Increasing urbanization and the resultant rise in the volume of traffics in cities across
Asia Pacific, Middle East, Europe and the region, has fuel the demand for more mobility
solutions in the coming years. A study by Booz Allen Hamilton concluded that the world's
major cities will be investing more than 5 trillion USD in their road and rail infrastructures
by the year 2035. Against this backdrop and underlying the importance of mass rapid
transit for resolving transport and traffic problems and in view of ever-increasing
population, the mass rapid transit systems have become a priority project. Across Asia
Pacific, Middle East, Europe and the region, MRT system has proved to be successful
to alleviate worsening traffic congestion, minimize air pollution, expand passenger
transport capacity, as well as improvement of urban space within the MRT stations. With
these success stories, cities across Asia Pacific, Middle East, Europe and the region
begin to embark on putting top priority MRT projects including the Urban Mass Rapid
Transit Line 1 & 2 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and most recently, Jakarta MRT project
development that will roll its construction phase from April 2013, a construction of mass
rapid transit system (MRT) of total length 14.5 km in the Jakarta metropolitan area, where
traffic is seriously congested. The MRT is due to start operation in 2016 and the 500km
Singapore- Johor's Rapid Transit System that will roll by 2018. Across Europe, Le Grand
Paris Automated Rapid Transit line in Paris, France, and a 130km with 60 stations that
will be completed by 2020. Across the Middle East, Riyadh Metro in Saudi Arabia, the
MRT development of 181-km of metro network covering 132 stations to serve Riyadh,
the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia and across Kuwait, Kuwait Metro, the MRT
development of 160 km of rail-based rapid-transit system covering 69 stations to serve
Kuwait by 2020.
Key issues to be discussed including the adverse impacts of MRT project from pre-construction, construction and operational phase and strategy to mitigating strategy through the use of best practices and appropriate technologies. In addition, industry players will share perspective on the development of rapid visual screening of underground/tunnels and mass rapid transit stations' procedure to assess the risk to an underground/tunnel or transit station that has the potential of causing catastrophic losses, from natural and manmade hazards with a quick tool for obtaining a preliminary risk assessment rating to prioritize tunnels and transit stations for further evaluation or mitigation. The implementation of a common, electronic ticketing and revenue-sharing mechanisms would be the key to successful business model by combining all transport modes to bring about convenience and more operational efficiency for the respective transport operators. Against this backdrop, World Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Project Conference 2013 is a timely platform for industry players and decision-makers to be updated on new tenders and business opportunities available from pre-construction, construction and operational phase of an MRT system project across Asia Pacific, Middle East, Europe and the region.
