ICE-SA is excited to announce it is hosting online webinars, on the 18th July and 13th August, for Civil Engineers and others interested in rail. The webinars will be presented by Konstantinos Tzanakakis, Operation and Maintenance Team Leader at Rail Baltica.

Webinar 1:

Date: 18th July

Time: 16H00 - 17H15 SAST

Topic: History of Railways (From the ancient “track roads” to the high-speed trains, the Maglev and the Hyperloop technology

The lecture will begin with the ancient “track roads” dating back to 600 BC, followed by the emergence of modern railways in the early 19th century with the development of the first steam locomotive. We will briefly present the development of high-speed rail that revolutionized transportation, including a brief overview of Maglev and Hyperloop technology. We will conclude with a funny story about the railway track gauge.

Webinar 2:

Date: 13th August

Time: 16H00 - 17H15 SAST

Topic: High-Speed Railway: Revolutionizing Transportation

The increased movement of both people and goods, resulting in congestion in the air and ground transportation systems, is one of the largest developments brought about by globalization and the revolution in the field of communications.

Thus, there was a need for transport systems that can adapt to changing requirements: For distances that are both long enough for car travel and short enough for air travel, a medium-distance transport system was needed; high-speed rail meets this need.

The subject of this webinar is high-speed rail (HSR) and how it transformed the transportation industry.

We will start presenting the evolution of HSR and then we will present key features of HSR (HSR vs conventional rail, engineering and technological innovations for HSR, specific rolling stock technologies es like Maglev, Hyperloop). We will continue comparing HSR with other modes of transport and discuss shortly the environmental impact of HSR. Global examples will show the success of the development of HSR. We will present some aspects of the future of HSR, discuss shortly options for upgrading existing infrastructure for high-speed rail and finally we will present some initial thoughts about possibilities of HSR in South Africa.