IRSE Enterprises Ltd

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London
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T: +44 (0) 207 808 1180
E: hq@irse.org

INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL CONVENTION, 2014 – LYON, FRANCE

Monday 2nd to Friday 6th June 2014

With the kind cooperation and support of SNCF and RFF, and generous sponsorship by a number of International and French
railway engineering companies, the 2014 International Technical Convention will be held based in the City of Lyon, France.
The Convention will start with a reception on the evening of Monday 2nd June 2014 and concludes with the Convention
Dinner on the evening of Friday 6th June 2014.
Lyon is centrally situated on the French High Speed Network between Paris, Marseilles, North East Spain and Northern Italy,
and is about 2 hours by High Speed train from Paris, and about 1 hour and 40 minutes from Marseilles or Geneva. Lyon is
known for its historical and architectural landmarks and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In modern times, Lyon has
developed a reputation as the capital of gastronomy in France.
Lyon is a major transport centre, and as well as being served by the High Speed trains services, it is served by main line
services from the local area, including Valence and Aix en Provence. The public transit system in Lyon consists of a network of
buses, trams, trolley buses and metros, which will feature in the Convention. The Convention will present the current transport
projects in the Lyon area, including main line resignalling and urban transport. A programme of tourist visits is being arranged
for Partners or Guests who may accompany Members attending the Convention and intend to introduce Partners and Guests
to this fascinating City, as well as the local gastronomy (which the members will sample too!)
The main base for the Convention will be the Hilton Lyon Hotel, 70 Quai Charles de Gaulle, Lyon 69463, France. Tel 0033 4
7817 5050. The Hotel is located on the banks of the River Rhone, opposite the Tête d'Or Park. The hotel is only 15 minutes
from central Lyon by C5 trolley bus (stop opposite hotel) and 30 minutes from Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport, or Lyon Part Dieu
railway station by C1 trolley bus - journey time 15 minutes

DRAFT PROGRAMME
Monday 2th June
Hilton hotel : registration, evening reception and speeches of welcome. After that, members and guests will be free
to make their own arrangements.
Tuesday 3rd June:
The theme for members for the day is Main Line Railways. In the morning, at the Hilton hotel, there will be speeches
of welcome and technical presentations. In the afternoon; technical visits are being planned to the Centralised Traffic
Control Centre (CCR) and to Lyon Perrache to hear about the resignalling project - visits to the old signal boxes are
also planned.
Guests will be taken on a day tour to visit the oldest part of the city and other interesting places.
In the evening, members and guests will go to the Brasserie Georges for reception and dinner.
Wednesday 4th June

Members and guests will be taken on a day tour to Romanèche-Thorins to visit the Hameau Duboeuf which
combines an area dedicated to railways and an area dedicated to Beaujolais wines, revealing the secrets of the local
vineyards, their origins, their implementations and their techniques.

In the evening, members and guests will be free to make their own arrangements.

Thursday 5th June

The theme for Members for the day is Urban transport. In the morning, at the Hilton hotel, there will be technical
presentations. In the afternoon; technical visits are being planned at the metro line D Maintenance depot (Le Piollet)
or at the tramway maintenance depot and control centre (St Priest).

Guests will be taken on a day tour at Pérouges, a medieval city 30 km east of Lyon.

In the evening : members and guests will be invited to a Rhône-Saône cruise with dinner on the boat.

Friday 6th June

For members, a morning visit is being planned for the members at the Lyon Technicentre (TGV Maintenance depot
workshop) with a special train trip (IRIS 320 maintenance train) from Lyon Perrache to the Technicentre. Lunch is not
being provided. Members will be free to make their own arrangements for lunch and for the afternoon.
1 A limited company
Registered in England No. 5371364
Vat No. 863872191
 Guests will be free to make their own arrangements for the day.

In the evening, the Convention Dinner and Dance will take place at the Hilton hotel

PRICING AND BOOKING ARRANGEMENTS

As usual, Members are welcome to bring their Partners to the Convention on payment of the Convention Fee. The fee
structure is shown on the Application Form enclosed with this notice.

HOTEL ARRANGEMENTS
We have booked a number of rooms at 3 hotels (including the Hilton) in Lyon ranging in price and standard, details of
which are given on the Convention Hotel Booking Form also enclosed with this notice. We have specially negotiated
rates to include buffet breakfast and all taxes.

The Hotel Booking forms will be handled by David Street. Bookings must be made in this way to ensure correct rates
given by each hotel.

For those who wish to make their own arrangements, there are many more hotels available for on-line booking or
through the DSTM web-site at: http://hotels.dstravel.co.uk

TRAVEL INFORMATION
All travel within the Convention will be by train, ferry, or by coach and will be arranged as part of the Convention.
Members should make their own arrangements to arrive in good time at the starting point of all events, which will be the
Hilton Lyon Hotel, 70 Quai Charles de Gaulle, Lyon 69463, France.

TRAVEL to LYON.
Attendees from within Europe may wish to consider travelling to Lyon by train, direct connections being available to Lyon Part
Dieu Station from Paris Gare de Lyon (and therefore from most of northern Europe via Paris Gare du Nord), Lille (Europe) (for
travellers from London St Pancras International), Geneva Cournavin (Switzerland), Turin Porta Susa (Italy), Barcelona Sants
(Spain), Zurich Hauptbahnhof (Switzerland).

The journey time from Paris Gare de Lyon to Lyon Part Dieu Station is typically around 2 hours by TGV.

Although Lyon does have an airport (Saint-Exupéry Airport) , flights are generally short haul to destinations within
Europe.

For international (i.e. beyond Europe) travellers, suggested arrival points are:
• Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport or Paris Orly Airport, then by train from Paris Gare to Lyon to Lyon Part Dieu station.
• Marseilles (Provence) Airport, which is about 1 hour 40 minutes by TGV from Marseilles St Charles Station to Lyon
Part Dieu Station (excluding transfer from the airport to the station).
• Geneva Airport, which is about 1 hour 40 minutes by TGV from Geneva Cornavin Station to Lyon Part Dieu Station
(excluding transfer from the airport to the station)

Early booking is advised to obtain the best fares. For a travel quote, please email:- david-street@btconnect.com.

VISA’s, PASSPORTS and CURRENCY

Members and their guests will be responsible for obtaining any necessary Visa’s to enter France in time for the
Convention. France is a member of the Schengen group of European countries between which there are “borderless”
arrangements for transit between countries for holders of European passports issued by those countries.

The currency in France is the Euro. It can be expected that major credit and debit cards would be acceptable
in most locations in Lyon, as for any other International destination.

REGISTRATION
Registrations are now invited for this event, and members wishing to attend the Convention are requested to complete and
return the enclosed application form to the IRSE Office in London as quickly as possible, please.
An electronic version of the application form is available on www.irse.org/Conventions.html. It is also possible to register on
line through the IRSE website.
Any enquiries concerning the Convention programme should be directed to the IRSE Office – details in the header to this
letter. Enquiries about hotel arrangements should be referred to David Street by telephone +44 (0)1249 460898 or email
david-street@btconnect.com.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS IS 30th April 2014.

Ian Harman, Convention Coordinator, February 2014

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