6-9 January: NRC Conference and REMSA Exhibition
Image courtesy of NRC
The National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association will be holding the twelfth annual NRC Conference and REMSA Exhibition on 69 January 2016 at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, California.
The conference brings together more than 1000 stakeholders in the railroad construction and maintenance sector, with 150 exhibitors demonstrating the latest innovations and technologies in a 36,000 square-foot space.
The programme agenda is headed by chief engineers from major rail passenger and freight companies, with keynote speakers giving presentations on upcoming projects and opportunities. Among the speakers, presentations will be made by the following companies to inform delegates of the opportunities for contractors and suppliers their 2016 programmes offer:
- Union Pacific
- SANDAG (San Diego)
- Genesee and Wyoming
- Caltrans
- CSX
- California Rail
- LA Metro
- Alaska Railroad
- Norfolk Southern
- Canadian National
- New York MTA
- Watco
- OmniTRAX
Other speakers include Rob Castiglione from the FRA, who will update the delegates on minimum training standards and rules for the industry, and Keith Hartwell from Chambers, Conlon and Hartwell LLC who will update delegates on rail legislation. There will also be a preview of the NRCs safety DVDs on job briefing as well as a highlights video from the last decade of safety videos.
There will be a panel comprised of congressional staff titled Transportation Legislation and Policy Priorities in the 114th Congress and Beyond. A second panel, sponsored by Balfour Beatty will speak on Denver and Phoenix Vallues metro programmes. Tony Hatch of ABH Consulting will deliver a talk titled Renaissance or Dark Ages.
NRC Seminars
The conference will also host seminars which will be of interest to delegates on subjects including training standards, best practices for direct fixation and low track vibrations and embedded tracks.
NRC Awards
The conference will also host the NRC Special Awards for rail project of the year and field employee of the year. Past winners include the Crawsfordsville Bridge Repair, Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project and the Utah Transit authority.
There will also be a notable individual inducted to the NRC Hall of Fame to join luminaries James J Daloisio, Bill Herzog and Thomas Philip Stout.
Extracurricular Activities
In addition to a spouses luncheon and spa day, they will also be given the opportunity to go ice skating while the delegate themselves can take part in a golf and sailing tournament as part of the conference, which will add an extra dimension of fun to the conference, as well as providing some healthy competition!
The NRC President Chuck Baker said of last years conference:
We were thrilled with the conference this year, it was the eleventh consecutive year for record attendance with north of 1,200 people, which is close to 10% from the previous year.
I think at its core, its a bread and butter conference. You have the major players who give relevant details on capital spending. Were not offering life coaching seminars, the speakers are giving timely, crucial information thats relevant to a lot of contractors and suppliers.
The conference will offer plenty of opportunity for networking with coffee breaks and drinks receptions, giving delegates the chance to make new contacts and touch base with existing clients.
