£100m plan unveiled for better East-West Midlands rail connections
The transport partner of the Midlands Engine, Midlands Connect, has launched a £100m plan to reinstate direct rail services between Coventry, Leicester and Nottingham in a move which it says would would create over two million extra seats on the network each year.
The plans would mean the three cities would directly connected by rail for the first time in two decades.
Maria Machancoses, chief executive of Midlands Connect, will expand upon the plans at today’s landmark Invest Midlands online conference.
The improvements would introduce two new trains each hour, also calling at Loughborough and East Midlands Parkway, made possible by a new “dive under” at Nuneaton, creating space for these services to pass through the area, alongside plans to improve line speed along the route, making journeys faster.
Currently, passengers travelling along the corridor have to get off one train at Nuneaton station, change platforms and board another. Because of this, just 3% of trips between Coventry and Leicester are made by rail, compared to 30% of trips between Coventry and Birmingham, which enjoys a regular, fast and direct rail connection.
Journey times along the route will be cut significantly, says Midlands Connect, with trips from Coventry to Leicester falling from 54 to 38 minutes, with trips from Coventry to Nottingham down to 70 minutes from 108 minutes. Loughborough and East Midlands Parkway would also have new, direct and more frequent links to Coventry.
Subject to funding, with costs likely to be in the region of £90-£100m, the first trains could run as soon as 2025. Midlands Connect has worked out that this would generate over £170m for the local economy. It hopes to get the green light to bring the plans to their next stage of development, creating an Outline Business Case for the project by the end of next year.
Sir Peter Soulsby, Leicester City Mayor, said: “I can’t think of two UK cities other than Coventry and Leicester, that are as close, yet so appallingly connected by rail. At the moment it can take up to an hour and twenty minutes to travel less than 25 miles, and passengers have to change trains half-way – it’s simply not good enough. Given this, it’s no wonder that 97 per cent of trips on this route are made by road. By reintroducing faster, direct connections we can encourage more people to travel sustainably, strengthen working relationships and increase productivity. We must now move ahead to create detailed plans for delivery, with the support of Government.”
Cllr George Duggins, leader of Coventry City Council, said: “There’s no other way of looking at it – here we have a missing link, a really important link between the east and the west Midlands, and this is our opportunity to reforge it. These plans will open up Coventry, its jobs, leisure destinations and universities to communities across the East Midlands and vice versa. At the moment the Midlands’ east – west rail connections are sub-standard, holding us back from a more productive and sustainable future. Turning these plans into reality is an essential step in boosting prosperity and public transport use across our region – let’s get on with it.”
