Rail services under discussion at HITRANS events

Issued by HITRANS

HITRANS, the regional transport partnership for the Highlands and Islands, is staging a twin-tracked rail summit at the Mercure Hotel, Inverness, on Friday 16 December.

The main event is the annual Rail Stakeholder Conference, which will run from 1 – 3.40 pm.. Topics to be covered include:-

• Transport Scotland’s Rail Infrastructure Strategy Consultation
• Progress on the Aberdeen-Inverness and Highland Main Line Upgrade projects
• Developments at Inverness Rail Station
• Introduction of the new High Speed Train fleet
• Community Rail

Main speaker is Fergus Ewing MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Connectivity, who will be speaking on Delivering a Better Rail Service. Other topics to be covered include Transport Scotland’s Rail Infrastructure Strategy Consultation, progress on the Aberdeen-Inverness and Highland Main Line Upgrade projects, developments at Inverness Station, the introduction of the new High Speed Train fleet and Community Rail.

It will be preceded by the second Points North Seminar, which focuses on the poor performance of the railway from Inverness to Wick/Thurso and Kyle and investigates measures to restore reliability and confidence in the service. The seminar will run from 10 am – 12.15 pm.  Guest speaker will be Phil Verster, Managing Director, of ScotRail Alliance, who will be joined by other key personnel involved in the industry.

Frank Roach, Partnership Manager of HITRANS, who is organising the events, said: “We are delighted to welcome Cabinet Secretary Fergus Ewing to our annual rail event which focuses on the changes coming in the next 2-3 years: new trains, upgraded routes and station enhancements. The morning seminar concentrates on the problems of the Far North Line. We have a range of presentations from those directly involved in improving reliability and performance in track, signalling and rolling stock.”

Those interested in attending are invited to contact frank.roach@hitrans.org.uk

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