New plans reveal how HS2 could serve Nottingham and Leicester city centres

New plans have revealed that there is a “strong case” for high speed trains to directly connect the city centres of Birmingham and Nottingham and Leicester and Leeds via the East Midlands Hub station at Toton, more than halving journey times and boosting the economy by at least £1.4bn.

Under plans submitted to the government by transport body Midlands Connect, hourly services could operate between Birmingham Curzon Street and Nottingham, and between Bedford, Leicester and Leeds, “vastly improving” links between cities with “historically poor” rail connections.

The news comes a week after the Government said HS2 was already running seven years behind schedule.

The proposals would see the Nottingham-Birmingham journey time more than halved to just 33 minutes (currently 72 minutes) and the Leicester-Leeds journey time slashed from two hours to just 46 minutes.

Under current plans, passengers would have to use the existing network to travel to Toton before changing on to an HS2 train, or vice versa. Midlands Connect’s plans make direct services possible using new conventional-compatible trains that can travel along both high speed and electrified tracks, allowing them to call at both new HS2 and existing stations.

The Nottingham-Birmingham service requires changes to a planned junction at the East Midlands Hub at Toton, which could be less expensive than the current junction which is due to be proposed as part of the Phase 2b hybrid Bill, says Midlands Connect

The cost of implementing the new services is estimated at £170m, including the Toton junction and infrastructure upgrades to the Midland Main Line to enable an extra hourly service from Bedford to Leeds, via Leicester.

However, Midlands Connect says this would be offset by an estimated economic benefit of at least £1.4bn, derived from journey time savings and the benefits to businesses of improving the economic relationship between towns and cities. More than half of these benefits will come to the East Midlands (51%, or £714 million).

A business case for both services has been submitted to the Department for Transport, which has formally commissioned HS2 Ltd to investigate the feasibility of the alternative junction.

The Bedford-Leeds service requires the electrification of the Midland Main Line north of Market Harborough, and the Birmingham-Nottingham service requires electrification west of Nottingham. Beyond these two new services, electrification of the MML will deliver significant financial and environmental benefits to the existing network.

Sir John Peace, chair of Midlands Connect and Midlands Engine, said: “Now we have more clarity over the costs and timescales of HS2, is it time that the true benefits of high speed rail are also fully understood to make sure the project goes ahead in its entirety. Our proposals are a genuine game changer for connections between the East Midlands and West Midlands and on to the north of England, revolutionising the way regions do business with each other and demonstrating that HS2 will spread the economic benefits far beyond the cities with a dedicated station.”

“We are working closely with HS2 Ltd and the Department for Transport to develop our compelling business cases, and submitting our findings to the HS2 Oakervee review. We are sending a strong message to the government that delivering HS2 in its entirety is absolutely essential to the future economic success of the whole of the UK.”