2. Biz Network July/August 2021 37-64.qxp_Chamberlink 30/06/2021 11:39 Page 56
POLITICS
Just 25 miles apart yet separated by an invisible divide A new report by Midlands Connect calls for new direct rail links between Coventry, Leicester and Nottingham, which it says would bring major economic and environmental benefits for a relatively small investment. Dan Robinson reports from a campaign launch event. hen Coventry City Council leader George Duggins found himself in Leicester in August 2019 for a meeting with his counterpart at Leicestershire County Council, Nicholas Rushton, they discussed how they’d barely been to each other’s cities other than for “accidental reasons”. Despite being just 25 miles apart, there’s been an invisible barrier between them. “Psychologically, we seem a long, long way from Leicester – and there’s the same feeling vice-versa,” says Councillor Duggins. In a new era of unity between the East and West Midlands, driven by the Midlands Engine publicprivate coalition, it’s a striking reminder that there remains a chasm that requires bridging. Midlands Connect, the pan-regional transport research and development group, believes the reason is clear – a lack of infrastructure, with no direct rail link between the cities.
W
‘What we’re trying to achieve is a fundamental change in the economic geography of the region’ It has now released a report advocating a new route from Coventry to Leicester, Loughborough, East Midlands Parkway and Nottingham. It would cut journey times by 30% between Coventry and Leicester, and by 35% between Coventry and Nottingham. Mayor of Leicester Sir Peter Soulsby, who supports the campaign, says: “I’ve done some checking and can’t find any two cities anywhere else in the UK that are as close to each other as Coventry and Leicester without a direct rail link.” THE GAP IN rail provision has existed since 2004, when an upgrade to the West Coast Main Line created more fast services from the West Midlands to London, but meant there was no space for Coventry-Leicester-Nottingham services to pass through a bottleneck at Nuneaton. Passengers must now get off one train at Nuneaton station, change platforms and board another, culminating in a slow, inconvenient service. As a result, just 3% of journeys along this corridor, which has a combined population of 56
business network July/August 2021
well above a million people, are made by rail – compared to 30% of trips between Coventry and Birmingham, a journey that enjoys a regular, fast and direct rail connection. Midlands Connect’s plans – which could involve several options, the most popular among its rail experts being to “dive under” the West Coast Mainline at Nuneaton – would increase this to 20% by cutting journey times along the route significantly. Trips from Coventry to Leicester would fall from 54 to 38 minutes, while those from Coventry to Nottingham would reduce from 108 to 70 minutes. The scheme, which would cost between £90m and £100m, would bring benefits of more than £170m to the local economy – while creating more than two million extra train seats an hour would have significant environmental benefits by removing cars. Andrew Clark, Midlands Connect’s senior rail programme manager and the project’s technical lead, says: “Less than 40 minutes is a much more competitive journey time and for passengers, we think this would be a very attractive journey. “But this is about much more than providing a train service between two cities. What we’re trying to achieve is a fundamental change in the economic geography of the region, with increased economic interaction between these
There are currently no direct rail services that link both Leicester and Nottingham with Coventry
Midlands Connect is creating a detailed plan for establishing a direct rail link
cities that would create a step change in productivity.” Midlands Connect has surveyed more than 3,000 people in the three cities and 87% were in favour. It will create an outline business case for the project by the end of next year, with hopes the new line could be up and running by 2025. FOR LILIAN GREENWOOD, the Nottingham South MP and former shadow transport secretary, the project is a “no brainer” as it would make journeys “cleaner and greener”. Sir Peter believes it’s a “quick win” for the levelling-up agenda – minister for transport Chris Heaton-Harris prefaces the discussion by saying the Government recognises the importance of rail connectivity to achieving this – and isn’t aware of another infrastructure scheme with such a positive cost-benefit ratio. “It would undoubtedly benefit our cities by restoring this line – and it is a restoration because it was there in the past, so it can be there in the future,” he adds. And it would likely make visits between Leicester and Coventry, in particular, less accidental in the future, believes Cllr Duggins, who says it’s “probably one of the easiest schemes to approve”. He adds: “What we want is for people to travel between Coventry and Leicester for employment purposes but also to visit each other’s cities. We simply can’t lose if we get this connection back.”
