OCTOBER 2007OCTOBER 2007
Success of first Exporail India prompts follow-up show in 2008
The first Exporail India exhibition for railway technology and systems, which took place at the Pragati Maidan Exhibition Centre in New Delhi from 16 to 18 October, was judged a great success by its participants. Reaction to the event was so positive that organisers Inter Ads-Brooks have been asked by exhibitors and by India's Ministry of Railways to arrange a second show next year. Exporail India 2008 will therefore take place in November 2008.
Key to the success of Exporail India 2007 was visitor numbers and quality. Over its three days, 2,451 industry professionals attended the exhibition. At the most senior level, they included the Chairman of the Indian Railway Board (IR), Mr K C Jena, and three Board Members, Mr R K Rao (Mechanical), Mr S K Vij (Engineering) and Mr V N Mathur (Traffic). High-ranking engineers and buyers from India's rail industry were also well represented, together with overseas visitors.
In all, 75 exhibitors from 14 countries took part in the show, among them leading foreign and Indian suppliers of the very latest in railway technology and systems. Participants included train builders, signalling and communications specialists, track suppliers, manufacturers of train maintenance technology and IT specialists, all covering both main line and urban rail systems.
Speaking at the end of the event, Exhibition Director Thomas Ho commented: "The great success of Exporail India 2007 bears out our confidence that the rail market here is at a very exciting stage of development. Feedback from exhibitors and from the Ministry was especially positive and as a result we have already started planning our next show."
The Chief Guest at the formal inauguration of the exhibition on 16 October was Shri R Velu, Honourable Minister of State for Railways. Opening addresses were given by Mr Shanti Narain, Secretary General, IC Centre for Governance and former Member for Traffic of the IR Board, and Shri J P Batra, Chairman of the High Speed Group of the International Union of Railways (UIC).
During the first two days of the exhibition, a programme of high-level technical seminars took place at the Pragati Maidan venue, attended by 135 delegates. These addressed three key themes essential to the development of rail transport in India - heavy haul freight operations, high-speed passenger rail and metro systems. With each session under the chairmanship of senior figures from India's rail industry, the seminars featured presentations from expert speakers from India and abroad.
Plans are already well advanced for Exporail India 2008, which will again take place at the Pragati Maidan in New Delhi in November 2008. Firm dates for this will be announced soon and details of associated events will be released as they become available.
The organiser of Exporail India is Inter Ads-Brooks Exhibitions (India) Ltd, a joint venture between Mack Brooks Exhibitions, a world leader in organising trade exhibitions for the rail industry, and InterAds Pte Ltd, based in India. Mack Brooks' well known events include Railtex, the UK's leading exhibition of railway technology. Also staged in the UK is Infrarail, while rail exhibitions in mainland Europe include Expo Ferroviaria (Turin, Italy), Sifer (Lille, France) and Exporail (Moscow, Russia). The two partner companies are also collaborating to stage a second exhibition of airport equipment and services, Inter Airport India 2008, following the success of a first show in 2007.
For more information on Exporail India 2007 and to receive details of the 2008 exhibition when available, contact:
Tom Ho, Exhibition Director
Tel: (+44 1727) 814 400
Fax: (+44 1727) 814 401
Email: exporailindia@mackbrooks.com