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The inaugural Railway Interiors Gala Dinner proved a huge hit with exhibitors and visitors alike. The Innovation and Excellence Awards ceremony were the highlight of the evening for winners, with some terrific products and designs singled out for praise by an international panel of independent judges.
Tony Robinson, CEO of UKIP Media & Events and founder of Railway Interiors Expo said, “As a company, we have great experience with industry awards and we know how their significance can grow. In 1999, when we launched the International Engine of the Year Awards, they were something of a novelty, but within a couple of years they became hugely important, and companies like BMW, Mazda, Toyota, Subaru and Honda have used them to great effect in their marketing and advertising campaigns. The Railway Interiors Innovation and Excellence Awards will have a similar rise in importance.”
The winners are as follows:
- Finnish Railways - Family carriage concept
- Multirail - Trenitalia bar car
- Icomera - WiFi for GNER
- Fogtec - Fire system on DB
- Alstom Coradia Lirex EMU - Environmental breakthrough
- InfoGlobal - CCTV system on the Madrid Metro
- Avant Premier - Paris Metro
On top of these, there is a special category for new products at the show, as voted for by the jury and visitors over the first two days. The winner of the Innovation of the Year award is Sovereign Planned Services On Line. Nigel Browning, Sovereign’s general manager, said, “Winning this award is particularly gratifying. We’ve grown with the Expo, and now we have this terrific family of products on our stand, and it is really nice to get the recognition. Other exhibitors have been to congratulate us so we are delighted. It’s also nice for our customer, Virgin Trains; their staff are as proud as we are.
Railway Interiors Expo is the chosen event for many in the industry to launch new products.
Forbo, for example, has decided to debut its new range of PVC flooring as well as new linoleum designs. Stephan Plomp, international key account manager transportation, said, “Our main aim at the show has been to speak to the designers and make them aware of the edge that can be gained by choosing floor products carefully.” Forbo’s lino is recyclable and 100 per cent natural. The company also supplies other flooring products, some of which are on display.
Among the other new products being launched at the show is EVAC’s EnviroClean – a simple-to-use toilet-cleaning system. It works by injecting a small amount of a specially formulated solution via spray nozzles in the rim, aiding rinsing and reducing the buildup of limescale. Stefan Klingler, EVAC’s sales manager (Europe), said, “We have had lots of interest in this at the show, with plenty of positive feedback. We’ve made some good contacts and met some important international visitors. It could take weeks to generate that many leads normally.”
Award nominee Baker Bellfield is showing a new table for the first time. Designed in conjunction with Bombardier, the concept features sliding sides to expand the surface area so that passengers can use a laptop more comfortably. Safety has also been considered, so unlike folding table designs there are no finger pinch traps. The company’s Eddie Pain said, “It is designed to give greater flexibility to users, while offering enhanced crash safety due to its greater edge depth. The one at the show is the second prototype, and we are taking it through the crash test certification now.” A new type of polyurethane has been developed especially for the job. Pain continued, “This is our first international transport industry trade fair, and we have been very happy with the quality of visitors we are meeting.”
Emil F. Jachmann, president of Cyalume Light Technology, is another exhibitor happy with the response. He said, "We have seen an excellent audience for our safety products. I’m nearly out of business cards. It has turned out to be exactly the right market for us.”
Sovereign Planned Services Online has been attending the show for the last three years. General manager Nigel Browning said, “Every year we have to increase the size of our stand, always based on the orders received at the show before. We’ve been very successful today, and even with an extra member of staff we have been busy.”
Jay Saw, Nomad Digital’s commercial director, gave the first presentation on Day Two. He said, “I like the location of the main conference area. It really feels part of the show. I was pleased to see some familiar faces in the audience so I know the right sort of people are here.” Nomad is sponsoring the evening drinks reception.
French design specialist RCP Design Global sent a delegation along. It included Elisabeth Dalby, who said, “It seems different from last year, easier for visitors to navigate their way around. Also the Forum is always interesting – this year we particularly enjoyed the MBD and DCA presentations.” RCP is currently working on sensory design, examining diverse reactions like haptic responses and passenger perceptions of light inside the railcar. “We have been very interested to see all the LED suppliers here this year,” continued Dalby. “LED use in trains will surely rise as the technology makes it easier to create a cosy atmosphere with nice, indirect light.”
Martin Schiefelbusch from The Institute for Cooperation Management and Interdisciplinary Research is another regular visitor who enjoys the Forum. He said, “I was particularly interested in the Creactive presentation about design. I am doing some research work on shaping the travel experience, so I will certainly be looking up the slides on the web later.” Schiefelbusch also enjoys the show’s official publication, Railway Interiors International magazine: “There’s always a handful of interesting articles, and it offers a different angle on the industry from the transport science and planning journals.”
Railway Interiors Expo 2007 has opened its doors to visitors from all over the globe.
The morning Open Technology Forum session began with Stephane Pottier from MBD Design talking about his company’s recent successes. After the presentation he said, “For the first of the day, I was impressed to see so many delegates present. There was hardly an empty seat to be seen.”
Back on the MBD stand, he continued, “As soon as I stepped off the stage I was approached by some delegates from Dubai, so I’m really pleased to see so many people coming from far away.” Pottier’s colleague Veronique Flament has also been pleased with the international response. She added, “So far we have seen visitors from Iran, China, Korea and Japan, as well as across Europe. We’ve been really busy already.”
Portuguese specialists Alma Design and Couro Azul have teamed up to share a stand, as well as a pro-active design philosophy. Jose Rui Marcelino, Alma’s design manager says, “Usually suppliers approach a project with a view to finding a use for their material. What we do is look further upstream, and research a fully integrated solution that we can offer a contractor so we are always ready for the next project. With the synergies between our two companies we can adopt a really proactive approach, and already this has resulted in some major successes.”
Marcelino and his team have enjoyed a busy first morning at the show. “We like the fact that the visitors are very focused, they are potential clients from real companies. Also the show looks good – if I stopped at every stand that interests me it would take me all day to get round the hall.”
 CML-IT is attending to showcase its innovative lighting products. Global marketing and communications manager Paul Ward said, “In the first morning we have made 10 really good contacts. We have just met a company that is preparing a 5,000-railcar project – it was on the lookout for LEDs so we had a really interesting conversation. Also I’ve been to visit some of the seat manufacturers to talk about reading lights – again really useful for us. There is a great mix of products here, and all the visitors are serious industry people.”
 Bayer MaterialScience is using the show to launch Bayblend MTR (Mass Transit Rail), a material designed to conform to DIN 5510 and the M1 and F1 standards. Ideal for wall cladding and ceilings, the new ABS/PCS also lends itself to the creation of any large thermoformed parts. It also meets the Docket 90 specification, which is very important for American business. Heinz-Georg Bach, Bayer’s head of market and business development, said, “We are offering this material with an anti-graffiti finish (Bayblend Bayloy) and we have noticed great interest in it. Overall, visitor traffic on our stand is up on last year.”
 On Wednesday 7 November, a specialist crashworthiness break-out session will be taking place on the second floor of the Congress Centre, the Rheinsaal, adjacent to the main Expo hall.
In the morning, Peter Briggs from Bodycote warringtonfire will be moderating the session about fire, safety, standards and certification.
After lunch, the crashworthiness session will start. Moderated by Tony Payne from MIRA, the session will include contributions from ex-DB man and rail vehicle engineering consultant Dr Wilfred Wotler, who will be discussing interior passive safety and conformation to the new European requirements. There will also be a case study about crash energy management techniques on the North American railway system, presented by PTSI Transportation’s vice-president Joshua Coran.
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