WCRR'99, the 4^th World Congress on Railway Research was held Octorber 19 to 24, 1999, at Kunitachi Kenkyusho, RTRI with more than 700 participants. The theme was "New technologies create new opportunities for the railways and society of the 21^th century". The congress included oral/poster presentations of 238 technological papers, keynote speeches, two workshops, technical visits at which new technologies in actual use were introduced, exhibitions and social programs such as welcome reception and gala dinner. Each program was implemented successfully during the congress. Presentations in each session room were so well organized with the help of chairpersons and assistants that participants could have very active discussions. I report the purposes, role and some conclusions of WCRR'99 in this paper.