Virtual panel discussions for railway specialists from India, Germany and Russia

In the context of closed borders, the Corporate University of Russian Railways organized a series of virtual round tables for employees of Russian and foreign railways. In August, railway specialists from Russia, India and Germany took part 

in the events. In the future, the Corporate University will continue to develop the format of international online activities.

Organizing international events is one of the key activities of the Corporate University of Russian Railways in partnership with the Department of Foreign Projects and International Affairs of Russian Railways. After the introduction of restrictive measures due to the COVID-19, work was switched to the remote mode. Since April, the Russian Railways Holding managers have conducted online master classes in English for foreign partners. “Today, such meetings are initiated 

not only by the heads of Russian Railways divisions, but also by the Holding's foreign partners. At the same time, 

the range of issues under consideration is expanding and all of them are aimed at solving the company's current business problems, – Roman Baskin, Director of the Corporate University of Russian Railways told the railway newspaper “Gudok”. – As a result of such events, we generate the interest of foreign colleagues in studying the rich experience of Russian Railways, which undoubtedly contributes to greater openness of the company”.

In August, a new format of international cooperation was introduced – virtual panel discussions. Three events were held with the Indian and German colleagues.

The first two online meetings were devoted to discussing the quality and volume of cargo transportation. According 

to Sushant Mishra, a representative of the Board of Directors of Indian Railways, responsible for train traffic control, 

a significant decrease in passenger traffic in spring and summer in India has almost doubled the average section speed 

of freight trains. The company plans to maintain the achieved results in terms of speed, including by developing 

a dedicated railway lines system for freight traffic.

In Europe, according to the Deputy Head of DB Cargo, Jonathan Kuehl, the KPI of cargo transportation depends 

not on the speed, but on the presence of bottlenecks in the infrastructure of the road corridor that the train operates. "Accuracy and high speed of delivery are important for us while working with goods that go directly to production 

in the future. And for cargo that goes to a warehouse, for example, to a port or a power plant, the most important parameters are the regularity and stability of cargo flow," said Jonathan Kuehl.

According to Jonathan Kuehl, for now special attention is being paid to cargo, the delivery of which was traditionally carried out by road transportation. "The reorientation to rail transportation of such goods is not only an indicator 

of efficiency, but also our contribution to the environment", said Jonathan Kuehl.

Increasing the volume of freight traffic and its quality indicators is also a priority for Russian Railways, said Ruslan Kireev, Deputy Head of the Traffic Department of the Central Directorate of Traffic Management: "The information shared by our German colleagues is very important for our company both in the organization of domestic cargo transportation 

and in the implementation of projects within international transport corridors".

Another panel discussion organized by the Corporate University of Russian Railways was dedicated to the development of digital technologies on the railways of Europe and Russia. It raised questions about the formation of requirements 

for "machine vision" technologies, positioning systems and digital railway models, as well as the use of remote control 

and control for unmanned traction.

As the participants of the events noted, such meetings are useful for all parties. "I am glad that we are moving forward in cooperation, even despite all the restrictions that exist today. The dialogue on this virtual platform is important for us.

I hope that we will continue it online and perhaps next year we will be able to come to Russia for further cooperation", said Jens Gräfer, Head of the International Affairs Department of Deutsche Bahn.