The International Wheelset Congress (IWC) was founded by Lucchini in 1963. The first congress took place in

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, in that year. Since then, with only two exceptions it has been held every third year. The International Wheelset Congress is the oldest railway technical conference in the world. One of the premier international rail conferences, The International Wheelset Congress, attracts engineers from the international rail community. The congress provides a platform for rail operators, equipment builders, component suppliers, academia and government, regulatory and standards organisations. It is also a forum for dissemination of technology and advancements in the design and manufacture of rail wheelset components and their performance to promote increased productivity, performance and safety in rail operations.

Recent meetings

The 15th International Wheelset Congress was held in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, in September 2007. The location of the congress is chosen worldwide according to a rotational rule. The 16th International Wheelset Congress was held at the

Cape Town International Convention Centre The Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) is a convention centre in Cape Town, South Africa. The centre opened in June 2003. It is run as a partnership between the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape government. Venues The cen ...

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, in March 2010. The event was hosted by Ringrollers Pty Ltd under the auspices of

Union des Industries Ferroviaires Européennes UNIFE (french: Union des Industries Ferroviaires Européennes), or the ''European Rail Supply Industry Association'', is an association of Europe's rail supply companies active in the design, manufacture, maintenance and refurbishment of rail t ...

(UNIFE) and ERWA. The 17th International Wheelset Congress was held in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

in 2013 and was hosted by KLW-WheelCo. The main topic of the conference - new technologies increasing the operational life cycle of the wheelsets. The 19th International Wheelset Congress was held in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, Italy in 2019. It was hosted by

Lucchini RS Lucchini RS S.p.A. (formerly Lucchini Sidermeccanica S.p.A. and where the acronym "RS" stands for "rolling stock") is an Italian company, fully owned by the Lucchini family through a financial holding called Sinpar S.p.A. and divided from Gruppo ...

. The main topic of the conference was: "Wheelset of the future: an Integrated System". The congress was held from June 16 to 20 at the

Fondazione Giorgio Cini The Giorgio Cini Foundation (''Italian: Fondazione Giorgio Cini''), or just Cini Foundation, is a cultural foundation founded 20 April 1951 in memory of Giorgio Cini, an Italian entrepreneur who died in August 1949. History The Foundation is loca ...

, on San Giorgio Island.

Congress History

*1963 - Bergamo, Italy *1966 - Munich, Germany *1969 - Sheffield, England *1972 - Paris, France *1975 - Tokyo, Japan *1978 - Colorado Springs, USA *1981 - Vienna, Austria *1984 - Madrid, Spain *1988 - Montreal, Canada *1992 - Sydney, Australia *1995 - Paris, France *1998 - Qingdao, China *2001 - Rome, Italy *2004 - Orlando, USA *2007 - Prague, Czech Republic *2010 - Cape Town, South Africa *2013 - Kiev, Ukraine *2016 - Chengdu, China *2019 - Venice, Italy

References

{{reflist

External links

Ringrollers (Pty) Ltd

UNIFE: European Rail Industry

Cape Town International Convention Centre

Lucchini Group

KLW
International rail transport organizations Trade fairs Rail industry Railway associations