Safety is a central issue during the planning and implementation of high-speed railways. Top management has a role to play in improving the safety culture of organizations. The authors conduct an assessment of the safety cultures at two railway companies, illustrate the importance of sustained efforts from top leaders in developing a positive safety culture, and conclude that the dynamics related to safety culture are also affected by other components in the system.

China Railway Express (CRE) emerged in 2011 as a means of logistics between the People’s Republic of China and the European Union. This presentation describes CRE, its stages of development, challenges, business model, future, and the motivation of the three players behind its operation.

High-speed rail (HSR) is considered necessary for regional development. Several HSRs are under development in Asia, and Japan’s experience would be informative and useful to them. This presentation covers five HSR case studies, including projects in Japan and the Kuala Lumpur–Singapore HSR.