Title: New Trains for HS2
When: 9th September 2026 17:15 - 18:15
Where: Zoom
Speaker: Chris Gibb - former Cheif Operations Director of Virgin West Coast and MD of Virgin Cross Country
Chris Gibb is a former Operations Director of Virgin West Coast and MD of Virgin Cross Country, with a railway career that began in Scotland over forty years ago. Following the last Government’s decision to curtail HS2 in the West Midlands, he is concerned that shortening of the proposed HS2 fleet to fit existing platforms north of there will result in overcrowding, while an inability to tilt will remove any benefit for Anglo-Scottish journey times. As the existing Pendolino fleet will be approaching life-expiry by that time, he suggests its concurrent replacement so as to get the best of both worlds – capacity on HS2, plus tilt further north.
1 CPD hour against:
PAS1.2 Modes, Modal Choice and Transport Integration
TP1.1 Transport Infrastructure and Network Resilience