March 23, 2024 - TRA Newswire -
Early registration saves attendees $100 for the Southwestern Rail Conference, but time is limited to sign up for the Premier Rail Conference in Texas that covers passenger and freight rail issues.
The Early Bird registration ends Saturday, March 30 with the rail conference looming just several weeks ahead. Conference information can be found at https://texasrailadvocates.org/events/2024-southwestern-rail-conference/
The Southwestern Rail Conference will be held Monday, April 15 and Tuesday, April 16 at the Hurst Conference Center in Hurst, Texas.
Keynote speaker Monday evening is acclaimed railroad analyst Tony Hatch while Tuesday's lunch presentation is by Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose.
With talk swirling around high-speed rail in Texas, Amtrak's executive in charge of high-speed rail development, Andy Byford will be featured Tuesday afternoon. He is preceded by TxDOT Rail Division Director Jeff Davis, whose agency has been handed several FRA planning grants and DART Vice President Trey Walker, who is in charge of construction of the cross-county Silver Line to DFW Airport.
Tuesday also features a Transportation Reporter and Writers Roundtable to discuss current events, Knox Ross of the Southern Rail Commission whose agency is expanding passenger rail into Texas, and John Robert Smith of Transportation for America, who will look at federal rail funding and its implications for the future. Ian Hodkinson from Alstom will discuss the upcoming trends in Hydrogen and Battery propulsion for trains while Steve Roescher of Siemens explains the uptick in demand for passenger rail equipment.
Monday afternoon speakers include Travis County Judge Andy Brown, who has formed an advisory committee for passenger rail in the I-35 corridor and from Tarrant Regional Transportation Coalition Executive Director Victor Vandergriff, a former Texas Transportation Commissioner, to focus on how the public and private sector are working together in North Texas to solve transportation issues.
Tuesday's session will wrap up with a newly announced presentation. The Dallas to Houston Rail Corridor, where you will hear the input from UT-Austin students that are doing a deep dive course with some interesting observations. UT-Austin Professor of Practice Meg Merritt leads the discussion.