UK Minister of State for Rail & HS2 Huw Merriman speaks at TRAKO

Huw Merriman, UK Minister of State for Rail & HS2, has visited TRAKO 2023 to support British exhibitors and Railway Industry Association (RIA) members.

The minister (who travelled to Gdańsk, Poland, for the international railway event) was invited to address attendees during its opening ceremony. There, he spoke positively about HS2 and the government’s ambitions to build Britain’s new high-speed line from London to the Midlands and North.

During his keynote opening address, he commented: “The HS2 high-speed line will deliver for Britain, bringing record-breaking investment to major infrastructure, providing reduced journey times to passengers and jobs throughout the supply chain.”

He also touched on planned reforms to the industry, adding: “We are transforming our railways with the creation of Great British Railways, making them more streamlined and efficient.

“And within all we do, the UK continues to take a lead in decarbonising our railways, keeping up our commitments to hit net-zero by 2050.”

Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of the Railway Industry Association, said: “It was great to hear Rail & HS2 Minister Huw Merriman give his whole-hearted support to HS2 in his opening address at TRAKO.

“The minister has always been a strong advocate for the project, and we hope his Ministerial colleagues across Government are similarly positive about delivering the full scheme, including HS2 Phase 2 between Birmingham and Manchester.

“It was also great to see the minister supporting UK rail exporters at TRAKO. The Railway Industry Association has been working to provide a strong platform for suppliers at these expos for many years, and having the Rail & HS2 Minister attending and promoting UK rail abroad at events like TRAKO really does give a significant boost to these suppliers’ efforts to sell good and services overseas, ultimately generating jobs and GVA for UK plc back home.”

The minister later met with RIA members and British exhibitors in the UK’s GREAT Pavilion, where he encouraged them to sell British technology to the world.

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