A national conference on the future development of transport has been chaired by Tramlink Nottingham Chairman Peter Richardson – who is also Chair of the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership.
The two-day ‘iModal 2016’ conference – iModal relates to ‘inter-modal’, or the better linking of different modes of transport (road, rail, bike, car, etc) to enable easier journeys – was held at the Nottingham Conference Centre, part of Nottingham Trent University’s city campus, on Monday (June 20) and yesterday (June 21).
Guest speakers included Shadow Secretary of State for Transport and Nottingham South MP Lilian Greenwood; Geoff Inskip, Chair of UKTram; and Michelle Craven-Faulkner, Vice Chair of Rail Forum East Midlands.
Delegates took part in two days’ of panels and workshops, discussing issues and questions including:
- how regional Devolution will change public transport delivery
- urban bus networks
- fuel cell technology research
- travel technology for public transport passengers
- ensuring passenger safety
- creating better cycling and public transport links
- the proposed HS2 national rail project
- and the future of Nottingham projects, such as the tram and the new Robin Hood Card scheme.
The conference was backed by Tramlink Nottingham – which holds the concession for Nottingham’s tram network – and Nottingham City Council, RailForum East Midlands, East Midlands Chamber, the French public transport group Keolis, transport planning consultancy Systra Ltd, light rail trade organisation UKTram – and the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership. The event was organised by Mainspring marketing services.
Tramlink Nottingham Chairman Peter Richardson (pictured at event on the right, with Councillor Nick McDonald, Nottingham City Council Cabinet Member for Transport on left) welcomed delegates and spoke about local and regional transport successes here; including the Midlands Connect initiative and support for the HS2 rail eastern leg to come through Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, both major projects supported by the D2N2 LEP.
Mr Richardson became the (non-executive) Chairman of Tramlink Nottingham in January (2016). He has been Chairman of the D2N2 LEP since November 2012.
Commenting on the event he said: “This was a chance for some of the UK’s best transport strategists and thinkers to get together, and talk about the future shape of private and public transport, and how it could be better inter-linked. As one of the leading UK cities for sustainable transport, Nottingham was the natural place to hold this inaugural iModal event.”
For more information about the ‘iModal 2016’ conference see web link http://mainspring.co.uk/i-modal/
Further information about Tramlink Nottingham can be found at its website at http://tramlinknottingham.co.uk/
Media wanting further information on the work of the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership can contact D2N2 Communications Manager Sean Kirby on 0115 957 8749 or email:sean.kirby@d2n2lep.org
