Keynote Lectures
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P. Blair Trame (Hub Lead, North Asia, AMCL(Asset Management Consulting Limited), UK) Biography
AMCL is a management consultancy helping infrastructure clients succeed in a changing world. Founded in the UK in 1997, AMCL is the world leading asset management consulting firm having advised over 400 clients globally. AMCL established its North Asia business in Seoul in 2024. Blair leads AMCL’s North Asia business. he has asset management experience in the US, Hong Kong, Australia, and Korea, including working with multiple rail and transit organizations in the US and Australia. He is an adjunct professor at Duke University (US), where he created the course: Infrastructure Project Delivery & Managing the Built Environment. Blair lives in Seoul with his wife. Lecture Summary
Utilizing Digital Technologies for More Cost-Effective Maintenance in the Rail Sector: Like most industries, the Rail sector has seen many new digital products introduced over recent years – both hardware and software. Sensors and IoT devices gather data for digital twins, and software helps drive analytics and insights. Now, AI is the hot topic, and leaders are scrambling to implement AI into their businesses. Rail organizations must embrace digital innovation while being strategic about their investments. Digital technology and AI offer real opportunities for efficiency and improved asset reliability. AMCL’s approach to Asset Information and Digital Strategy allows organizations to define a vision and to-be stee, including how best to adopt digital solution to meet the organizations objectives and decision needs. We will discuss AMCL’s Asset Information & Digital Strategy approach with case studies from global Rail properties. |
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Chui Yong (Professor, Hefei University, China) Biography
Lecture Summary
To be announced (TBA) |
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Sergey Kinzhikeyev (Associate Professor, Astana IT University, Kazakhstan) Biography
Sergey Kinzhikeev was born on 02/08/1971. Main job is a Professor at Astana IT University. He holds a PhD degree in transportation engineering and vehicles. He is an associate professor and corresponding member of the Academy of Military Sciences. It has an h-index of 2. He is the author of 80 publications in the field of transport and military affairs, including in the WOS database, Scopus – 6 and in other publications. He has written 2 monographs, 5 textbooks, and 1 textbook. He was the head of 5 scientific research projects. Education: In 1992 graduated from the Leningrad Higher School of Railway Troops and Military Communications. M.V. Frunze. Bachelor. Specialty: Command – tactical railway troops. Qualification: Railway Engineer. In 2001. graduated from the Military Academy of the Rear and Transport of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Magistracy. Specialty: Military and Administrative management. Qualification: Specialist in management. In 2021 he graduated from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics and received a PhD. Lecture Summary
Model for supporting critical railway infrastructure in case of earthquakes: The proposed article will analyze the main emergency situations in the world. Based on the Markov random processes, the probability of destruction of railway stations will be determined, and thus the task of investigating operations under uncertainty is solved, when the uncertain factors involved in the task are random variables. The solution is based on a system of differential equations by the Rangi Kutta method of order 4. Based on the above, an accidental probability of failure of railway stations in a given situation will be obtained. |
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Min Sik, Gong (Managing Director, Overseas Business, Woojin Industrial Systems, Korea) Biography
To be announced (TBA) Lecture Summary
To be announced (TBA) |
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Sergiy Gnatyuk (Professor, State University “Kyiv Aviation Institute”, Ukraine) Biography
Lecture Summary
Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience: Emerging Threats and Countermeasures: This lecture explores the evolving landscape of threats – ranging from sophisticated cyberattacks on industrial control systems and disruptions to communication and energy grids, to the weaponization of emerging technologies such as drones, deepfakes, and AI-driven malware. Special attention is given to the wartime context of Ukraine, where critical infrastructure is systematically targeted through coordinated military and hybrid operations. The presentation outlines advanced countermeasures, including AI/ML-based anomaly detection, zero-trust architectures, quantum-safe encryption, real-time KPI monitoring, 5G/6G network integration, and decentralized cloud-based systems that support both preventive and responsive strategies. By bridging policy, emerging technologies, and operational practice, the lecture proposes a unified model of Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience and offers recommendations to enhance situational awareness, interoperability, and institutional preparedness in the face of complex and persistent threats. |
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Chul-Woo Kim (Professor, Kyoto University, Japan) Biography
Dr. Chul-Woo Kim has been a Chair Professor at Kyoto University since 2009. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Chung-Ang University in Seoul, South Korea, and his Doctor of Engineering degree from Kobe University. His research and teaching interests include vehicle–bridge interaction systems, SHM of bridges, sensing for civil infrastructure condition assessment, data-driven infrastructure management, structural reliability, performance-based design, surrogate modeling for FE model updating, and information fusion. Since 2009, he has supervised 20 PhD students and mentored 15 postdoctoral researchers, including 8 JSPS research fellows. Lecture Summary
Machine learning-aided model updating for structural integrity evaluation of PC girder: This keynote introduces a machine learning-aided Bayesian approach to create physics-based digital twins of PC girder bridges. A pre-trained Fourier Neural Operator (FNO) acts as a surrogate model, efficiently estimating posterior distributions of model parameters from limited data. Load–deflection curves generated using updated parameters via TMCMC closely matched experimental results, with FNO predictions aligning precisely with FEA. This FNO-based Bayesian updating proved over 15 times faster than conventional FE methods, ensuring high accuracy, highlighting the value of integrating machine learning and probabilistic modeling for advanced SHM of infrastructure. |
