IHHA VISION 2030

Foreword
BRIAN MONAKALI
Chairman, IHHA Strategy Committee and Vice Chairman, IHHA

Throughout the past four decades, the heavy haul railway industry has been exceptional in pioneering developments and implementation of cutting-edge technologies and innovations that improved railway safety, operational efficiency and customer experience.

Some of the successes include hauling heavy commodities using longer and heavier trains with distributed power; strict maintenance and operating practices; advanced safety management systems such as rail stress management; ECP braking; train authorisation methods; and management of wheel-rail interaction. The International Heavy Haul Association, with its 10 member countries, has been instrumental in providing a collaboration platform that enabled the achievement of these breakthrough accomplishments.

In modern times, the railway is facing a pivotal moment of reappraisal with the opportunity to build a better, safer, greener and more customer-focused service fit for the digital age. There is also a need for a skilled, diverse workforce to deliver the Railway of the Future. Considering this rapid transformation of the railway industry, the Heavy Haul Vision 2030 (HHV2030) formulates a strategy and a roadmap to navigate the transition into the transformed Railway of the Future, focusing on seven primary areas: customer experience; safety; operations; rolling stock and infrastructure maintenance; energy and environment; information; and skills.
The HHV2030 unpacks the main global challenges; the latest trends in the industry; areas of improvements; what a good future looks like; the specific outcomes to be achieved; objectives to be delivered; tools and techniques that are required to achieve the strategy; and an implementation plan phased into two-year, five-year and 10-year horizons.

The strategy provides a clear steer for our future direction, intended to be particularly valuable for suppliers to the railway, research institutions, customers of the railway, railway professionals and various industry associations, presenting an industry view of the direction of technical developments over the coming decades.