UTAR hosts 3rd Symposium on Railway Infrastructure & Engineering

The 3rd Symposium on Railway Infrastructure & Engineering (SRIE 2022) was held on 13 October 2022 at Multipurpose Hall (MPH), UTAR Sungai Long Campus. It was co-organised by UTAR Centre for Railway Infrastructure and Engineering (CRIE) and The Malaysia Rail Industry Corporation (MARIC), and supported by the Ministry of Transport Malaysia (MOT), Malaysia Rail Development Corporation (MRDC), The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM) and Institute of Materials, Malaysia (IMM). The symposium saw more than 150 participants.

Themed Modern Railway Technology, the symposium this year focused on industrial advancement and the development of railway transportation in Malaysia. It brought together academics, industry practitioners and researchers to share their expertise and knowledge in railway know-how in Malaysia. It also served as a good platform for research and development opportunities between educational institutions and the industry in the region to further fortify the progress of railway development across this region.

Invited to officiate the symposium was Minister of Transport Malaysia YB Datuk Seri Ir Dr Wee Ka Siong. Also present at the symposium were Senior Council for Malaysia Rail Industry Corporation (MARIC) Datuk Mohamed Razeek Md Hussain, Group CEO of Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad Datuk Mohd Rani Hisham bin Samsudin, President of UTAR Ir Prof Dato’ Dr Ewe Hong Tat, Vice President of UTAR for R&D and Commercialisation Prof Ts Dr Faidz bin Abd Rahman, Symposium Chairperson and Chairperson of the Centre for Railway Infrastructure and Engineering (CRIE) Assoc Prof Ir Dr Chua Kein Huat, Honorary Secretary for MARIC Encik Haniff Ghazali and many more.

The SRIE 2022 commenced with an opening remark by YB Datuk Seri Wee. It was followed by welcome remarks from Datuk Mohamed Razeek, Prof Dato’ Ewe and Dr Chua.

YB Datuk Seri Wee said, “Rail transport plays a vital role in supporting the Rakyat, developing Malaysia’s economy and protecting our green environment. It has the potential to contribute much more. This is recognised in the National Transport Policy, which identifies rail as a major driver in developing the strategic objective of smart green and sustainable growth. Rail is indeed in a privileged position to become the backbone of an intermodal ‘Mobility as a Service’ for passengers and ‘Delivery as a Service” for goods’.”

He added, “I am excited as this symposium will provide a glimpse into the rail capabilities needed to meet the future needs of railway in this country, and hopefully explore many routes to apply new technologies to achieve these capabilities. The Government is committed to offering continuous support and investment to embrace the technological opportunities and streamlined regulation to improve the cost competitiveness of the Malaysia railway industry.”

Datuk Mohamed Razeek said, “MARIC is ready to support the Ministry of Transport for all government initiatives and projects to ensure that together, we can build a world-class transportation system in Malaysia and export our “end-to-end” rail systems abroad. With the strong relationship between industry players and the support from the government, we can move a mountain! I believe we can do more and overcome many grand challenges under the leadership and guidance of the Ministry of Transport by continuing and strengthening this partnership.”

Prof Dato’ Ewe, in his speech, expressed his appreciation to the Malaysia Rail Industry Corporation; the Ministry of Transport; the National Rail Centre of Excellence; The Institution of Engineers Malaysia; the Institute of Materials, Malaysia; the Malaysia Rail Development Corporation (MRDC); generous sponsors; keynote speakers and the organising committee for their effort and support in making this event a success.

He said, “This symposium is timely as it serves as a constructive platform for research and development possibilities between academics and industry players to strengthen further the advancement of railway development and the growing railway sector in Malaysia. The knowledge shared within the symposium will definitely enhance the pool of knowledge in railway system operation and analysis, energy efficiency and management, green technology, artificial intelligence, and many more.”

Dr Chua thanked YB Datuk Seri Ir Dr Wee Ka Siong for taking his precious time to officiate the symposium.  He said, “With your strong support, our research centre is motivated; it will continue to promote and expand the technology and human capital development of railway infrastructure and engineering in Malaysia. UTAR CRIE is ready to support the four government programmes to support the development of railway such as Business cost analysis (BCA), Capacity Enhancement Programme, Competency Employment Programme and Economic Enhancement Programme.”

SRIE 2022 featured a total of five renowned speakers. Prof Dr Andy Chit Tan from UTAR presented his topic titled “On-line Detection of Shaft failure of high-speed trains. Prof Andy’s paper attempts to identify early-stage cardan shift failure. It establishes the identification standard and proposes the online identification method of faulty cardan shafts in high-speed CRHS EMU trains.

Chief Executive Officer of Amantronic Sdn Bhd Encik Izwan Sabri presented his topic titled “Malaysia’s Role in Leading Railway Technology & Capabilities across South East Asia”. According to him, mobility has become the key indicator to the development of Metro Urban cities and subsequently the nation’s economic growth. He said with a vast and rich history in railway, which spans across 145 years, Malaysia is primed to lead the advancement of Technology and Capabilities across the Southeast Asia region.

Head Consultant of MRDC Encik Hasry bin Harun presented his topic titled “Inspiring Destination and Way Ahead National Rail Industry”. He shared that the development and acquisition of modern rail technologies such as Hydrogen, Hybrid, multiple system locomotives and rolling stock will facilitate the growth of the rail industry as well as the nation’s economy.

Chief Technical Officer of Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) Ir Ahmad Nizam Mohamed Amin presented his topic titled “Enhancing KTMBs Customer Experience Through IoT Applications”. He mentioned that KTMB continues to explore and place emphasis on IoT applications to enhance its capabilities to manage passenger safety, operational efficiency and improve customer experience. One of the application scopes that he introduced was the passenger journey planner.

Lastly, Group Strategy and Business Development Director of SMH Rail Malaysia Encik Chelvam Rengasamy presented his topic titled “Way Forward for Sustainability of Local Rail Industry and Optimisation of Life Cycle Cost”. He shared about maintenance repair and overhaul; how local companies and operators can synergize and export MRO expertise to regional countries; the enhancement of human capital in local MRO work; cost optimisation of MRO; gradual development of EEM parts to optimise and reduce cost; how to develop EEM parts locally through a strategic collaboration between local companies and foreign OEM, and many more.

There was also a forum discussion chaired by UTAR Department of Civil Engineering lecturer Ir Prof Dr Khoo Hooi Ling @ Lai Hooi Ling.

SRIE 2022 was sponsored by Platinum sponsor Amantronic Sdn Bhd; Gold sponsors Doshin Rubber Products (M) Sdn Bhd and SMH Rail Sdn Bhd; Silver sponsors Tech-Store Malaysia Sdn Bhd, PESTECH Technology Sdn Bhd and Colas Rail Asia Sdn Bhd.