Train takes millennium strain

Transport secretary George Young will attempt to shunt the rail industry into getting millennium compliant at the first-ever rail year 2000 conference next week.

Young will be joined by Railtrack chairman Bob Horton, Railtrack IT director Philip Collings, rail industry regulator John Swift, Peter Cook, chief executive of BRBS/Sema, and Brad Collier of IT consultants Millennium on 25 March at the Hotel Intercontinental, London.

Delegates will hear that the bill for ensuring the entire UK rail industry is bug-free will reach between #50m and #60m.

'A prophetic misunderstanding of the problem is the real issue,' said Railtrack IT director Philip Collings. 'People are still asking what it is all about. Railtrack is well on its way with its project but we must get the whole industry up to date and share best practice. It makes no sense to reinvent the wheel.'

Young will also back an industry-funded year 2000 project office to coordinate the mammoth task of getting the privatised, fragmented rail industry fit to operate at the turn of the century.

A special stream will be dedicated to the train operating companies (Tocs) and freight operating companies (Focs), which share systems such as cash revenue systems.