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David Camacho Alcocer (President and Senior Advisor on Railway Projects, Blatt Synergies UG and EcoUrba, Mexico) Biography
David Camacho Alcocer is a licensed Civil Engineer in California (P.E. California) with a Master’s degree in Infrastructure Planning, specializing in Transport and Land Use, and a Ph.D. in Railway Transportation Systems from the University of Stuttgart. He has over four years of experience as a project manager in land development and has been a key promoter of numerous railway projects in Mexico, including the Naucalpan–Buenavista Light Rail, AIFA–Pachuca Suburban Train, García–Monterrey Airport line, Saltillo and Celaya suburban systems, and the Monterrey–San Antonio Interurban Train. As a researcher at the University of Stuttgart, he developed urban and rural mobility models based on demand and paratransit systems. He also served as Director General of Studies and Railway Registry, and later as Head of Mexico’s Federal Railway Regulatory Agency, where he led the creation of national railway regulations and geospatial platforms, and formalized over 15 railway project registrations. Currently, he advises on railway infrastructure development, including the Tren Maya and Mexico’s Grand Railway Vision, leading the basic engineering for track alignment, track design, operations, and signaling and control systems for new projects under President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration. Lecture Summary
Railway Development Based on Operational Concepts: A Structuring Methodology for Strategic Projects in Mexico: Mexico is undergoing a renaissance in passenger rail as part of its Grand Railway Vision: a sustainable mobility system, territorially integrated and centered on people’s well-being. This vision was shaped through a strategic planning exercise led by a group of experts working with the incoming government’s transition team in 2024. The result was a plan to develop over 3,000 km of passenger rail, leveraging existing rights-of-way wherever possible and guided by principles of human ecology and territorial equity. To support the technical development of these strategic projects, a methodology based on Operational Concepts has been employed as a structuring tool for integrated project design. Unlike traditional approaches that begin with infrastructure, this methodology starts with demand as the key input to define the type of service (suburban, regional, or intercity), frequencies, target speeds, rolling stock requirements, station layout, intermodality, and operational needs. Based on these elements, and using rail traffic simulations on preliminary alignments, infrastructure, rolling stock, depots, workshops, staffing, and associated costs are progressively defined. This enables early-stage estimations of CAPEX and OPEX and supports more accurate cost-benefit analyses, allowing for clearer and more evidence-based descriptions of each project’s economic, social, and environmental benefits. This approach helps optimize public investment, avoid over- or under-dimensioning, and generate critical inputs for land-use planning under principles of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), adapted to rail. The presentation will show how this methodology has been key in shaping Mexico’s strategic railway projects, aimed at building a modern, efficient, and socially legitimate system. Mexico thus positions itself as a regional benchmark in sustainable railway development with an integrated long-term vision. |
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Chris Ho (General Manager, TÜV Rheinland, HKSAR, China) Biography
Chris is a safety and reliability consultant, technical and management process assessor, and Chartered engineer with over 25-year experience in a number of complex rail and non-rail projects, from requirements specification, design development to systems integration for revenue operation. He provides railway consultancy services in systems assurance, fire engineering, Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety (RAMS) modelling and performance assessment, risk management, safety engineering, independent safety assessment (including SIL4 software application), human factors, cybersecurity, asset management and systems engineering and integration. Lecture Summary
Any safety concerns for the recent transportation system innovation?: Nowadays, transportation system is commonly referred to automated driverless system. With the support of advancement in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, Autonomous Driving System (ADS) and the related location detection system are used for transportation system including traditional railway application. This presentation aims to give an overview of these technologies and the potential safety concerns together with the corresponding mitigation. |
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Keiichiro Kondo (Professor, Waseda University, Japan) Biography
KEIICHIRO KONDO received B.S. and Dr. Eng. from Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Department of Science and Technology, Waseda University, in 1991 and 2000, respectively. He was with Railway Technical Research Institute from 1991 to 2006 and was engaged at R&D for power electronics applied railway vehicle traction system. From 2007 to 2018, he was in Electrical and Electronic Engineering Course of Graduate School of Chiba University. Since 2018, he is a professor at School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering and Bioscience, Waseda University. His current research interests are power electronics, AC motor drive, and their applications to railway and automovile traction system. He is a Fellow of IEEJ. Lecture Summary
Power Electronics Technologies for the Innovation of Railway Vehicle Traction System : Over the past 30 years, advances in power electronics and motor drive technology have revolutionized railway vehicle traction system technology. They have contributed to increase the additional value of rail vehicles. This presentation describes how advances in power electronics technology have brought about innovations in railway vehicle traction system technology and discusses future directions in the related technology. |