Earlier this month, the Keltbray Aspire team and Paul Costello, MD of Wentworth House Rail Systems (WHRS), attended the Rail: North of the Border Conference and Exhibition in Glasgow. The purpose of the event was to continue discussions around the delivery of Scotland’s rail projects, to get the latest insight into future plans and also to examine the country’s key objectives as part of the upcoming CP6.
Participating in the event gave us the opportunity to engage with guest speakers, which gave us insight into the commitment to decreasing gas emissions which come from diesel trains, and provide alternative trains which run through electrification to enable a more sustainable and cleaner Railway. We also had the chance to network with key influential figures and discuss business opportunities with other key players in the sector, and discuss the upcoming sustainability goals which need to be considered in the industry.
Mark Wood, Keltbray Aspire’s Regional Director for London North East, said, “Most of the speakers were very good and engaging, the ones who stood out for me were George Davidson, Viva Rail and Hitachi. They are all looking to the future which I think is something that we should also be doing to keep ahead of the competition. All of the battery power still needs infrastructure change and power distribution bringing to the railway. It was also good to have the chance to speak with the Transport for Scotland attendees, as they want to ensure value for money. In addition to this, they were happy to discuss new ideas not currently in use in Scotland.”
Paul Costello of Wentworth House Rail Systems (WHRS), also gave his thoughts, “The speakers were very good, especially Bill Reeve, Director of Rail Transport Scotland, who gave some great insights. The three rolling stock companies raised different issues, namely that there was no single answer and that the network needs to be considered holistically. They also pointed out that the individual needs of each route should be taken into account. If this were to happen, it could create a non-business case utilising the green estimating tool of Network Rail, but may open up communities by adding connectivity across Scotland. It was also agreed that the ultimate objective was for zero emission transport for Scotland by 2035, and that actions must be taken to that end.”
