today 137
today 137
The railway sector is becoming more international. Borders never posed problems for trains, and this is a development that is also being observed more frequently in railway construction. Many railway construction companies operate in several countries, and their machines and staff are also active internationally. This increases competition and the requirements that come along with it.
Different countries often have very different technical requirements and standards: companies must be familiar with them if they wish to win contracts and execute them successfully. Quality requirements and international competition are increasing; in most cases, there are more competitors to face than there were before. In addition, staff must be able to deliver the best performance to make the best possible use of the technology modern track maintenance machines have to offer.
In the future, there will be several companies under the “Global Rail” umbrella brand who will help companies successfully tackle these challenges. They are the Global Rail Academy, Global Rail Media, Global Rail Recruiting, and Global Rail Consulting. PMC Media will still be the reference brand. A seasoned player, it will continue to deliver railway-related content but be integrated into the Global Rail Trust (GRT) operative holding. The aim is to support companies in the field of railway construction, whose fields of activity complement each other, in taking the step from international to global operation. This includes support in taking advantage of the business opportunities that arise as a result.
The knowledge and experience are there - our aim will be to prepare them perfectly for the market, thereby contributing to the safeguarding and development of railway-related knowledge.
Harald Eller, Managing Director of Global Rail Trust, has a clear objective: “We want to do our part to increase the quality of the world’s railways in all of their forms and facets. To that end, we would like to support companies in operating even more professionally than before: through additional training for their staff, by publishing content that creates value, and by offering support in human resources management and in consulting.”
Railways are the transport system of the future, but studies have shown that people around the world know less and less about them. There are very few fields of study with an in-depth focus on railway systems. With these new companies, which complement each other in their business activities, we can successfully share railway-related know-how.
Harald Eller emphasises Global Rail’s neutrality and manufacturer independence. “Our focus is on sharing best practices: the area and origin are irrelevant.”
Under Silvia Goronzy’s management, Global Rail Academy & Media wants to revolutionise its approach. It will be topic-driven and align with customer needs: the content of specialist books and new training programmes will reflect employees’ railway-related expertise and decades of international experience.
As Silvia Goronzy notes, “We have unique preconditions that allow us to offer something completely new: they can be attributed to our training capacities and the specialist publisher. The knowledge and experience are there - our aim will be to prepare them perfectly for the market, thereby contributing to the safeguarding and development of railway-related knowledge.”
Operating companies can already look forward to a programme that is rich in variety and global in every sense of the word. It comprises everything from in-depth introductory courses to specialised seminars; simulators will also be used. E-learning will play a special role. “We will make use of modern communication technologies to offer innovative training that meets our customers’ needs,” says Silvia Goronzy.
Detlev Suchanek will be in charge of the specialist publisher’s operations. It will have two functions: taking care of high-quality specialist publications and acting as a railway-related media agency. In addition to its publishing activities, an in-house editorial team will prepare content for all the Global Rail companies and be in charge of the popular German portal Gleisbau-Welt as well as its English version, Trackopedia.
Railways and their infrastructure are subject to increasingly high demands. This can be explained by growing axle loads, higher speeds, the rapid development of urban rail transport, and the necessary optimisation of the financial resources that are available.
Under Harald Eller’s strategic leadership, Global Rail Consulting (GRC) will take the extensive expertise and many years of internationally acquired experience its employees have and apply it as part of project preparation and guidance. “GRC wants to become the key consultant for railways. We will specialise in Infrastructure Condition Assessment and Infrastructure Maintenance Operations, with everything being digitally processed and prepared.”
Global Rail Recruiting (GRR) will offer support for human resource management. Led by Silvia Goronzy, it also aims to pave the way for new approaches. GRR will lease experts to ensure there is enough staff available for meeting high contract volumes and deadlines. It will also be appointed to recruit and train renowned experts for and at GRA; this pertains to operating the increasingly powerful work machinery, among other things.
All these companies are united by a common thread: the enormous expertise that stems from years of experience in various railway-related aspects and the resulting synergies through business activities that supplement one another. Information and know-how will be provided in a variety of complementary formats under the “Global Rail” umbrella brand.
The name “Global Rail” says it all: it is not only a question of working internationally, but rather, working globally while keeping an eye on local considerations. As Harald Eller observes, “Our outlook is one of complete openness. We help out when we’re needed; it doesn’t matter where or in which language.” In short, Global Rail – your global partner.
