Rails services across the Midlands could benefit from £1.5 billion of investment between 2025-2030 under plans put forward today.
Midlands Connect – a transport group that represents councils, local enterprise partnerships and other public bodies in the region – is proposing the changes which it says will add new services and put 14.6 million more seats on the railway every year.
The organisation said it would also help safeguard 1,600 well-paid jobs in the construction industry.
It comes as the 海角视频 rail industry faces tough times with workers striking over pay, poorly performing operators, the Government working out how to deal with the fragmentation caused by privatisation and pressure groups warning a failure to attract more passengers risks a permanently smaller network.
Revenues are around a fifth lower than pre-virus levels, and taxpayers are contributing around £2 billion more annually than before the pandemic, according to Rail Partners, which represents independent passenger and freight train operators.
Midlands Connect believes its upgrades package would be the “biggest step possible in levelling-up the Midlands”.
Its “Midlands Rail Hub” plans would see space for 100 additional trains on the network every day to locations such as Birmingham, Bromsgrove, Nuneaton, Worcester, Hereford, Great Malvern, Bristol, Gloucester, Cardiff, Cheltenham and Leicester.
It says it could also lead to shorter journey times for thousands of commuters – Birmingham to Hereford could be cut by up to 13 minutes, for instance.
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The proposals also include improved access to HS2 services at Birmingham Curzon Street and improvements to the Cross-city Birmingham line, which would see trains arrive every 10 minutes.
In Leicestershire, Leicester, Hinckley, Narborough & South Wigston would benefit from an extra fast and slow train every hour delivering 1.7 million extra peak time seats each year and 1.5 million off-peak seats.
It said its analysis suggests for every £1 spent on the project there would be more than £1.50 in benefits including broader benefits to the economy.
The plans are due to be launched in Birmingham today, backed by politicians such as West Midlands Mayor and chair of the West Midlands Rail Executive Andy Street, Preet Kaur Gill MP, Deputy City Mayor of Leicester Coun Adam Clarke, councils and business leaders to all back the ambitious proposals.
The biggest engineering proposals include between Bordesley and Moor Street, Birmingham, allowing access to Birmingham Moor Street from the South-West and Wales, and improving services on the Hereford and Worcester corridors.
There would also be better access to Birmingham Moor Street from the East Midlands.
The improvements will make space for up to ten extra trains per hour in and out of Birmingham.
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If funded by the Government, the regional benefits for the Midlands would be:
· An additional train per hour between Birmingham and Bristol.
· An additional train per hour between Birmingham and Cardiff via Gloucester stopping at Worcestershire Parkway.
· An additional train per hour between Birmingham and Hereford via Worcester. The service will also stop at Bromsgrove, Great Malvern & Droitwich.
· An additional fast train per hour between Leicester and Birmingham, stopping at Nuneaton.
· An additional slow train per hour between Leicester and Birmingham, stopping at Coleshill Parkway, Nuneaton, Hinckley, Narborough & South Wigston.
Sir John Peace, chairman of Midlands Connect – which has now submitted its outline business case to government – said: “This is a truly momentous occasion for us, we are proud to unveil this detailed plan for infrastructure changes which will transform our region.
“We know the project has the backing of the businesses, communities and political leaders in the Midlands, and we stand ready to kickstart its delivery and get spades in the ground.
“The Midlands Rail Hub will significantly impact the future of travel for generations to come.”
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands and chair of the West Midlands Rail Executive, said: “Midlands Rail Hub is a game-changing scheme for our region.
“The benefits it can bring to local people and businesses are many – whether it’s connecting millions more people to the HS2 network; creating space for more local journeys, stations, and rail lines; or opening faster and more frequent rail links for commuters as well as business and leisure travellers.
“As we bounce back from Covid, Midlands Rail Hub will support our recovery by unlocking the bottleneck at Birmingham New Street to improve local services, whilst also better connecting the East and West Midlands. All of this helps open access to opportunities right across the Midlands and supports thousands of jobs during a critical period for our region.
“When the West Midlands succeeds, the country succeeds, and the sooner Government enables us to start delivering this project the sooner our local residents will experience the plethora of benefits to come.”
Sir Peter Soulsby Chair of Transport for the East Midlands & City Mayor of Leicester said: “Leicester is a thriving and rapidly growing city, but we need better connectivity by rail to realise the city’s economic potential.
“The Midlands Rail Hub will double the rail service between Leicester and Birmingham and ensure the city is connected to both New Street and Moor Street stations.
“This will provide onward connectivity to Wales and the South West, as well as easy access to HS2 Services at Curzon Street.
“We expect that that HS2 East will transform connectivity between Birmingham, Derby and Nottingham by the 2040s.
“In the meantime, the Midlands Rail Hub will preserve onward connectivity for existing services from Birmingham New Street to the West Midlands, Wales and the West Country.”