Showcasing the achievements of public transport initiatives, Indian members participate in the UITP Global Public Transport Summit

UITP concluded the Global Public Transport Summit with the biggest and boldest gathering yet. The world of urban mobility came together from 110 countries to make Barcelona, the public transport capital of the world across four days of activity (4-7 June 2023).

Hosting the first UITP Global Summit since the 2019 edition in Stockholm, UITP and the three local partners, FGC, TMB and Renfe, brought public transport together under the 2023 theme ‘Bright Light of the City’. The 64th edition of the UITP Summit featured 87 sessions with 423 speakers and 337 exhibitors from 41 countries.

The summit was the world’s gathering place for showcasing the latest innovations, the newest technologies, good practice cases, and forward-thinking projects. With a world-renowned Exhibition, sector-leading Congress, technical visits, study tours, e-Poster sessions, press tours, power sessions, networking, and social events, the UITP Global Summit hosted 10 days of activity. The participation from India has been a mix of engaging speakers, exhibitors and award winners from operators and authorities.

One of the most coveted events in the annual UITP Global Summit is the UITP Awards which are highly sought-after prizes in the field of public transport. Under the ‘Climate and Health’ category, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking won the UITP Award 2023 for its green travel initiatives and building sustainable urban transport.

Mr Lokesh Chandra (IAS), former General Manager, BEST received the award.  The undertaking was also among the top 3 finalists in the “Public and Urban Transport Strategy” award category. BEST was recognised for its key sustainable transport initiatives such as induction of electric busses, utilisation of renewable energy, digital ticketing and providing first and last mile services.

L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Limited (LTMRHL) was shortlisted among the top three finalists under the ‘Multimodal integration’ category for their project titled ‘Elevating multimodal transit experience in Hyderabad, India’. LTMRHL received the Special Recognition Award for strengthening multimodal integration at the urban transport system level, resulting in improvement in access to mobility transport solutions for passengers.

Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) also received the Special Recognition Award for restructuring of public transport in Kerala for operational excellence in the past years. Mr. Biju Prabhakar, IAS, Chairman and Managing Director, KSRTC received the award in recognition of the efforts undertaken under his leadership.

Managing Directors and transport professionals working in the area of bus and urban rail operations in major Indian cities shared their ideas on innovative transport initiatives and projects in India. They took to the stage in several of the congress sessions.

Mr. Vinay Kumar Singh, Managing Director, National Capital Region Transport Corporation Ltd. shared his perspective in the session ‘Connecting cities to their hinterland: The Evolution of Regional and Suburban Railways – Case of RRTS in NCR of India’ . NCRTC is implementing the transformative Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project called Rapid-X, India’s first semi-high-speed regional/ suburban rail network that aims to revolutionise mobility in the National Capital Region (NCR). Mr Singh talked about various state-of-the-art technologies adopted in the project such as deployment of European Train Control System (ETCS Level 2) signalling system.

Mr. Vikas Kumar, Managing Director, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd spoke at the session ‘public transport as a decarbonisation leader: the importance of renewable energy supply’, discussing the case of Delhi Metro which is providing cost effective, and energy efficient rail based public transport system in Delhi and NCR Region.

Mr Kumar presented the initiatives taken by DMRC to tap the renewable energy from on-site rooftop solar plants and off-site solar plant, together meeting 35% of total energy requirement of DMRC from renewable sources.

Mr. Biju Prabhakar, Chairman and Managing Director, Kerala State Road Transport Corporation, made an insightful presentation in the session titled ‘Energy transition strategies in bus fleet renewal- strategies, action plans & benefits.’ Mr. Prabhakar discussed the KSRTC restructuring action plan, key pillars of their strategy, challenges with introduction of hydrogen and electric buses and the way forward.

Mr. Rajnish Kumar Rana, Joint General Manager/Operations, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited spoke in the spotlight session ‘Building sustainable and equitable transportation choices across the globe’ highlighting the socio-economic benefits that came out from the improvement in Delhi Metro transport systems. These benefits provide wider access to opportunities, improved mobility, time and cost savings.

On behalf of Mr. Lokesh Chandra, former General Manager, BEST, Mr. Amegh Gopinath, Technical Advisor, GIZ India made a presentation in the session ‘Green kilometres count more than green vehicles: A tale of highly utilised vehicles’ and discussed on topics such as bus electrification, green energy supply and digitalisation.

In its Summit Exhibition, UITP provides a perfect opportunity to discover latest vehicles, innovative products, and solutions from leading industry suppliers and operating companies. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, one of the exhibitors from India at the Summit, showcased its expertise in construction and operations with other metro projects across India and abroad as consultant.

Delhi Metro has been involved in different consultative capacities with both national and international metro projects such as General Consultant with the Dhaka Metro Project in Bangladesh. The exhibition provided a great opportunity for the DMRC team to showcase its strength, innovative projects, and to engage with their international counterparts.

The summit was the perfect occasion for the Indian delegation to showcase their innovative public transport initiatives and exchange in meaningful and insightful conversations around the world of sustainable mobility.

After successful organisation of 64^th edition of Global Public Transport Summit in Barcelona, UITP will host the next edition in Hamburg, Germany, from 15-18 June, 2025.