the firm has.