European transport economics expert Professor Roger Vickerman will assess the benefits of the Channel Tunnel to the South East region at an international conference on 16 March.
The conference, Twenty years under the Channel, and beyond: Accessible Regions, Growing Regions?, marks the 30th anniversary of the signing of the intergovernmental treaty of Canterbury which inaugurated the tunnel project, will bring together academic experts, local authority officers and those connected with the project.
Controversy still exists over whether transport infrastructure is a condition for economic growth and development. Discussions will centre on the impact of the cross-Channel rail system on the two regions brought together and crossed by the Channel Tunnel and its high-speed railway network.
The conference, which has been organised by the French association Rails et histoire, is one of several looking at different aspects of the Tunnel’s operation 20 years after it opened. It will also focus on the wider issue of the impact of the possible expansion of the high speed network into other areas of the UK.
As well as Professor Vickerman, Dean for Europe and Professor of European Economics within Kent’s School of Economics, the conference will feature a host of speakers, including Councillor Sean Holden, Deputy Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Kent County Council; Professor Philippe De Wilde, Pro Vice-Chancellor, University of Kent; Ricard Anguera Camós, Senior Manager, ALG-INDRA; Professor Yves Crozet, Université de Lyon; Stephen Gasche, Principal Transport Planner, Kent County Council; Professor John Preston, Professor of Rail Transport, University of Southampton; and Alain-Henri Bertrand, former Deputy Director General, Eurotunnel.
The conference, which takes place at Canterbury’s Cathedral Lodge hotel, runs from 10.30am-5.30pm. It is free and open to all but registration is required.