Rail Live 2021 is here, the national benchmark event to learn about the advances and challenges of the railway sector

We are in the last quarter of a decisive date for our sector: the “European Year of Rail”. Parallel with this celebration, Madrid hosts Rail Live 2021. This professional platform will be the finishing touch of an agenda that – for 12 months – has highlighted the role that this mode of transport will have in the future of sustainable mobility.

For two days, the main players in the sector – from more than 25 countries – will analyse the present and future of the mode of transport that is called to be the backbone of intermodality, thanks to its numerous environmental, safety and reliability advantages. Everything is ready for the meeting and, from Mafex, as co-organisers, we want to welcome the more than 3,000 expected attendees, the sponsors and collaborating entities, the participating companies and the speakers who are coming to Spain to share a joint vision. This is a vision on the challenges of the coming years and the great opportunities that arise before the decisive boost that we want to give to the passenger and goods railway infrastructures.

The edition of Rail Live 2021 represents a long-awaited meeting for everyone, after the months of global slowdown due to the pandemic; an event that makes us look with optimism at a future where the railway will be an essential part of the new projects in terms of mobility.

In addition to this, from Mafex we continue working to achieve a more solid, competitive industry at the technological and digital forefront. In this line of action, we participate in new initiatives such as the “S-ACCESS project (SMEs Access to International Public Procurement)” which aims to ensure for SMEs to have a better access to third country markets. Likewise, we are part, together with 10 other entities in the railway sector, of the STARS project that aims to give a boost also to SMEs in terms of productive performance and innovation capacity to facilitate the adoption of advanced technologies that can make this change possible. Furthermore, acknowledging that industry and knowledge must go together as an engine of innovation and competitiveness, we have launched the second edition of the Master in Railway Engineering that we organise together with the University of Cantabria. This Master has the support for its development of SUM + LAB – Sustainable Mobility and Railway Engineering and the Laboratory of the Division of Science and Engineering of Materials (Ladicim). The edition is completed with an important group of 28 companies and collaborating entities, with both logistic and teaching staff, which provide added value to the programme and contents of the training offered.

On the other hand, and as in previous occasions, this edition also includes the latest news of 34 of our partners, as well as the innovation projects of other 15 companies.

In 2022 we will therefore continue our efforts to defend an industry that is a world benchmark. It has a large international presence in more than 90 countries and that in Spain generates 30,000 direct jobs with a turnover of more than 15 billion euros (more than 8% of industrial GDP) constituting thereby a key and leading sector, both for our economy and for our country image. That is why, it is essential that public administrations place this mode of transport as the axis of their medium- and long-term policies and strategies of sustainable transport and that they acquire a firm commitment to R + D + i programmes. This shall include financing plans to promote their development and competitiveness throughout the value chain and support its foreign market presence.

We are waiting for you at Rail Live 2021!