‘THERE ARE A LOT OF POSITIVES IN HERE’

SIR John Peace, chair of Midlands Connect - the transport body for the Midlands region - is supportive of the changes.

He said: “This announcement gives businesses and local leaders the reassurance they’ve been waiting for – that HS2 is coming to the East Midlands.

“Although these plans are different in some respects to what we’d expected, there are a lot of positives in here and lots of things to be excited about – a new high speed connection between Birmingham and East Midlands Parkway, direct links on to HS2 for Derby, Nottingham, and Chesterfield and a commitment to the Midlands Rail Hub.

“Now that we have certainty, we must focus on delivery. Our challenge to government is simple: it should move as quickly as possible to get spades in the ground.”

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “Throughout the pandemic, we stood by our railway and invested billions to keep the country moving, and we are about to unleash a £96 billion programme of investment that will transform a Victorian network into one befitting a modern country.”