The 4th International Railway Symposium Aachen (IRSA) came to a successful close on Thursday, November 23. As always, the conference was organized by the Research Center Railways of RWTH Aachen University, but this time for the first time together with DVV-Media-Verlag, Hamburg. The venue was the Aachen Eurogress, which has good transport connections and is still within easy walking distance of the city center and the hotels there.
Around 250 conference participants from eleven countries met at the beginning of the two-day event in the Brussels room, where they were welcomed by Prof. Schindler and then heard presentations in the plenary session by Prof. Salander from the Federal Ministry of Transport, Prof. Eckstein, the President of the VDI, Dr. Hempe from DB Fernverkehr and Mr. Scherrer from the Swiss Federal Railways on the situation and prospects of the rail system.
Subsequently, 51 specialist lectures were presented in three parallel sessions over one and a half days, covering the entire spectrum of the railroad system, namely infrastructure, operation and vehicle technology from high-speed transport to streetcars and freight transport. This year, the quality and content of the presentations were particularly high. As always, German-language presentations were simultaneously translated into English for the international guests.
During the breaks and the evening event in the former Aachen streetcar depot, there were plenty of opportunities for professional discussions. We are already looking forward to the 5th IRSA, which will take place at the same location on November 19/20, 2025. On the evening of November 18, there will be a traditional get-together for those guests who will be coming to Aachen the evening before.