A £3.5 billion programme to improve the rail network across the Midlands has been revealed. The project, Midlands Engine Rail has been revealed today by sub-national transport body, Midlands Connect.
Midlands Connect have today unveiled their plans for Midlands Engine Rail - a programme that is strategically important in supercharging the Midlands Engine economy, designed to drive sustainability, productivity and social mobility across the whole region.
The programme also includes the flagship, Midlands Rail Hub scheme (which is aimed at boosting east-west connectivity), that was submitted to government in June 2019.
If the bid is successful, Midlands Engine Rail is set to be delivered in stages from 2022, to the completion of HS2 Phase Two, and will boost capacity for national, local and regional rail services, creating space for 736 more passenger trains on the network each day.
Up to 60 locations could benefit from improved services, including: Birmingham, Leicester, Coventry, Nottingham, Derby, Stoke-on-Trent, Crewe, Shrewsbury, Lincoln, Worcester and Wolverhampton.
Improvements would increase the speed and frequency of existing services as well as introducing new direct services; for example, linking Coventry to Leicester, Derby and Newcastle. The project is also designed to reduce carbon emissions, encouraging both passengers and freight off the roads and onto the railways.
Civic and business leaders are now calling on PM Boris Johnson to back Midlands Engine Rail, and fund the next stage of its development - £45.5million over the next three-years.
Sir John Peace, chair of Midlands Connect and 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."
"We must create a transport network that helps our businesses to grow, not holds them back."
Andy Street, the <ayor of the West Midlands, 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, with plans to open up both the Camp Hill line in south Birmingham and the Walsall to Wolverhampton line in the Black Country well underway."
"However there is still plenty more to be done, particularly around capacity, and I look forward to working with both the Government and Midlands Connect on their Midlands Engine Rail plans to see how we can further improve rail services and connectivity in the West Midlands."
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