High Speed Rail Industry Leaders Annual Conference: HS2 All The Way

High Speed Rail Industry Leaders’ fourth annual conference will take place in Manchester.

Through a programme of keynote addresses and panel discussions, this free conference will focus on bringing together supporters of HS2 and promoting the connection between HS2, Northern Powerhouse Rail and Midlands Connect. It will also demonstrate the far-reaching benefits of high speed rail, connecting eight of the ten biggest cities in the country and 30 million people, providing better links for northern cities.

The event will be chaired by Sarah-Jane Mee, co-host of Sky News Sunrise, and joining us will be key policy makers and senior industry and local authority figures from across the UK.

Agenda

9.30

Delegates arrive

9.50

Chair’s Welcome speech: Sarah Jane Mee, Sky News

10.00

Keynote address: Minister for HS2, Nusrat Ghani MP

10.30

Speech by Isabel Coman, Director, HSRIL and Project Director, Costain

10.40

Panel Q&A: How HS2 will build future communities – opened by Northern Powerhouse Rail Director Tim Wood:

- Tim Wood, Northern Powerhouse Director, TfN

- Gill Haigh, Managing Director, Cumbria Tourism

- Jerome Furge, Director, HSRIL and HS2 Director, Align JV

- David Williams, Deputy Chair, D2N2LEP

11.30

Coffee break

11.45

Speech by Allan Cook, Chair of HS2 Ltd

12.20

Lunch and Networking

13.10

Innovative ideas for HS2: Presentations from entrepreneurs followed by Q&A

14.00

Speech by Henri Murison, Director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership

14.30

Coffee break

14.45

Panel Q&A: ‘Northern and Midlands Voices’

- Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, Leader of Bradford City Council and West Yorkshire CA

- Councillor Judith Blake, Leader of Leeds City Council and LGA Transport

- Maria Machancoses, Director, Midlands Connect

- Councillor Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council

15.35

Chair ‘in conversation’ with Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester

16.05

Closing remarks from Will Roberts, Director, HSRIL and Communications Director, Alstom

16.20

Drinks reception sponsored by Railway Industry Association

17:15

Event close