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Speakers at the conference

The conversations that need to happen, here.

One of our founding goals is to create a platform for collaboration and development in the areas which present challenges in our industry: introducing innovation, setting standards, fostering safety, sustainability and cost-efficiency.

TRACCS Rail Day speakers will address some of our collective concerns in these two full days of talks, workshops, round tables and presentations.

EllisDon logo, Conference sponsor

June 20th

headshot of rick leary ttc ceo

Fireside Chat
with Rick Leary, CEO of the
Toronto Transit Commission (TTC)

Workshops on National Standards
by CSA Group

       Opportunities for Standards in Rail Electrification. (2 hr.)
       Opportunities for Standards to Support Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience for Transit and Rail Systems. (2 hr.)

CSA Group Logo

June 21st

poster about Stephanie Davies' participation

Schedule

* Subject to change

Day 2
Wednesday June 21

9:45 am

Opening Remarks: TRACCS Board

10 am

Fireside Chat with Stephanie Davies

Chief Capital Officer (GO & UP), Metrolinx

Room A

11 am

Mary Proc: 10 Secrets to Career Success in the Rail Industry

Room B

High output delivery for different disciplines – track renewal, OCS installation
David Mommer and Mikael Eekhout (NGE)

Room C

New Standards Development Opportunities: CSA Group, Transit, and Passenger Rail
Michael Urban, Manager, Strategic Development, and Clifton Rondeau Manager, Strategic Development

11:45 am

Ensuring Track Worker Safety with Electronic Roadway Worker Protection Systems
Miller Ingenuity/RailWorks Corp (PNR RailWorks)

(rescheduled)
Transit Service - Prospects & Lessons Learned

Matthew Slade
(EllisDon)

Reliability Centred Maintenance 
Barny Daley (Network Rail)

12:30 pm

TBC
 (Systra)

Track Safety Systems including Collision Avoidance for Track Maintenance Vehicles, Track Intrusion & Rail Crossing Warning Systems, and Worker Safety Systems.
 Jamie Maguire (Protran, Harsco)

Extending the Life of Key Rail Assets with Ballast Stabilization
Don Herbert (Tensar International)

1:15 - 1:45 pm

break

1:45 pm

LABOUR IN THE INDUSTRY Michele Malski Spring Recruits

2:30 pm

OFF THE RAILS:  A Systems Engineering Approach To Rail-Transit Projects
Michael Godfrey, P. Eng. and Mike Markoulakis P. Eng., PMP(WGD Consulting)

break

Panel: Improving Technology Procurement & Reducing Risk. Considering the full asset lifecycle and stakeholders
Dale Brown (APTA/INCOSE), Firas Al-Tahan (Stantec) and Leslie Barnes (WGD consulting)

2:45 pm

Safety Critical Fasteners– How the smallest component can cause the most

damage
Jason Baines, VP (J. Lanfranco)

break

CSA WORKSHOP
Opportunities for Standards in Rail Electrification
Hany Soloumah, Director, Traction Power Systems Éric Breault, Senior Engineer Richard Catlow, VP, Traction Power Systems & Strategic Consulting, Rail & Transit Systems Balaji Gollapalli Viswanadh, Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Engineer

(13:30 - 15:30)

3 pm

Challenges of mapping utilities in the rail corridor
Lawrence Arcand (4sight)

4:30 pm

Closing Remarks

Schedule

Day 1
Tuesday June 20

* Subject to change

Room A

Room B

Room C

9:30 am

Opening Remarks: TRACCS Board and 
Associate Minister Stan Cho

10 am

Fireside Chat with TTC CEO Rick Leary

With Jennifer van der Valk,  from the Toronto Region Board of Trade

10:30 am

break

break

break

11 am

Introduction to the Railway System Assurance Process.
Ignacio Sanz, Aecon 

11:45 am

Rail Consortiums: A Collaborative Approach to Maintenance Training
Amri Joyner (ITLC) and Don Lamotthe (DART)

Women in Rail Panel

(11:00-12:30 pm)

​

Karla Avis-Birch, Chief Planning Officer, Metrolinx

Gina Au, Apprentice, Streetcar Maintenance, TTC

Tracy D’Souza, Supervisor, Carpentry, Crosslinx

Joanna Kervin, Vice President, External Approvals and Implementation, Crosslinx

Samin Mahdavian, Project Coordinator – Avenue Station, Crosslinx

Kirsten Watson, Vice President, Government Relations, AECOM

Susan Sperling,Vice President, Communications and Public Engagement
Crosslinx Transit Solutions

Looking back to move forward: A brief history of innovation in Canadian passenger rail service

Christopher C.N. Greenlaw, B.Mus, M.Hist VHA Archivist & Historian

Optimizing Project Closeout: A Systems Approach.
Derek Wynne, Executive Vice President, and Paul Eastwood, Technical Director. (SEMP)

12:30 pm

Enhancing the Everyday: Digitalization driving the transformation of rail across Canada
Aaron Branston (SIEMENS)

Truth and Reconciliation as a Business Imperative for the Canadian Transportation Sector
Annette Salfarlie 
(COMTO)

Improving Transit safety Efficiency with the Innovative Yard Control System
 (STANTEC) See more

1:15 pm

break

break

short break

1:30 pm

1:45 pm

Building an Engineering & Asset Management Team at Metrolinx
Fay Pittman, Chief Engineer Operations - Metrolinx

New Standards Development Opportunities: CSA Group, Transit, and Passenger Rail
Michael Urban, Manager, Strategic Development, and Clifton Rondeau Manager, Strategic Development

2:30 - 3:00 pm

break

break

break

3 pm

Panel: Applying a Systems Engineering Approach Across Multi-Disciplinary Projects

(Moderator: John Jelley, Morrison Hershfield)

Will Allman
Rail Systems, Stations & Infrastructure Director for the High Frequency Rail Project at VIA HFR 

CSA WORKSHOP Opportunities for Standards to Support Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience for Transit and Rail Systems.
Elizabeth Drake, Principal Consultant
Nicholas Roberts, Senior Consultant

(15:00-17:00)

4 pm

Rashid Dorj
(City of Ottawa)

(4pm: end of day for Room B)

Cocktail
(5 to 7 pm)
Tickets required.
Max. Capacity must be observed

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