High speed rail to boost GDP by £1.5bn

THE new high speed rail link set to deliver journey times of 47 minutes between Birmingham and London could be worth £1.5bn a year to the West Midlands economy, business leaders have been told.

Speaking at a meeting in Birmingham, chief executive of public transport body Centro, Geoff Inskip said new research conducted on behalf of the group had suggested the West Midlands GDP worth grow by £1.5bn a year from 2022 once the rail network was operational.

“In addition to this, the high speed connection will also help to create 22,000 new jobs for the region,” he said.

“However, without the new line, GDP is only expected to grow by around £600m a year and increase jobs by 10,000.”

He said the figures were a powerful argument in favour of HS2 and one that Centro, in collaboration with Birmingham City Council and other partners would be delivering to Government.

Mr Inskip said that apart from the line itself, the regeneration improvements it would deliver for the region could not be overlooked.

The development of new stations at Curzon Street, Eastside and at the NEC would be significant he said, as would the planned extension of the Birmingham Metro and the extension of the runway at Birmingham Airport.

Beyond this, there would also be access and egress improvements across the region to help improve the flow of passengers into and out of Birmingham from the Black Country, Coventry and Solihull.

“It is an ambitious agenda by also a realistic one,” said Mr Inskip.

He said the partnership expected to present its case to government before the end of the year and in the meantime, it was vital that the entire region got behind the project.

“Its importance to the West Midlands cannot be under-estimated. It will deliver massive long-term improvements and boost the regional economy,” he said.