The future in rail: To generate excitement over the possibilities in rail over the medium to long term.
KUALA LUMPUR: With the Covid-19 pandemic increasingly becoming less relevant, work on critical national infrastructure such as railways is now in full swing.
That said, a group of rail professionals is keeping a keen eye on ensuring that gender diversity in the workforce is not neglected amid the hustle and bustle of construction.
“Malaysia is poised to gain valuable insights from visionary transport and infrastructure leaders around the world as it emerges from the challenging period of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Natasha Zulkifli, founder-director of Women in Rail Malaysia, a not-for-profit organisation established in 2017 to promote equality and diversity in the rail industry here.
To generate excitement over the possibilities in rail over the medium to long term, Women in Rail Malaysia will be presenting its key event for the year on Aug 3.
“We are delighted to bring to the business community what will be the highlight in Malaysia’s transport calendar for 2023.
Natasha’s non-profit organisation, Women in Rail Malaysia will be presenting its key event for the year on Aug 3.
“With international speakers sharing information on the latest in international transport projects, Malaysians will be able to gain firsthand insight into how construction and technology are being leveraged to enhance the liveability of cities globally, whilst simultaneously bringing about multiple returns in terms of economic and environmental gains,” said Natasha of the event that would be held in collaboration with YTL Construction.
With the theme “Redefining the Future of Rail and Infrastructure”, the conference will feature 11 speakers from Malaysia, Europe and Asia Pacific.
The conference will include presentations on transformative rail and infrastructure projects from around the world, including Japan, with a special keynote addressing magnetic levitation (maglev) technology to move superfast trains.
Japan-based JR Central counsel and director Koei Tsuge will speak on that country’s superconducting maglev (SCMaglev), which is jointly developed by JR Central and the Railway Technical Research Institute.
On April 21, 2015, a seven-car SCMaglev train hit a speed of 603kph, less than a week after the same train clocked 590kph, breaking the previous land speed record for rail vehicles of 581kph set by a JR Central MLX01 maglev train in December 2003.
Conference participants will also get a better glimpse of Indonesia’s new administrative capital, Nusantara, through a talk by Silvia Halim from the Nusantara Capital Authority.
Meanwhile, Datuk Alice Jawan Empaling, permanent secretary of Sarawak’s Transport Ministry, will speak about how that state is transforming its public transport. There will be a presentation on how to improve gender diversity in the rail industry from Hiba Fares, CEO of RATP Dev in France.
With 27,000 employees, RATP Dev has a presence in 16 countries, where it transports 1.5 billion passengers a year.
“The conference welcomes professionals, industry leaders and enthusiasts who are passionate about the advancement of rail, construction and infrastructure growth,” said Natasha.
She added that attendees would have the opportunity to participate in interactive sessions, engaging panel discussions and networking activities.
With over 700 members, Women in Rail Malaysia’s core objectives are to strengthen the talent pipeline, support the career progression of women in the rail industry and also advocate for increased representation in leadership positions.
The organisation actively promotes the rail industry to students as a career of choice, and to date, has reached out to more than 7,000 students nationwide.
Learn more at womeninrail.org.my, including how to get conference tickets.
