High Speed Rail Opportunities for the West Midlands Geoff Inskip Chief Executive Centro

West Midlands Region Population 5.4m 2.6m in Met Area Employment 2.4m

WM Region Rail Network Over 80m passenger footfall at 154 stations 9 Passenger Operators Over 30 freight terminals Very diverse network 3 routes to London Considerable number of routes operating at or near capacity Rail has 23.6% share of AM peak market into Birmingham

Considerable Recent Growth Station Footfall at WM Region Stations

Regional Transport Priorities 9 Transport Priorities: –Birmingham New Street Station; –Birmingham International Airport - Runway Extension and surface access; –M5/M6 Capacity Improvements and Motorway Box Active Traffic Management; –Rail Freight Upgrades - Peterborough and Southampton to Nuneaton; –Regional Rail Capacity, both for passengers and freight; –Black Country ‘strategic transport spine’; –North Staffordshire Integrated Transport Package; –New Growth Points / Settlements of Significant Development; –Smarter Choices

Current Strategy Network Rail Business Plan : Birmingham New Street Gateway project Chiltern/West Midlands platform lengthening Redditch branch enhancement/ extension of cross-city services to Bromsgrove Bristol-Birmingham line speed upgrade Wrexham –Marylebone journey time imps Freight Gauge enhancements Resignalling schemes DfT HLOS and TOC schemes: Moor St station bay platforms New Class 172 and 350 rolling stock RFA Schemes Coventry - Nuneaton New stations – Stratford Parkway, Kenilworth

£600m project to upgrade New St station Delivery Iconic new station facade A grand concourse that is over three times bigger than present, and which is enclosed by a spectacular, giant light-filled atrium Eight new station entrances with better through access for pedestrians More accessible, brighter and clearer platforms with 42 new escalators and 14 new lifts Stimulus for physical regeneration of surrounding areas with potential creation of over 10,000 new jobs Birmingham Gateway

Capacity on West Midlands Rail Network Conflicting uses – inter-city, regional, local and freight trying to use a primarily 2-track network Hub of national and regional network Developing faster and more frequent inter-city services not compatible with other uses High Speed Line offers an opportunity to think differently about the current West Midlands network and its future role

Current Local Service Issues Frequency to local stations constrained on many routes (e.g. Wolverhampton Line) Service interval irregular to some stations (e.g. 42 minute gaps at Berkswell) Lack of through services cross- Birmingham Walsall has poor connectivity into national network Important regional towns such as Tamworth and Telford are poorly served No local services at all on some corridors – Water Orton, Camp Hill Line

Other capacity issues Freight services difficult to accommodate – often need convoluted routes and long journey times Regional and Inter-city services often have to fulfil a local transport role, slowing down journey times for long- distance passengers Intensity of network use increases performance risks

The High Speed Rail Opportunity With a HSR from London to Birmingham, existing WCML service structure can be reviewed On WCML frequency and speed no longer so important Intermediate flows become more important – route better able to cater for growth at Milton Keynes, Northampton, etc. With a 30 minute pattern new journey linkages become possible – potential to free up platform capacity at New Street Will require a package of supporting measures to maximise benefits e.g. –Electrification –Route capacity upgrades (e.g. Coventry – Leamington double tracking) –Headway and junction improvements Improved Birmingham City Centre interchange between stations essential

Example of Potential Benefits for the Coventry Line Assists diversion of 2tph Cross Country trains via Coventry – Coventry/International have new through links to North East Faster, better spaced services between Northampton and Birmingham More frequent local service between International and New St. Regular 30 minute service to other stations – no irregular patterns Most trains run beyond Birmingham –through links possible to Walsall, Wolverhampton, Liverpool, Scotland, Shrewsbury, etc possible

Other HSR Benefits Both City Centre and Airport/NEC stations required City Centre is the focus for existing rail, metro and bus network Airport/NEC has good access to strategic road network HSR Connection to the North essential: –Intially into existing network –Ultimately full HS network Allows potential restructuring of local and regional services on WM – NW/NE axis as well as towards London European connectivity possible Heathrow connectivity from WM significantly improved

Package of Wider Network Improvements needed to support HSL Camp Hill Chords – new tracks into Moor Street Stourbridge – Walsall Freight New stations and local services on Camp Hill and Tamworth Lines Electrification Other route capacity upgrades NEED TO BE PROGRESSED IN RAIL INDUSTRY CP5 PLANS

Other Opportunities Use of tram/train to: –Relieve central Birmingham rail capacity pressure –Provide new through links to central Birmingham and HSR from poorly connected parts of metropolitan area Create single interchange between New St, Moor St and new HSL station Better public transport access to Airport/NEC

Summary HSR creates a major opportunity to change the use of the “classic” network More capacity for local, regional and freight services A package of network investment to support growth and improve connectivity into HSR from whole region Wider Public Transport Improvements also needed to support HSR Centro is planning now on developing the strategy