Hundreds of new trains could Supercharge Midland economy
Major new strategy revealed for Birmingham and wider region Plan to Take a million lorries worth of cargo off road
BIRMINGHAM could benefit from more than 400 extra passenger trains a day under an ambitious £3.5 billion vision for Midlands’ rail services.
Regional transport body Midlands Connect has launched its new ‘Midlands Engine Rail’ which it says will dramatically improve services, not just in Birmingham, but across the West and East Midlands, if adopted in full by the Government.
Its plans include 736 more passenger trains on the Midlands network each day – including 416 more trains calling in central Birmingham – faster and more frequent services to locations such as Nottingham, Derby, Telford, Shrewsbury and Worcester and full integration with HS2.
Midlands Connect also wants to create space for an additional one million lorries worth of cargo to be transported by rail annually and more than 30 additional services to Birmingham International, serving the airport and NEC.
Its plans are made up of seven separate projects spanning the Midlands which it says are aimed at supercharging the region’s economy, driving sustainability through fewer car journeys and improving social mobility.
It includes and builds upon the Midlands Rail Hub scheme – aimed at boosting eastwest connectivity – that was submitted to the Government in June and would see a multimillion-pound overhaul of Moor Street station and the public areas around it.
It is designed to be delivered in stages from 2022 to the completion of HS2 phase two which could now be as late as 2040 following a recent rethink over its original completion date of 2033.
Civic and business leaders are now calling on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to back Midlands Engine Rail, fund the next stage of its development – £45.5 million over the next three years – and to display the same enthusiasm for infrastructure investment in the Midlands as he has in the North.
Sir John Peace, chairman of Midlands
Connect and the Midlands Engine, said: “In the Midlands, more people are travelling on the railways than ever before.
“We now need investment from government to allow our people, businesses and infrastructure to reach their full potential and to drive a further boost in passenger numbers.
“Midlands Engine Rail is essential in creating a more sustainable, productive and mobile Midlands.
“Whether they live in Shrewsbury, Lincoln, Birmingham or Leicester, our communities deserve the opportunity to make greener choices, to access a world-class education and to reach the widest possible variety of career opportunities.
Midlands Engine Rail is essential in creating a more sustainable, productive and mobile Midlands.
Sir John Peace
“My message to the Prime Minister is clear – it’s time you made a long-overdue commitment to the future of our rail network.”
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street added: “The West Midlands is undergoing a £4 billion transport revolution, with rail at its core.
“The better connected our region is through improved rail services then the more chance we have of sustaining our economic growth - which is higher than any region outside of London.
“We are doing what we can to improve our rail offering... however, there is still plenty more to be done, particularly around capacity.
“I look forward to working with both the Government and Midlands Connect on its Midlands Engine Rail plans to see how we can further improve rail services and connectivity in the West Midlands.”