We’re fighting for HS2 – and the 22nd century is counting on us
This is a project we will all benefit from for the next hundred years and more
THE autumn of 2019 will go down as one of the most tumultuous periods in political history.
While the proroguing of parliament and no deal preparations dominate the news agenda, we risk sleepwalking past the once-in-alifetime opportunity that is HS2.
With the deadline for submissions to the Oakervee HS2 Review days away, Midlands Connect is doing everything it can to secure HS2 for the Midlands and the North, submitting compelling new evidence to ensure Westminster fully understands the benefits of high speed rail to the region, as well as the updated costs and timescales laid out by Chairman Allan Cook earlier this month.
Last week we released our plans for high speed trains to directly connect the city centres of Birmingham and Nottingham, and Leicester and Leeds, slashing journey times by more than half and boosting the economy by an estimated £1.4 billion.
This is the kind of value-added, evidence-based plan the government has asked for as it appraises HS2’s viability.
Some in the media have questioned the timing of our announcement, right in the middle of the review.
While we make no apology for generating positive headlines when HS2’s very existence is at stake, it is also true that these plans have been several years in the making, and were going to be submitted to the Department for Transport this summer anyway, regardless of the review.
Midlands Connect’s submission to the Oakervee Review, and those of our partners – the West Midlands Combined Authority, East Midlands Councils and the Constellation Partnership – must not and will not present a fragmented and disparate case for HS2.
All of our plans highlight the need for the seamless integration of HS2 with essential upgrades to the existing network. It must not be a choice of one improvement versus the other.
That is why last week we also launched Midlands Engine Rail (MER), a £3.5 billion plan to deliver a step-change in east-west rail connectivity.
MER includes seven region-wide projects, which will create capacity for more than 700 extra trains every single day, serving 60 different stations across the Midlands and beyond.
The launch was attended by civic and business leaders from across the region, as well as Communities Secretary and Midlands Engine ministerial champion Robert Jenrick MP, who said: “Bringing forward really high quality, high value for money proposals like this will make my case better as I battle for the Midlands in Westminster.”
And there’s more to come. Before the end of the HS2 review period we will outline, for the first time, more than 70 locations across the country – not just the Midlands – that will benefit from less crowded, faster, more frequent or brand new services because of the extra capacity HS2 will release on the existing network.
Earlier this month, in his first Spending Round as Chancellor Sajid Javid, a Midlands MP and former Midlands Engine ministerial champion, promised an infrastructure revolution that will “invest in and develop every region”.
Nothing would fulfil that promise more wholeheartedly than delivering HS2, Midlands Engine Rail and Northern Powerhouse Rail in full.
While no HS2 supporter will deny that waiting longer for it to arrive is disappointing, this is a project we will all benefit from for the next hundred years and more.
It’s well worth waiting for. Decades from now, when our grandchildren look back at the investment we made in their future, they won’t be concerned with whether the first HS2 trains ran in 2026 or 2028.
Our position is clear: Midlands Engine Rail, with HS2 as its backbone, is technically feasible, financially viable and environmentally sustainable.
The Midlands and the UK need both, just as we need Crossrail 1, Crossrail 2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail to future-proof our transport network for generations to come.
What matters now is demonstrating to the government and public just how much we need and will benefit from HS2.
I have been buoyed by the spirit of collaboration among business and civic leaders in their approach to that objective during this HS2 review.
We met with Douglas Oakervee in person on his first day in the job, overlooking the Birmingham Curzon Street site.
The Midlands’ submission to the review will rightly be at the top of his in tray.
Cancelling or de-scoping HS2 would be a disaster for our region, and we must do all we can to avert it.
The 22nd century will thank us for it.