ADVANCE bookings for this year’s Derby & Derbyshire Rail Forum conference are well ahead of expectations—following the early news that Sir Roy McNulty, who is heading the Government review of rail industry Value for Money, has agreed to be a principal speaker.

Sir Roy’s participation in the conference, on Thursday 4 November, will be shortly after his report is presented to the Secretary of State for Transport and the Government unveils its pre-budget statement.

This year’s conference theme will be “Derby & Derbyshire – World Centre for Railway Excellence” and follows a recent study by URS consultants for Derby City Council, the East Midlands Development Agency and the Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce that reported “the East Midlands is the rail capital of the UK and is Europe’s densest cluster of rail engineering companies.”

The conference venue will be at the restored art-deco Derby Conference Centre, and will be free to Forum members and just £100 plus VAT per delegate for non members. Debbie Cook, Rail Forum Co-ordinator, said: “Compared with many conference charges nowadays, we think the £100 fee for non-members is particularly good value for money.”

Derby & Derbyshire Rail Forum is a trade association for rail companies operating within the East Midlands. The Forum represents its members strategic interests with local and central government, aids exporting and provides support to the membership on a wide range of industry related topics.

There will be a pre-conference dinner on Wednesday 3 November, which will also be held at the Derby Conference Centre.  Tables of 10 cost £450 plus VAT and individual places can be booked at £45 plus VAT per person.

There are also opportunities for sponsorship.

For £500 sponsors will see their logo on literature, have a free display stand space at the conference and two places at the pre-conference dinner held the night before.

For £250 sponsors of the conference will have two places at the pre-conference dinner, or a display stand at the conference.

Among other speakers and panellists already confirmed for the main conference are Gil Howarth, programme  director for the creation of the new National Skills Academy for Railway Engineering; Andrew Lewer, Leader of Derbyshire County Council; Harvey Jennings, Leader of Derby City Council; John Forkin, Director of Marketing Derby; George Cowcher, Chief Executive, Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce; Dave Bull, Business Development Manager, Tecforce; and James Wall, General Manager, Rail Division, Shorterm; and Tom Glick, Presient & Chief Executive Officer, Derby County Football Club.

For more details of the conference—and the pre-conference dinner on 3 November—contact Debbie Cook, Rail Forum Co-ordinator, tel: 01332 642395, email: debbie.cook@derby.gov.uk.

•  Derby and Derbyshire Rail Forum’s golf day last month (July), with 13 teams taking part at Rufford Park Golf and Country Club in Sherwood Forest, raised £3,400 for the Railway Children charity. First prize went to the team entered by Signal House Group.