Dublin has been selected as the location for the biennial TRA (Transport Research Arena) conference next April. The event takes place every two years, and is the largest European event to address all aspects of transport and mobility. Attracting approximately 4,000 delegates, it is estimated that TRA2024 will be worth €7 million to the Irish economy.
Minister of State at the Department of Transport Jack Chambers TD
TRA2024 Dublin will be the 10th running of the event, and the first to be held outside of mainland Europe, meaning that Ireland will help lead the global debate on the future of transport throughout 2024.
Thousands of researchers, policymakers, academics and industry representatives will attend the week-long event in the RDS from 15th-18th of April.
In advance of the European event, Minister of State at the Department of Transport Jack Chambers TD, is leading an Irish delegation to Washington to join over 10,000 delegates at the 103rd Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting this week.
The Minister, who is also the Vice President of the upcoming TRA2024 event, will use the opportunity to extend an invitation to delegates in Washington to visit Dublin later this year.
Minister Jack Chambers said, “As host of TRA2024, Ireland is in a unique position to help decide the direction of travel for global transport. As an island nation, we have a breadth of experience of what is working well, and what can be improved. The world needs to change how it moves goods and people, and as host of TRA2024, we believe that Dublin can become a significant turning point in how these modes of transport are designed for both this, and future generations. I look forward to engaging with US and European policymakers to help frame the debate for the European event in April.”
The upcoming TRA2024 Dublin event will discuss all modes of transport including road, rail, air, water, and cross modality, in urban, inter-urban, and rural settings.
Attendees at the event in the RDS will include two European Commissioners and three Director Generals, Government representatives from the EU, UK and US, and officials from leading global businesses including Google, Collins Aerospace, BMW, SNCF, and Stena.
Over 1,200 submissions from researchers around the globe have already been received and the majority will be presented throughout the week in Dublin as researchers plot a way to a more sustainable transport future for the planet.
Dr Ciaran McNally, from the School of Civil Engineering in UCD, is chair of the conference programme committee and is looking forward to welcoming researchers from around the world to Dublin. He added, “There is an urgent need for our transport services to respond to meet society’s growing demands. The world needs cleaner, greener and more accessible services, and these must be resilient enough to meet the significant challenges coming from climate change. This is a world that is becoming increasingly digitally connected, and TRA2024 in Dublin will be a significant opportunity to bring together the brightest minds from across Europe and the world to plot the future together. We are looking forward to hearing from the next generation of researchers through the TRA Visions competition. This is supported by the European Commission who see excellent young researchers as being a key element of a skilled workforce that will drive Europe’s future competitiveness.”
Amongst the themes to be discussed in April are safe and inclusive transport, sustainable mobility of people and goods, efficient and resilient infrastructure and collaborative digitalisation.TRA2024 is supported by the European Commission and the Irish Government. For more information and to register, please visit https://traconference.eu/
